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A Canadian MP has resigned from his party’s caucus following allegations he was involved in Chinese political interference.

Han Dong was accused of pressuring a Chinese diplomat to keep two Canadians imprisoned in China.

On Wednesday, Mr. Dong said he would leave Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s ruling Liberal Party to sit as an independent.

Mr. Dong has denied the allegations against him.

“To all my colleagues in Parliament, media reports today citing unverified and anonymous sources have damaged my reputation and called into question my loyalty to Canada,” said Mr. Dong, elected to Parliament in 2019 , in a moving evening speech before the Canadian Parliament. Communal room.

“Let me be clear, what has been reported is false. And I will defend myself against these absolutely false claims,” ​​he said.

The two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, were imprisoned in China for more than 1,000 days on espionage charges. The couple became known around the world as “Two Michaels”.

Their detention was widely seen as retaliation for the 2018 arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Canada at the request of the United States, which was seeking her extradition on fraud charges.

According to the Global News report, Mr. Dong suggested to the diplomat in February 2021 that the release of the two Canadians would benefit the federal Conservative Party of Canada, considered hostile to Beijing.

Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor were finally released on September 24, 2021. The following day, Ms. Meng was released from detention in Canada and returned to China following a deal with U.S. prosecutors.

The allegations against Mr. Dong come as Canada grapples with broader accusations that China tried to interfere in the last two federal elections and Vancouver’s mayoral election.

A series of reports in recent months by the Global News television network and The Globe and Mail newspaper, based on anonymous national security sources and leaked classified documents, indicated that Beijing intervened by putting pressure on its consulates. in Canada to support certain candidates.

The alleged interference is not believed to have changed the outcome of either federal election.

Mr. Trudeau has faced growing political pressure to launch a public inquiry and this month appointed an independent special rapporteur to review the reports and determine whether such an inquiry is necessary.

A majority of MPs in the House of Commons passed a non-binding motion calling for a public inquiry on Thursday, with most Liberals voting against. Mr. Dong voted in favor.

In February, the prime minister defended Mr Dong following reports that the MP may have been compromised.

“I want everyone to fully understand that Han Dong is an exceptional member of our team and that suggestions that he is not loyal to Canada should not be accepted,” Trudeau said.

Mr. Dong confirmed to Global News that he had indeed spoken with diplomat Han Tao, but said he had called for the immediate release of the two Canadians.

In a statement to Global on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Mr. Trudeau said the prime minister’s office “only became aware that a conversation had taken place after Mr. Dong told us, at following recent media questions.

The Chinese consulate in Toronto said Thursday that China’s allegations of interference “are completely unfounded.”

“It is the responsibility of consular posts to maintain in-depth contacts and conduct friendly exchanges with local governments and all circles of society,” the statement said.

A spokesperson for Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Wenbin did not comment on the specific allegations against Mr. Dong, but denied that Beijing had ever tried to interfere in Canadian politics.

“China opposes interference in the internal affairs of other countries. We have no interest and will not interfere in Canada’s internal affairs,” Wenbin said Thursday.

Some Chinese-Canadian politicians have raised concerns about the anonymous allegations in the reports, saying they could be motivated by racism.