The Canadian government finally decided to declare persona non grata Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei, suspected of planning an intimidation campaign against the Hong Kong family of a conservative MP.
“We will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs. Diplomats in Canada have been warned that if they engage in this type of behavior, they will be sent home,” Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in a statement Monday.
An article from Globe and Mail published last week alleged that diplomat Zhao Wei of the Chinese consulate in Toronto was behind an intimidation campaign targeting the family of Ontario MP Michael Chong. The elected conservative presented a motion two years ago to recognize the genocide of the Uighurs.
The Canadian government has spent the past few days dithering over the fate of the Chinese diplomat. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said so far weighing his options, under the pretext that “it is not a small thing to expel diplomats”. He also repeated that it was “unacceptable” that an elected member of the House of Commons had been intimidated by “a foreign power”.
A late decision
The principal concerned, the deputy Michael Chong, declared Monday that he believes that the government should have taken this decision two years ago, when the diplomat Zhao would have been nabbed by the intelligence services. He does not know if his family in Hong Kong has actually suffered from sanctions.
“China has been known for years to use its diplomats accredited in Canada to target Canadians and their families,” he said, referring to pressures allegedly exerted on the Chinese diaspora through “police stations.” informal in the country.
“The government had already known for a long time that Mr. Zhao Wei was operating from Toronto […], was accumulating information about me and my family to intimidate me. I was not aware that this individual was there, whereas I often deal […] in Toronto,” Chong explained.
Minister Joly, for her part, summoned the Chinese ambassador, Cong Peiwu, last Thursday to express her indignation. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has denied the allegations of interference, calling them “slander” and “defamation”. The Chinese Embassy in Canada added a layer on Monday, citing a “firm and strong response” to Canada’s decision.
“China condemns it and firmly opposes [au renvoi du diplomate Zhao Wei]. China will resolutely take countermeasures, and Canada will bear all the consequences,” reads a message posted in Mandarin on Monday afternoon.
According to the former Canadian ambassador to China Guy Saint-Jacques, the most likely response from Beijing is the expulsion of one of the Canadian diplomats who are on its territory. Given the economic difficulties that China is going through, he considers it unlikely that the regime will put other nationals under bars, as it did for Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor between 2018 and 2021. “In the circumstances, it is a quite appropriate decision, that’s what had to be done”, comments the retired diplomat.
Pressure for investigation
Justin Trudeau still claims he was unaware of Canadian Security Intelligence Service reports of threats to MP Michael Chong’s family before learning about it in the media. The government promises to shed light on what happened.
A motion by the Conservative Party aimed in particular at the dismissal of Mr. Zhao and a public inquiry into foreign interference was also adopted on Monday, by 170 votes to 150. The elected members of the Liberal Party of Canada, as well as the newly independent MP Han Dong, opposed it.
Monday’s Conservative motion, supported by the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party, also called for the creation of a registry of foreign agents and the “closing of police stations operated in Canada by the People’s Republic of China”.
The Prime Minister is counting on “special rapporteur” David Johnston to determine by May 23 whether a real public inquiry should be launched into foreign interference in Canada’s democratic institutions. The legitimacy of the former governor general has, however, been questioned given his previous functions at the Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau Foundation, itself targeted by allegations of Chinese interference.