‘Persona non grata’: Canada expels Chinese diplomat
Posted May 8, 2023 2:30 pm.
Last Updated May 8, 2023 3:23 pm.
The Trudeau government is expelling a Chinese diplomat whom Canada’s spy agency alleged was involved in a plot to intimidate Conservative MP Michael Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong.
“I want to take this opportunity to inform the House that the Government of Canada has declared the individual in question today, a diplomat from China, Mr. Zhao Wei, persona non grata,” Parliamentary Secretary to Global Affairs Robert Oliphant said in the House of Commons Monday.
The federal government goes on to say in a statement that it will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in its internal affairs.
Diplomats in Canada have been warned that if they engage in this type of behaviour, they will be sent home.
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The speaker of the House of Commons has ruled a prima facie case that Chong’s privileges have been breached, and it’s been referred to a committee for further study.
“Very, very comforted by the fact that Parliament has risen to the occasion to take on its role in defending members of this House, where the executive branch of government has failed,”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this past weekend any decision to expel Chinese diplomats over alleged attempts to threaten Chong were being made “very, very carefully.”
Trudeau previously noted his government needs to consider potential Chinese backlash and what that would mean for the safety of Canadians and the prosperity of the country.
“This is a serious and significant question,” Trudeau said Sunday, speaking with reporters in London.
“This is a decision not to be taken lightly and the foreign minister is leaning into this very, very carefully.”
The Trudeau Liberals have faced days of criticisms and questions over this scenario, after it was revealed in a report in the Globe and Mail that CSIS had information in 2021 that the Chinese government was looking at ways to intimidate him and his extended family in Hong Kong.
The revelation about Chong was the latest in a string of foreign interference attempts allegedly made by the Chinese government in Canada in recent years, including efforts to influence the results of the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
China has insisted it does not interfere in other countries’ internal affairs but says it will respond to what it calls provocations.
