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Canadian diplomat expelled from China in retaliatory move

() — China expelled a Canadian diplomat in Shanghai on Tuesday, a day after Canada announced it would expel a Chinese diplomat over allegations he was involved in attempts to intimidate a Canadian politician.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it strongly condemned the expulsion of Toronto-based diplomat Zhao Wei, and that, as a “reciprocal countermeasure,” it would declare Jennifer Lynn Lalonde, consul of the Consulate persona non grata. General of Canada in Shanghai.

According to the statement, Lalonde has been asked to leave China by May 13.

Canada took steps to expel Zhao on Monday, with Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly declaring: “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 conduct, they will be sent home.”

The news follows mounting public pressure on the Canadian government to respond following revelations that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) discovered that a Chinese diplomat accredited to the country had made moves against opposition lawmaker Michael Chong and family members who may be Chinese, after he sponsored a motion to condemn China’s treatment of his Uyghur Muslim minority group.

The Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail first reported this information earlier this month, which comes amid public outrage over the accusations that China tried to meddle in the 2019 and 2021 Canadian elections.

Beijing has repeatedly denied accusations of political interference in Canada. A statement from the Chinese embassy in Canada, released Monday after the expulsion announcement, called the allegations “baseless” and added that the move would undermine relations between China and Canada.

Those relations have already suffered significant strains in recent years, notably following Beijing’s detention of two Canadians in China in a move widely seen as retaliation for Canada’s 2018 detention of Chinese businesswoman Meng Wanzhou.

Beijing repeatedly denied their cases were political retaliation, but the two men, former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor, were released on the same day Canada allowed Meng to return to China in 2021.

Public concern has also grown over alleged Chinese interference within the country, including through the operation of police stations abroad and the monitoring of freedom of expression in the country, which has a large community of people with Chinese descent.

rising pressure

Accusations of Chinese meddling in Canadian politics have become a growing challenge for the government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who earlier this year launched an investigation to identify and combat foreign meddling in elections and Canada democracy.

Trudeau claimed that the intelligence services did not inform him about the alleged persecution of Chong. His Foreign Ministry summoned Chinese Ambassador to Canada Cong Peiwu last week after media reports on intelligence services.

Chong, who represents the Wellington-Halton Hills district in Ontario, had called for Zhao’s ouster and criticized the Trudeau government for moving too slowly.

In a statement posted to Twitter on May 1, Chong said he learned of the information — referenced in a 2021 CSIS report — through the Globe and Mail report, despite being told by CSIS on general threats of foreign interference.

“Like many Canadians, I have family abroad. The PRC (People’s Republic of China) targeting family abroad to intimidate and coerce Canadians here at home is a serious national threat,” Chong wrote in the statement, in which he says he has family in Hong Kong.

Chong was one of several political figures sanctioned by China in March 2021 in what Beijing called a response to US and Canadian sanctions against people and entities in its western Xinjiang region “based on rumors and disinformation.”

China has been accused of committing serious human rights violations that may amount to crimes against humanity in its treatment of the Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the region. Beijing denies the accusations and human rights groups have documented their efforts to silence international attention on the situation in the area.

In February 2021, the Canadian Parliament passed a non-binding motion stating that China’s treatment of Uighurs in the Xinjiang region constitutes genocide.

repercussions?

China has not yet specified what “countermeasures” it can take in response to Zhao’s expulsion, but these could include expelling a diplomat from Canada’s mission in China.

Beijing also has a long history of using economic or trade measures to express dissatisfaction with its diplomatic partners.

The expelled diplomat, Zhao, was listed on the Department of World Affairs’ register of foreign diplomats as an employee of the Chinese consulate in Toronto, the Globe and Mail reported earlier this month.

His name did not appear Monday night in a search of the directory of Chinese representatives abroad.

Before naming Zhao “persona non grata” on Monday, Foreign Minister Joly said last week that Canada’s government had to carefully consider how China might react to a Canadian response.

China would “of course” take action against Canada’s “economic interests, consumer interests and also diplomatic interests,” Joly told lawmakers on Thursday, adding that “I know we are under pressure to go fast, (but) We also have to make sure that we protect our democracy.”

— Shawn Deng of in Toronto contributed reporting.

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