Liberals vote against expelling Chinese Communist agents, foreign agent registry | Western Standard - Christopher Oldcorn:
May 9, 2023 - "MPs went against the Trudeau government and voted 170 to 150 in favour of rounding up Chinese spies and requiring foreign agents to register in Canada.... A Conservative motion endorsed by New Democrat, Bloc Québécois and Green MPs demanded that the government 'expel China diplomats responsible for and involved in affronts to Canadian democracy' and 'immediately create a foreign agent registry similar to Australia and the United States.' Liberal MPs rejected the motion as too hasty even as the government finalized its first expulsion of a Chinese envoy, Zhao Wei.."
Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/news/liberals-vote-against-expelling-chinese-communist-agents-foreign-agent-registry/article_a9e922a8-ee64-11ed-8c5d-873ac3112ea9.html
China expels Canadian diplomat in tit-for-tat move | BBC News - Chloe Kim & Kelly Ng:
May 10, 2023 - "China has expelled Canada's consul in Shanghai in retaliation for Ottawa sending home a Chinese diplomat accused of trying to intimidate a Canadian MP. On Monday, Canada declared China's diplomat Zhao Wei 'persona non grata' and ordered her to leave the country. In response, China on Tuesday ordered the removal of Jennifer Lynn Lalonde, Canada's diplomat in its Shanghai Consulate.... Both diplomats have five days to exit the countries. The censures mark a significant deterioration in relations between Ottawa and Beijing following reports of alleged Chinese political interference in Canada.
"Canada had accused China of targeting ... opposition lawmaker Michael Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong after Mr Chong accused China of human rights abuses. Last Thursday, Canada summoned China's ambassador to reiterate that Canada would not tolerate interference in its affairs.... Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly on Monday declared Mr Zhao a 'persona non grata', a Latin phrase for an 'unwelcome person'. China called the move 'unscrupulous' and declared the same of Ms Lalonde - saying it was a 'reciprocal countermeasure'....
"The move by Ottawa follows a Canadian intelligence report, which emerged in the Globe and Mail newspaper, that accused Mr Zhao of being involved in gathering information about Mr Chong, 51, following his vocal criticism China's treatment of its Uyghur minority population.... Canada's spy agency [CSIS] believes China sought details about Mr Chong's relatives in Hong Kong in an effort to deter 'anti-China positions'. The politician put forward a motion in parliament in 2021 that declared China's treatment of Uyghurs a genocide. China has denied the accusations and sanctioned Mr Chong shortly after....
"'China strongly condemns and firmly opposes this and has lodged serious démarches and strong protest to Canada,' China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday. China last week accused Canada of 'slander and defamation' over the claims Beijing targeted Mr Chong and his family....
"The allegations come amid other intelligence reports, leaked to Canadian media outlets, that have accused China of attempting to interfere in Canadian elections. In March, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an independent special rapporteur to investigate the interference claims."
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65529185
China expels Canadian consul in retaliation for Ottawa expelling Chinese diplomat | CBC News, May 9. 2023:
No comments:
Post a Comment