Chinese Ambassador Cong Peiwu denied on Thursday that a Beijing official had targeted a Canadian politician and his family as a result of his country’s criticism of China. He also criticised Ottawa’s comment that the government was contemplating removing a Chinese ambassador.
Melanie Joly, Canada’s Foreign Minister, earlier said that she was “assessing different options, including the expulsion of diplomats.”
Michael Chong, a conservative member of parliament, submitted a successful motion in 2021 that formally acknowledged China’s Uyghur Muslim minority’s genocide.
The Globe and Mail, a Canadian newspaper, said on Monday that China had demanded information on Chong and his family in China in 2021, likely to “make an example” of him and “deter others from taking an anti-PRC position,” using an abbreviation for China’s official name.
On Thursday, a senior Canadian foreign ministry official phoned Cong, claiming he “strongly protested” the “threat” to remove a Chinese ambassador due to “rumors of so-called’China Interference.”
“China strongly urges the Canadian side to immediately stop this self-directed political farce,” Cong said in a statement on the embassy’s website, adding that Canada should “not go further down the wrong and dangerous path.”
On Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he found out about the intelligence assessment in the press and scolded the spy agency for failing to notify him sooner.
Chong, on the other hand, claimed on Thursday that Trudeau’s national security adviser told him on Thursday that the data was shared with the Privy Council Office in 2021.
Trudeau’s remarks last week comparing Chinese-produced lithium to slave labor prompted sharp condemnation from China, and late Wednesday, China warned Canada that if it kept “denigrating maliciously” the human rights situation in China, it would face consequences.
