China’s Canadian embassy criticized a “threat” to remove a Chinese Communist agent accused of harassing a Conservative MP and his family.. china-flag .Beijing said it would “play along until the very end.”.Canada's foreign ministry summoned Ambassador Cong Peiwu over allegations of a Chinese-led harassment campaign against Conservative MP Michael Chong for supporting a motion condemning Beijing's treatment of the Uygur minority as “genocide.”.On Monday, a report by the Globe and Mail cited classified documents and an anonymous security source that alleged Toronto-based Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei was part of a ministry of State Security spy operation against Chong and his family in Hong Kong..Melanie Joly, minister of Foreign Affairs, announced the Trudeau government is considering the expulsion of the Chinese diplomat..Joly said that the government is “assessing the consequences” of expelling a Chinese diplomat and that doing so would lead to “consequences” from China..“I think it’s important Canadians know what we’ve learned from the two Michaels experiences is that, of course, China and the PRC [People’s Republic of China] will take action. These interests, including economic interests, consular interests, and also diplomatic interests, will be affected,” said Joly..What happened to Chong is “completely unacceptable” and Joly takes the situation “extremely seriously.”.“You have all heard me say — and I’ve said it directly to my Chinese counterpart — that we will not tolerate any form of foreign interference, not in our democracy, not in our internal affairs, full stop,” said Joly..“I have made my expectations clear. All foreign agents in Canada must abide by the Vienna Convention. If they do not, there will be consequences.”.Following Joly summoning Peiwu, the Chinese embassy in Ottawa issued a statement saying: “In an attempt to make political gains and draw attention, driven by ideological bias, some Canadian politicians and media have been manipulating China-related issues, attacking and discrediting China.”.Previously, the embassy stated the allegations against the diplomat were “pure political manipulation with ulterior motives.”. Melanie JolyForeign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly .On Friday in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning dismissed the allegations as “complete nonsense” and stated necessary measures would be taken to “resolutely safeguard” Chinese interests..Chong called for the Trudeau government to expel Zhao and criticized the government for not informing him about the alleged threat two years ago, which was in a Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) report, according to the Globe and Mail..Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that CSIS did not inform him about the issue with Chong and his family because CSIS did not deem it “concerning enough.”.Trudeau directed CSIS to inform MPs immediately of any threats against them, regardless of the perceived credibility of the threats..In its statement Thursday, the Chinese embassy stated Peiwu “protested strongly over the Canadian side’s threat to expel the relevant Chinese diplomatic and consular personnel based on rumours of so-called China interference hyped up by some Canadian politicians and media.”.In March, Trudeau accused China, Iran, and Russia of “interfering” in Canadian society, including in Canada's elections in 2019 and 2021, allegations denied by Beijing..Regarding the accusations against its diplomat, the Chinese embassy said Beijing “strongly urges the Canadian side to immediately stop this self-directed political farce and not go further down the wrong and dangerous path.”.“Should the Canadian side continue to make provocations, China will play along every step of the way until the very end.”
