The federal government is expelling a Chinese diplomat accused of harassing a Canadian MP of Chinese descent who criticized Beijing’s conduct against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang as genocide..The Foreign Affairs department has reportedly labelled Zhao Wei as persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country after it was revealed he was “targeting” Conservative MP Micheal Chong and gathered information on his family in Hong Kong.."We will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs," Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said in a statement posted on Twitter.."Diplomats in Canada have been warned that if they engage in this type of behaviour, they will be sent home.".“This decision has been taken after careful consideration of all factors at play. We remain firm in our resolve that defending our democracy is of the utmost importance.”.China’s reaction was swift. Monday afternoon the Chinese embassy in Ottawa posted a statement on the Chinese government’s WeChat social media app that said in Mandarin that it would be “ a resolute and powerful response” as per Google translate. Others translated it as a “powerful counterattack.” .Western Standard could not confirm the accuracy of the translation, but there has been no official statement in English on the embassy website..An unnamed security official reportedly told The Globe and Mail last week that Chong and his family were targets of Chinese interference as far back as 2021..Chong has represented the Ontario riding of Wellington-Halton since 2004. In 2017 he ran for the leadership of the CPC and in 2021 sponsored a resolution in the House of Commons that was unanimously supported by members of all parties calling the treatment of Uyghurs genocide..More to come…
