Canada Summons Chinese Envoy over Political Interference Allegations

Ottawa, May 5 (IANS) Canada has summoned Chinese Ambassador Cong Peiwu over allegations of political interference and intimidation, the media reported.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly disclosed the news on Thursday during a heated exchange in Ottawa with opposition lawmaker Michael Chong, now at the centre of the accusations against China, reports CNN.

Chong was allegedly targeted for harassment by Beijing, and has fiercely criticized the slow response of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government.

Joly also told MPs during a foreign affairs committee session that Canada is considering taking retaliatory action against China and that "all options are on the table", including diplomatic expulsions.

However, she admitted Canada's government was carefully weighing the possibility of retaliation by China, which denies interfering in Canadian political affairs.

"Of course China and the PRC (People's Republic of China) will take action (against) these interests including economic interest, consumer interest and also diplomatic interest, will be affected and therefore, but it's about also the interests of the country so as we are assessing the interest and I know that we are under pressure to go fast we need to make sure as well that we protect our democracy," CNN quoted the Foreign Affairs Minister as saying.

According to a Canadian intelligence report that first emerged in the Globe and Mail newspaper, Chong, a Conservative politician in Canada, was targeted by the Chinese government after he put forward a motion in parliament in 2021 that declared Beijing's treatment of its ethnic Uyghur minority population a genocide.

China has denied the accusations and sanctioned Chong shortly after in response, reports the BBC.

The Globe and Mail report, published on Monday, suggested that Beijing had sought information about Chong's relatives who may be in Hong Kong in a likely effort to "make an example of this MP and deter others from taking anti-PRC positions".

In a statement to the BBC, China's Foreign Embassy said the Ambassador "protested strongly" during his meeting with Canadian officials about the threat to expel Chinese diplomats.

Calling the allegations a "self-directed political farce", the Embassy said: "China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Trudeau has said that he only learned about the issue after the Globe and Mail report.