China briefly expels Canadian diplomat

Following reports of Chinese political interference in Canada, denial has hit a huge dent in relations between Ottawa and Beijing.

Canada accused China of targeting opposition lawyer Michael Zhang and his relatives in Hong Kong, after Mr. Zhang accused China of human rights abuses.

Last Thursday, Canada called the Chinese ambassador and reiterated that it will not tolerate interference in Canada’s work. Diplomatic relations between the two countries have been strained since Huawei Technologies CEO Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada in 2018 on US fraud charges, and Beijing later arrested the two Canadians on espionage charges. All three will be released in 2021.

The minister published a government bill declaring China’s treatment of the Uighur genocide in 2021. China denied the allegations and soon took action against Mr. Zhuang.

Ms Jolly said on Monday that Canada “will not tolerate any foreign interference in our internal affairs” and that the decision to dismiss the ambassador “was made after good consideration of all the consequences”.

Later, Canadian spy agencies were ordered to report on threats to members of Parliament and their families.

China’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday: “China has voiced its opposition to and against it, and has accepted significant representation and objections with Canada.”
China last week accused Canada of “slandering and humiliating” Beijing’s accusations against Mr. Zhuang and his family.

Conservative MP Mr. Chong on Monday criticized the Liberal Party leader for the wrong decision: “It shouldn’t have taken the government two years to make this decision”.

The allegations come with other intelligence reports given to Canadian media alleging that China is trying to interfere in Canadian elections.

In March, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment of a special envoy to investigate allegations of interference.