Canada, China expel diplomats in escalating row

Canada, China expel diplomats in escalating row
By Rebecca BAILEY
Shanghai (AFP) May 9, 2023

China said Tuesday it was expelling Canada's consul in Shanghai, in a tit-for-tat move after Ottawa announced it was sending home a Chinese diplomat accused of trying to intimidate a lawmaker.

The expulsions have plunged the two nations into a fresh diplomatic row after years of souring relations.

They follow an outcry in Canada over allegations that Chinese intelligence had planned to target MP Michael Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong with sanctions for sponsoring a motion condemning Beijing's conduct in the Xinjiang region as genocide.

In response, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said Toronto-based Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei -- who allegedly played a role in the scheme -- would have to leave the country.

Canada, she said, would "not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs".

The Chinese foreign ministry on Tuesday condemned the decision to expel Zhao, and said it had ordered Canadian consul Jennifer Lynn Lalonde to leave the country by May 13.

"As a reciprocal countermeasure in reaction to Canada's unscrupulous move, China decides to declare Jennifer Lynn Lalonde, consul of the Consulate General of Canada in Shanghai persona non grata," the ministry said in a statement.

And foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin urged Canada to stop "unreasonable provocations".

"If the Canadian side doesn't listen to this advice and acts recklessly, (China) will take resolute and forceful retaliatory measures, and all consequences will be borne by the Canadian side," Wang told a regular press briefing.

A single police car was parked outside the Shanghai office building where the consulate is based, AFP journalists saw.

Inside, appointments appeared to be running as normal, and staff at reception said they were unaware of Tuesday's developments.

Neither Canada's foreign ministry nor its embassy in Beijing replied to requests for comment from AFP.

"We remain firm in our resolve that defending our democracy is of the utmost importance," Joly said Monday, adding that foreign diplomats in Canada "have been warned that if they engage in this type of behaviour, they will be sent home".

- 'Playground for interference' -

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has faced growing pressure to take a hard line on China following revelations in recent months that it sought to sway Canada's 2019 and 2021 elections in his party's favour.

Relations between Beijing and Ottawa have been tense since Canada's 2018 arrest of a top Huawei executive and the detention of two Canadian nationals in China in apparent retaliation.

All three have been released, but Beijing has continued to blast Ottawa for aligning with Washington's China policy, while Canadian officials have regularly accused China of interference.

After China's ambassador was summoned last week over the latest interference allegations, Beijing on Friday slammed what it called "groundless slander and defamation" by Canada.

The Chinese foreign ministry insisted the scandal had been "hyped up" by Canadian politicians and the media.

On Monday, Chong told reporters in Ottawa: "It shouldn't have taken the targeting of a member of Parliament to make this (expulsion) decision."

"We have known for years that the PRC is using its accredited diplomats here in Canada to target Canadians and their families," he said, using an acronym for the People's Republic of China.

He said Canada has become "a playground for foreign interference," including the harassment of diaspora communities.

The key issues straining China-Canada relations
Beijing (AFP) May 9, 2023 - Canada has expelled a Chinese diplomat accused of intimidating a lawmaker, with Beijing ordering Ottawa's consul in Shanghai to leave in a tit-for-tat move.

The expulsions are the latest episode in a souring of relations between the two countries that began five years ago:

- Arrest of Meng Wanzhou -

Their once-rosy relations began to sour in 2018 when Canadian police arrested Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, who is also the daughter of the Chinese telecom giant's billionaire founder.

The arrest, at the behest of the United States, was linked to fraud charges relating to Meng's alleged efforts to hide violations of US sanctions on Iran involving a Huawei affiliate.

Meng, who now serves as Huawei's rotating chairwoman, remained under house arrest in Vancouver for almost three years while fighting extradition to the United States.

- The two Michaels -

Days after Meng's arrest, China detained two Canadians: former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor.

Beijing was accused of using the two men in a bout of "hostage diplomacy" to pressure Ottawa into releasing Meng.

She was allowed to return to China in September 2021 after striking a deal with US prosecutors.

Hours after that deal was announced, the two Michaels -- who were detained for over 1,000 days -- were put on a plane home.

In December 2022, the US Justice Department dropped all charges against Meng.

- Uyghur 'genocide' -

Canada's growing outspokenness about China's alleged human rights violations has also worsened relations.

In 2021, Canadian lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to declare China's treatment of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in its northwestern Xinjiang region as "genocide".

MP Michael Chong led that effort -- prompting an alleged Chinese plan to target the lawmaker and his relatives in Hong Kong with sanctions.

And in February this year, Canada's parliament unanimously passed a non-binding proposal to take in 10,000 Uyghur refugees who have fled China but are now facing pressure to return.

- Tech battles -

The two countries have also traded barbs over tech, with Canada moving to curb the presence of Chinese firms in its communications infrastructure.

Last May, Ottawa said it would ban Huawei from Canada's 5G networks, citing concerns over national security. Chinese telecom firm ZTE was also banned.

Beijing said the restrictions were imposed "under the pretext of groundless security risks and without any solid evidence".

Canada in February this year followed the United States and the European Commission in banning the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok from all government devices.

- Xi-Trudeau spat -

The bad blood was on full display in November last year at the G20 summit in Indonesia, when Chinese President Xi Jinping gave Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau an on-camera dressing down.

Video recorded by reporters at the summit showed Xi scolding Trudeau over the leaked details of talks between them.

The comments came after Trudeau raised with Xi the issue of what he called Chinese "interference" with Canadian citizens and Beijing's alleged meddling with Canada's democratic and judicial systems.

- Diplomats expelled -

That issue has since ballooned.

Trudeau in March appointed a special rapporteur to investigate alleged Chinese interference in Canada's last two federal elections, accusations that Beijing denies.

The Globe and Mail, citing unidentified intelligence sources, reported in February that China worked to defeat conservative politicians considered unfriendly to Beijing.

The newspaper also later reported that Ottawa had turned a blind eye to Chinese interference in Canadian affairs.

Citing classified documents and an anonymous security source, it said Chinese intelligence had planned to target lawmaker Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong and "make an example" of him for his alleged anti-Beijing positions.

On Monday, Canada announced that it will expel the Chinese diplomat accused of trying to intimidate Chong.

China responded with a warning for Canada to "step back from the brink", and said it would kick out Ottawa's consul in Shanghai in retaliation.