BEIJING 09 May (Online): China said on Tuesday that it was expelling Canada\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The expulsions have plunged the two nations into a fresh diplomatic row after years of souring relations.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s conduct in the Xinjiang region as genocide.<\/p>\n
In response, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said Toronto-based Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei \u2014 who allegedly played a role in the scheme \u2014 would have to leave the country.<\/p>\n
Canada, she said, would \u201cnot tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs\u201d.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a reciprocal countermeasure in reaction to Canada\u2019s unscrupulous move, China decides to declare Jennifer Lynn Lalonde, consul of the Consulate General of Canada in Shanghai persona non grata,\u201d the ministry said in a statement.<\/p>\n
A single police car was parked outside the Shanghai office building where the consulate is based, AFP journalists saw.<\/p>\n
Inside, appointments appeared to be running as normal, and staff at reception said they were unaware of Tuesday\u2019s developments.<\/p>\n
Neither Canada\u2019s foreign ministry nor its embassy in Beijing replied to requests for comment from AFP.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe remain firm in our resolve that defending our democracy is of the utmost importance,\u201d Joly said Monday, adding that foreign diplomats in Canada \u201chave been warned that if they engage in this type of behaviour, they will be sent home\u201d.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s 2019 and 2021 elections in his party\u2019s favour.<\/p>\n
Relations between Beijing and Ottawa have been tense since Canada\u2019s 2018 arrest of a top Huawei executive and the detention of two Canadian nationals in China in apparent retaliation.<\/p>\n
All three have been released, but Beijing has continued to blast Ottawa for aligning with Washington\u2019s China policy, while Canadian officials have regularly accused China of interference.<\/p>\n
After China\u2019s ambassador was summoned last week over the latest interference allegations, Beijing on Friday slammed what it called \u201cgroundless slander and defamation\u201d by Canada.<\/p>\n
The Chinese foreign ministry insisted the scandal had been \u201chyped up\u201d by Canadian politicians and the media.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Chong told reporters in Ottawa: \u201cIt shouldn\u2019t have taken the targeting of a member of Parliament to make this (expulsion) decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have known for years that the PRC is using its accredited diplomats here in Canada to target Canadians and their families,\u201d he said, using an acronym for the People\u2019s Republic of China.<\/p>\n
He said Canada has become \u201ca playground for foreign interference,\u201d including the harassment of diaspora communities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BEIJING 09 May (Online): China said on Tuesday that it was expelling Canada\u2019s 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 […]<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78323,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[270],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-news"],"yoast_head":"\n