Toronto (Canada), May 8 (EFE).- Canada announced on Monday the expulsion of a Chinese diplomat for interference in the politics of the North American country after being accused by the Canadian media of trying to intimidate the family of a deputy.
Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly announced Zhao Wei’s expulsion in a statement, saying she has declared the diplomat “persona non grata.”
“I have been very clear: we will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs. Diplomats in Canada have been warned that if they engage in this type of behavior they will be sent home,” she explained.
Last week, the Canadian newspaper “The Globe and Mail” published that Canada’s intelligence service, CSIS, had known since 2021 that the Chinese authorities were interested in obtaining information about the relatives of Canadian lawmaker Michael Chong in order to impose “potential sanctions” on them. .
The same story said that a Chinese diplomat in Ottawa, identified as Zhao Wei, was implicated in the attempt to locate relatives of the deputy, who are believed to be living in Hong Kong.
Alleged Chinese threats to Chong, a lawmaker for the opposition Conservative Party of Canada, have become an awkward issue for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has been accused of failing to stand up to China.
For his part, Trudeau has stated that CSIS never warned the government about the threats against Chong.
The expulsion of the Chinese diplomat comes two years after Canada and China closed the serious diplomatic crisis caused in 2018 by the arrest in Vancouver (Canada) of Huawei’s financial director, Meng Wanzhou, at the request of the United States, and the detention in China of two Canadian citizens, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.
Meng, Kovrig and Spavor were released simultaneously in 2021 following a three-way deal between Canada, the United States and China. EFE
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