China expelled its diplomat in response to Canada’s action
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China’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that it strongly opposes Canada’s “irrational move” and China is taking similar actions in response. It said Canadian diplomat Lynn Lalonde, posted in Shanghai, has been asked to leave the country by May 13. It also said that “China reserves the right to take further steps in response”.
China has announced the expulsion of a Canadian diplomat in response to ordering a Chinese embassy official there to leave the country for allegedly threatening a Canadian lawmaker and his family. China’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that it strongly opposes Canada’s “irrational move” and China is taking similar actions in response. It said Canadian diplomat Lynn Lalonde, posted in Shanghai, has been asked to leave the country by May 13. It also said that “China reserves the right to take further steps in response”.
There was no immediate comment from the Canadian Embassy in Beijing on the order. Earlier, Canada said on Tuesday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is expelling a Chinese diplomat who has been accused by Canada’s spy agency of being involved in a conspiracy to threaten an opposition lawmaker and his family members in Hong Kong. . China took over the former British colony in 1997, and in recent years has systematically broken an agreement to uphold unique political and civil rights for 50 years by dismantling its democratic institutions and a free press .
China routinely threatens family members of people of Chinese descent, particularly in order to silence criticism from minority groups. A senior government official in Canada said Zhao Wei, a diplomat posted in Toronto, has five days to leave the country. It is not clear whether Zhao is still in Canada. Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Jolly said in a statement that Canada has declared Zhao a “persona non grata” and that Canada will not tolerate any foreign interference in its internal affairs. “Diplomats in Canada have been warned that if they continue to behave like this, they will be sent home,” he said.
Canada’s intelligence service indicated that opposition Conservative MP Michael Chong and his relatives living in Hong Kong were targeted in 2021 after Chong criticized China’s human rights record. The Canadian spy agency has not made the details public. Chong has been critical of Beijing’s treatment of members of the Muslim Uighur community in China’s Xinjiang province. Chong said that Zhao’s ouster should have happened years ago. The Chinese embassy in Ottawa said in a statement on its website, “China never interferes in the internal affairs of other countries.”
Disclaimer:IndiaTheNews has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.
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