In a tit-for-tat move, Canada and China have both expelled each other’s diplomats. On Monday, Canada declared Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei persona non grata and asked him to leave the country. The next day, China responded by expelling Jennifer Lalonde, a diplomat at Canada’s consulate in Shanghai.
According to Canada, Zhao was part of a campaign to pressure Conservative MP Michael Chong and his extended family that lives in Hong Kong. Chong has been vocal in his anti-People’s Republic of China (PRC) stance, including sponsoring a motion to declare China’s alleged abuses against its minority Uyghur Muslim population as genocide.
The move to expel Zhao came days after Canadian media cited Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) documents that alleged the PRC had been working behind the scenes against Conservative candidates in elections and promoting Liberal party candidates. The head of the CSIS reportedly informed Chong after his vote on the Uyghur issue that he and his family were being targeted. Chong, however, stated that he was unaware of any attempts to influence him, but noted that he was hit with sanctions by China in 2021 after sponsoring the resolution.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly has indicated that additional Chinese diplomats could be expelled if such actions continue. The latest move marks another escalation in the ongoing diplomatic tensions between the two countries, which began after the 2018 arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver at the request of the United States.
It remains to be seen how this latest development will affect Canada-China relations moving forward.
