Chinese spies in Canada's domestic politics harassing lawmaker and family

As pressure mounts on Justin Trudeau to launch a public inquiry into Beijing’s attempts to interfere in the country’s domestic politics, a Canadian politician in power has accused government officials of ignoring China’s efforts to harass his family. China’s intelligence is allegedly harassing Michael Chong in response to his criticism of Beijing’s violations of human rights. Multiple media reports by The Globe and Mail have earlier backed Chong’s claim that China’s spy agency sought information about Michael Chong’s family in Hong Kong “for further potential sanctions.” Zhao Wei, a Chinese diplomat based in Toronto, was reportedly involved in the harassment campaign, according to the newspaper report. Chong told reporters on Wednesday afternoon, “The government did nothing about a person in Canada who was targeting me, my family, and other members of parliament.” Must Read: Chinese journos across world, especially women, targeted by Beijing-employed troll armies “The government knew about this two years ago and did nothing,” he said. They didn’t kick [Zhao] out. He continued, “In fact, they continued to accredit this individual as a diplomat, giving this individual special rights and immunities not afforded to Canadians, allowing this individual to continue the correction and intimidation campaign.” He added that he believed the decision to not notify him was motivated by “political calculations.” He described the failure as the result of the prime minister’s “appalling breakdown of leadership.” In 2021, Chong spearheaded a push to organise a parliamentary vote to declare China’s treatment of the Uyghur minority as genocide. Chong has been a vocal critic of Beijing. He said that he cut off touch with his family in Hong Kong years ago out of “an abundance of caution” for their safety and that he is ignorant of any threats or harassment that they may have encountered. Chong claimed that while he and other parliamentarians were briefed by CSIS on generic concerns from foreign influence in 2021, no details were ever brought up by the intelligence agency. Several Canadian politicians have urged Justin Trudeau to convene a public probe into China’s electoral interference. Reports say, later this month, a recently appointed special rapporteur named David Johnston is anticipated to decide whether to launch an inquiry. Trudeau claims Trudeau meanwhile claimed that he did not know about what Chang was going through until he read the news article. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), according to the prime minister, later informed him that it “wasn’t a significant enough concern” to alert him. According to Trudeau, the nation’s spy service needs to do a better job alerting the federal government of threats against politicians and their families. The Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, had earlier in the day stated he found it “very hard to believe” that CSIS wouldn’t alert the prime minister or his senior minister of public safety to the threats. “This is crazy. You are aware that if any of you were to threaten an MP’s family over a Commons vote, you would all face jail time. Not only is this person out of jail, but he also has diplomatic immunity and is in Canada,” Poilievre said. Chinese in Canada claims China’s consulate general in Toronto claimed on Thursday that Canadian media and politicians had ulterior motivations and that a report of consular agents “coercing” a Canadian lawmaker and his family had “no factual basis” and was “pure baseless,” a clear reference to Chong. “We express strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this,” said a consular statement. Read all the Latest News, Trending News,  Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.