‘PERSONA NON GRATA’

Canada Expels Chinese Diplomat Over ‘Foreign Interference’

An intelligence report accused Zhao Wei of trying to target a Canadian lawmaker critical of China’s treatment of its Uighur minority.

Canada will expel a Chinese diplomat over his alleged involvement in a plot to intimidate a Canadian lawmaker critical of Beijing and its treatment of the minority Uighur population. In a statement on Monday, Foreign Minister Mélanie Jolie said, “Canada has decided to declare persona non grata Mr. Zhao Wei. I have been clear: we will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs.” The Chinese embassy in Ottawa condemned Zhao’s expulsion, saying it had lodged a formal complaint with the Chinese government. “China will resolutely take countermeasures,” the embassy warned. The move comes after a report from Canada’s Globe and Mail that spy agency Canadian Security Intelligence Services had authored a 2021 report accusing China of looking for information on Conservative Party member Michael Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong. “It shouldn’t have taken two years for the government to make this decision,” Chong told reporters after the announcement, according to Reuters.