When Michael Chong put his name into the Canadian Parliament's proposal to declare China's treatment of the Muslim Uighur minority a genocide, he had little thought for his family .
But shortly after the proposal was accepted in 2021, Chinese intelligence agencies hunted down his Hong Kong relatives to send a harsh message to Mr. Chong.
>Scare tactics were designed to «lead by example»; Chong, who is highly critical of China's human rights record, and «keep others away from anti-PRC [People's Republic of China] stances,» according to the latest intelligence leak. week.
Michael Chong is a vocal critic of China's human rights situation. Photo: Fred Thornhill/Reuters
Canada late Monday night expelled a Toronto diplomat accused of involvement in a cross-border harassment campaign.
But the question that haunts Justin Trudeau's government is «why is it taking so long?» 39;
Mr Chong, the Conservative shadow foreign minister, told The Telegraph: “What is deeply disturbing and shocking is that the Canadian government knew that the [Chinese] diplomat in Toronto was involved and they did nothing about it. They didn't tell me about it.»
Mr Trudeau's critics said the latest scandal could be his most devastating because it points to a lack of control over security threats facing Canada and weakness in the face of Chinese intervention.
'Not a big enough problem'
Canada's liberal prime minister denies reports of a crackdown campaign that was detailed in a top-secret 2021 Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) report.
Two days after the information went public Last week, Mr. Trudeau said he was in the dark that he learned about the Chinese plot from a newspaper and blamed Canadian spies for not telling him.
He said: "We asked what happened to this information, was it ever informed from CSIS? It's not.
"CSIS has decided that this is not something to be escalated because it is not a serious enough problem"
However, in subsequent committee hearings, Jody Thomas, Trudeau's national security adviser, told a very different story.
The information was sent by CSIS to its department in the Privy Council office.
It left the Canadian public wondering what Mr. Trudeau knew and when he knew it.
Thursday. , Mr Chong told the House of Commons that Ms Thomas' version «contradicts what the Prime Minister said yesterday.»
In a heated debate, several other Conservative MPs accused the Liberals of " lies".
Then, at a press conference on Friday, Trudeau again blamed his own intelligence service.
He said: “I shared the best information I had at the time with both Chong and the Canadians. It is also clear that the information never reached the political level in my office, before me.
"We make it very, very clear to CSIS and our intelligence staff. that when there are concerns specific to any MP or their family, they need to be raised."
'A striking lack of competence'
Mr Chong told The Telegraph: “The prime minister has sole responsibility for the government apparatus. It's amazing that he chose to design the government machine in such a way that it wouldn't inform him of a major threat. At the very least, this is astounding incompetence.
"He also bears the primary responsibility for national security. This is an example of the government not taking national security and defense seriously.
"My case is one of many across the country. Canada has not expelled a single Chinese diplomat. We have come to this point because the government has not taken preliminary action.” He added, «Despite all the intelligence and all the reports of meddling in Canadian affairs.» They turned a blind eye to your deeds. And because they turned a blind eye, the PRC acted selflessly."
Remnants of recent scandals
Mr. Trudeau has already endured a series of high-profile ethical scandals over government decisions and others related to his holiday on the Aga Khan's private island, a $6,000 hotel room in London and the 'elbowgate' in which he allegedly elbowed a female MP.
A recent poll showed his 37% approval rating, the lowest since 2021, with 57% of Canadians disapproving of his performance.< /p>
According to a CSIS report, Mr. Chong was targeted after he led an attempt in Parliament to condemn China's treatment of Uyghurs as genocide.
The report also details how Chinese operatives tried to influence a series of parliamentary elections in 2019 and 2021.
The expulsion of diplomats is «against Canada's interests»
Melanie Jolie, foreign secretary the Chinese ambassador was summoned.
However, she pointed out that the expulsion of the diplomats would result in China taking action against «Canada's economic interests, consumer interests, as well as diplomatic interests."
She said: «I know we have to act fast, [but] we also have to make sure we protect our democracy.»
Mr Chong said he was taken aback by the response and that a Chinese diplomat who was looking for information about his relatives should be «sent away.»
He said the Canadian government is «virtually putting up a giant billboard for every authoritarian state in the world saying we're open to foreign interference…with no repercussions.»
Dennis Molinaro, former Canadian government analyst on national security, said that Canada should «follow the American model for more aggressive action against China when China is involved.»
He said, «I think the Canadian public is now aware of this, is aware of this, and supports much tougher measures.»
China dismissed allegations of meddling in Canadian affairs as «completely baseless.» and his ambassador Kong Peiu «strongly protested»; when he was called.
However, this was the latest in a list of alleged cases of Chinese interference in Canada. Kenny Chiu, a conservative politician who represented the Richmond, British Columbia area as an MP, said he was the victim of a Chinese disinformation campaign in the 2021 elections.
Mr. Chiu, a leading critic of Beijing's crackdown on Hong Kong protests, proposed introducing a Foreign Influence Register Law.
He said election interference was a «contributory factor.» 34; because he lost his seat.
About half of his voters were Chinese, and some relied on social media channels, in particular WeChat, to get news, which created «fertile ground for the spread of this disinformation».
Mr Chiu told The Telegraph: «He [Mr Trudeau] has been in denial and procrastination throughout all of this.»
"And lately he's been hiding behind anti-Asian racism. This guy, who doesn't know how many times he has dressed [in brown face], accuses us of racism.
He added: &# 34. This is exactly the same song sheet and narration that the Chinese Communist Party [ The CCP] has been used internationally in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
"This prime minister is a disgrace to me and Canadians should take a look at what is being done to protect Canada. He has done nothing to protect Canada.»
Mr Chiu said Canada faced «a very serious danger.» not only from the CCP, but also from Russian and Iranian interference.
He said: "If we don't do something about the most impudent ones, we are unfortunately sending a message that we weak, come, exploit and do dirty things here.
"This is not the signal we want to send to these regimes or our allies. Our status has already suffered."
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