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27-03-2023
OTTAWA: A Canadian member of parliament has stepped down from his party’s caucus over allegations he was involved in Chinese political interference.
Han Dong has been accused of lobbying a Chinese diplomat to keep two Canadians imprisoned in China.
On Wednesday, Dong said that he will leave Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s governing Liberal Party to sit as an independent.
Dong has denied the allegations against him.
“To all my colleagues in the parliament, media reports today quoting unverified and anonymous sources have attacked my reputation and called into question my loyalty to Canada,” Dong, who was elected to parliament in 2019, said in an emotional evening address to Canada’s House of Commons.
“Let me be clear, what has been reported is false. And I will defend myself against these absolutely untrue claims,” he said.
In an unconfirmed report published by Canadian media outlet Global News citing anonymous national security sources, Dong was accused of suggesting to China’s consul-general in Toronto, Han Tao, that the release of two imprisoned Canadians should be delayed.
The two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, were imprisoned in China for more than 1,000 days on spying charges. The pair became known worldwide as the “Two Michaels”.
Their detention was widely viewed as retaliation for the 2018 arrest of Huawei senior executive Meng Wanzhou in Canada at the request of the US, who was seeking her extradition on fraud charges.
According to the Global News report, Dong allegedly suggested to the diplomat in February 2021 that a release of the two Canadians would benefit the federal Conservative Party of Canada, which is seen as unfriendly to Beijing.
Kovrig and Spavor were eventually released on 24 September, 2021. The following day, Meng was released from detention in Canada and returned to China following a deal with US prosecutors.
The allegations against Dong come as Canada grapples with wider accusations that China attempted to interfere in the last two federal elections and a mayoral election in Vancouver. (Int’l News Desk)
