China expels Canadian diplomat in tit-for-tat response
China announced the expulsion of a Canadian diplomat on Tuesday in retaliation for Ottawa ordering a Chinese consular official to leave the country over alleged threats he made against a Canadian lawmaker and his family.
The Foreign Ministry said China was deploying a “reciprocal countermeasure to Canada’s unscrupulous move,” which it said it “firmly opposes,” AP reported.
It said Jennnifer Lynn Lalonde, the top Canadian diplomat in the business hub of Shanghai, has been asked to leave by May 13 and that China “reserves the right to take further actions in response.”
The Canadian Embassy in Beijing had no immediate comment on the expulsion order.
Canada earlier on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is expelling a Chinese diplomat whom Canada’s spy agency alleged was involved in a plot to intimidate an opposition lawmaker and his relatives in Hong Kong.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said in a statement that Canada declared Zhao “persona non grata” and that Canada would “not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs.”
“Diplomats in Canada have been warned that if they engage in this type of behavior, they will be sent home,” she said.
In a statement posted on its website, the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa said Zhao’s expulsion was “based on rumors of the so-called ‘China Interference’ hyped up by some politicians and media.”