China accuses Canada of condoning alleged anti-China remarks

Beijing, October 19

China mentioned Monday that it has complained to Canada for allegedly condoning anti-China feedback that appeared in Canadian media following controversial remarks made by the Chinese ambassador.

Ties between the international locations are at their lowest level in years amid China’s outrage over Canada’s detention of a high government of Chinese telecom large Huawei.

Last week, China’s ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu, branded pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong as violent criminals and mentioned if Canada grants them asylum it might quantity to interference in China’s inner affairs.

“If the Canadian side really cares about the stability and the prosperity in Hong Kong, and really cares about the good health and safety of those 300,000 Canadian passport-holders in Hong Kong, and the large number of Canadian companies operating in Hong Kong SAR, you should support those efforts to fight violent crimes,” Cong mentioned final week in a video information convention from the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa.

Cong was requested whether or not his remarks amounted to a risk, to which he replied, “That is your interpretation.” On Saturday, the Toronto Sun revealed an editorial calling on Cong to both apologise or go away Canada.

“It’s not enough for the Trudeau government to publicly scold Cong,” the paper mentioned. “If he won’t apologise and retract his threats, boot him back to Beijing.” Cherie Wong, the manager director of Alliance Canada Hong Kong, a bunch that advocates for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy motion, referred to as Cong’s remark a “direct threat” to all Canadians.

“It should not be lost on Canadians living in Hong Kong or China, they could be next. Ambassador Cong suggested so himself,” Wong mentioned.

Chinese international ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian didn’t establish particular feedback that he mentioned resulted from a deliberate misinterpretation of Cong’s remarks, however mentioned Canadian leaders “did not verify, but also condoned the anti-China comments spreading across the nation and made groundless accusations against China”.             

“We express strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to it and have lodged solemn complaints with the Canadian side,” Zhao informed reporters Monday at a each day briefing.

Protests towards the Hong Kong and mainland Chinese governments swelled final 12 months, and Beijing clamped down on expressions of anti-government sentiment within the metropolis with a brand new nationwide safety legislation that took impact June 30.

The legislation outlaws subversive, secessionist and terrorist exercise, in addition to collusion with international powers to intervene within the metropolis’s inner affairs. The U.S., Britain and Canada accuse China of infringing on town’s freedoms.

At the information convention, Cong additionally flatly rejected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s assertion that China is participating in coercive diplomacy by imprisoning two Canadian males in retaliation for the arrest of a Chinese Huawei government on an American extradition warrant. The government, Meng Wanzhou, resides underneath home arrest in Vancouver whereas her case wends by means of a British Columbia courtroom.

In December 2018, China imprisoned two Canadian males, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, and charged them with undermining China’s nationwide safety. Convicted Canadian drug smuggler Robert Schellenberg was additionally sentenced to demise in a sudden retrial shortly after Meng’s arrest. AP