China on Friday castigated Canada's "
slander and defamation
" of summoning its ambassador to Ottawa and considering expelling Chinese diplomats, accused of seeking to intimidate a Canadian lawmaker critical of Beijing.
The Canadian daily Globe and Mail published a report on Monday saying that the government has turned a blind eye to alleged "
interference
" by Chinese authorities in Canadian affairs.
Uyghur “genocide”
Conservative Canadian MP Michael Chong and his family, who live in Hong Kong, have reportedly come under pressure because of the parliamentarian's criticism of Beijing.
Opposition MPs to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau demanded this week that the government take responsibility for the outcry.
In this context, the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Chinese ambassador on Thursday to discuss these allegations of intimidation and could also respond by expelling diplomats.
“
Canada unfoundedly slanders and defames the normal functioning of Chinese embassies and consulates in Canada
,” Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told reporters on Friday.
“
China is strongly dissatisfied with it and is firmly opposed to it
”, she underlined, assuring that the Chinese ambassador had “
informed the official of the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
” of his “
strong protests
”.
Read alsoWhy is Canada at open war with China?
Citing classified documents and an unnamed source, the Globe and Mail says China's intelligence agency planned to target Michael Chong for voting in February 2021 in favor of a motion equating China's treatment of his Uyghur minority to "
genocide
".
The Uyghurs, mainly Muslims, are the main ethnic group in Xinjiang (northwestern China), a region long hit by bloody attacks attributed by the authorities to Islamists and Uyghur separatists.
In the name of anti-terrorism, the Chinese authorities launched a vast campaign of repression in the mid-2010s.
The United States, which has erected China as a rival, speaks of “
genocide
”.
The UN raises the possibility of crimes against humanity.
Western studies accuse China of having interned more than a million Uyghurs and members of other Muslim ethnic groups a few years ago in "
re-education camps
", even of imposing "
forced labor
".
China denounces biased reports and speaks of "
vocational training centers
" intended to develop employment and eradicate extremism.
