China to expel Canadian diplomat in tit-for-tat move

China’s foreign ministry will expel a Canadian diplomat from the country’s Shanghai consulate as a “reciprocal countermeasure” hours after Canada declared a Chinese diplomat in China’s Toronto consulate

China’s foreign ministry will expel a Canadian diplomat from the country’s Shanghai consulate as a “reciprocal countermeasure” hours after Canada declared a Chinese diplomat in China’s Toronto consulate as “persona non grata” over alleged involvement in a campaign to intimidate a Canadian legislator critical of Beijing.

“As a reciprocal countermeasure in reaction to Canada’s unscrupulous move, China decides to declare Jennifer Lynn Lalonde, consul of the Consulate General of Canada in Shanghai persona non grata,” China’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Lalonde has been asked to leave China before May 13, it added.

In a statement on Monday (May 8), Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said Ottawa would expel Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei over the intimidation campaign.

“I have been clear: we will 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 behaviour, they will be sent home,” Joly said.

The furore began last month when Canada’s The Globe and Mail newspaper reported that Beijing had sought information about a Canadian legislator’s relatives who may be in China in a likely effort to “make an example of this MP” by targeting his next of kin in order to deter others in Canada from taking positions against the People’s Republic of China (PRC).