Canadian MP urges for more cooperation to counter 'Beijing's efforts to interfere'

ISTANBUL (AA) - Canadian lawmaker Michael Chong urged members of a US congressional committee for more cooperation between Ottawa and Washington against Chinese interference.

“Canada must work more closely with Democratic allies like the United States and countering Beijing's efforts to interfere in our democratic life,” Chong told a US Congressional-Executive Commission on China on Tuesday.

“Foreign interference is a serious national security threat to Canada. It threatens our economy, our long-term prosperity, social cohesion, our parliament and our elections,” said Chong. “It requires a suite of measures to combat including closer cooperation amongst allied democracies.”

He said he is the child of immigrants from the Netherlands and Hong Kong and detailed how he was “the target of a disinformation campaign” on the Chinese language social media platform WeChat due to his criticisms of Beijing.

"My experience is but one case of Beijing's interference in Canada," he said. "Many, many other cases go unnoticed and unreported, and the victims suffer in silence.”

The conservative lawmaker was appointed as Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister in 2020.

“Canada must work toward a stronger defense and security partnership with the United States and allies,” he told the committee.

“We must look for every opportunity to strengthen this partnership to meet the challenge of rising authoritarianism and to preserve our fundamental freedoms, our democracy and the rule of law,” he added.

Earlier this year, Canada expelled Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei, who was accused of being involved in a plot to intimidate Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong.

China sanctioned Chong in 2021 after he led a motion in Canada’s parliament that condemned Beijing’s treatment of its Uyghur Muslim minority as a genocide – a charge the Chinese government has firmly rejected.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre presented a motion in the House of Commons asking MPs to demand the government take more drastic actions against all foreign interference threats, including expelling Chinese diplomats.