Beijing accuses Canada of being anti-China over envoy’s Hong Kong ‘threat’
- Ambassador Cong Peiwu criticised for comment about ‘health and safety’ of Canadians in Hong Kong if Canada gives asylum to the city’s activists
- Canadian leaders ‘did not verify, but also condoned’ criticism of Cong in their country’s media, Chinese foreign ministry says
“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], you should support those efforts to fight violent crimes,” Cong said in a video news conference from the Chinese embassy in Ottawa.
Cong was asked whether his remarks amounted to a threat, to which he replied, “That is your interpretation.”
On Saturday, the Toronto Sun published an editorial calling on Cong to either apologise or leave Canada. “It’s not enough for the Trudeau government to publicly scold Cong,” the paper said. “If he won’t apologise and retract his threats, boot him back to Beijing.”
Cherie Wong, the executive director of Alliance Canada Hong Kong, a group that advocates for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, called Cong’s comment 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 said.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian did not identify specific comments that he said resulted from a deliberate misinterpretation of Cong’s remarks, but said Canadian leaders “did not verify, but also condoned the anti-China comments spreading across the nation and made groundless accusations against China”.
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“We express strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to it and have lodged solemn complaints with the Canadian side,” Zhao told reporters on Monday at a daily briefing in Beijing.
The law outlaws subversive, secessionist and terrorist activity, as well as collusion with foreign powers to interfere in the city’s internal affairs. The US, Britain and Canada accuse China of infringing on the city’s freedoms.