Conservative MP Michael Chong has accused the Canadian federal government of not informing him of allegations that Beijing aimed to intimidate his family as part of China’s state interference in Canadian politics.
Citing a report in the Globe and Mail, Chong said Monday that he was “profoundly disappointed” to learn the authoritarian regime in China was targeting members of his family in Hong Kong. The Globe published a story Monday about a Canada Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) report from 2021 that said Chinese government officials sought information on an MP’s relatives, which CSIS suspected was a way to “deter” Canadian politicians from criticizing Beijing.
The newspaper also quoted an unnamed security official who said Chong was the MP and that a Chinese diplomat, Zhao Wei, was “working on the matter.”
The Star has not verified the Globe report.
Chong did not respond to an interview request on Monday.
In a statement on social media, Chong said he is concluding that the government decided not to inform him of this information, since it was never mentioned in CSIS briefings he has received about China. He also blamed the governing Liberals for failing to expel the Chinese diplomat named in the Globe report, which he said shows a “complete lack of leadership and common decency.”
“It is obvious and dumbfounding that the government continues to turn a blind eye to the threat of foreign interference,” Chong’s statement said.
“What happened should be a wake-up call for the whole government. An authoritarian state targeted the family of an elected MP to try to change the course of a domestic debate about our country’s foreign policy, and the government knew this and did nothing.”
The Prime Minister’s Office forwarded questions about Chong’s statement to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino. In an emailed statement, Mendicino’s press secretary, Audrey Champoux, did not say whether the government knew of the information made public Monday. Instead, she rejected Chong’s conclusion that the government should have informed him about the “deeply concerning” report of Beijing’s alleged targeting of his family.
“It is categorically false to suggest that the Prime Minister’s Office or any other across government told CSIS not to inform Mr. Chong of these serious issues. We have directed officials to follow up with him immediately. It is up to CSIS, and CSIS alone, to decide what information to share,” Champoux’s statement said.
“Any intimidation of a Member of Parliament — or any Canadian — by a foreign government is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” she added.
CSIS did not respond to questions from the Star on Monday.
Chong, the MP for Wellington—Halton Hills, is the Conservative party’s shadow minister of foreign affairs. In recent years, he has been a vocal critic of the Communist government in China. Along with his party, Chong has denounced the regime in Beijing for its repression of Uyghur Muslims, which the House of Commons declared was “genocide” in 2021. He also called for the federal government to exclude Chinese telecom company Huawei from Canada’s 5G cell network infrastructure, and was among the many MPs who criticized Beijing for jailing two Canadians — Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor — after Mounties arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. extradition warrant in 2018.
The Chinese government sanctioned Chong in 2021, barring him doing business or entering the country.
In recent months, concerns about China’s alleged interference in Canadian politics have been fuelled by a series of media reports. The Liberal government has responded by tasking former governor general David Johnston with determining whether the public inquiry opposition parties are demanding is warranted, a decision is expected later in May.
Meanwhile, parliamentary committees studying the issue have questioned a series of officials and experts. The government and top security officials have stressed that, while foreign interference is a problem, efforts to influence politicians and the electorate did not sway the overall results of the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.