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(Bloomberg) -- Canadian Prime Minister said there’s no room for “rapprochement” with China as President Xi Jinping’s muscular foreign policy has made a normal relationship between the countries impossible, for now.
“China has made decisions over the past years that have made it more difficult — not just for Canada but for other countries — to engage,” Trudeau said in an interview Thursday.
The prime minister acknowledged that when he came to power in 2015, he had hoped to work toward a free trade deal with China. But the relationship between the two nations turned hostile in 2018 when Canada arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a US extradition request, prompting China to detain two Canadians and impose embargoes on some Canadian food exports.
Prime Minister Trudeau said government will follow the recommendation and not call an inquiry.
David Johnston has recommended against calling a public inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian politics.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government will follow that recommendation.
Johnston's decision comes after all opposition parties have called for an inquiry and after the government itself said it would support one — if Johnston recommended it.
"When I began this process, I thought I would come to the same conclusion — that I would recommend a public inquiry," Johnston said in a news conference Tuesday.
"While it would have been an easy choice, it would not be the correct one."
WNU Editor: All polls are saying the same thing. Three-quarters of Canadians want a public inquiry on foreign interference in Canadian elections. Talk about going against the will of the people.
A person who was appointed by the Prime Minister to investigate Chinese election interference wasalso a member of the Trudeau foundation that received funds from a Chinese citizen with ties to the Chinese government. This Special Rapporteur, David Johnson, should have excused himself immediately once that became public knowledge. But he choose not to.
Erin O'Toole was the leader of the Conservative Party who were the primary targets of the Chinese government in the last two Canadian Federal elections. But he was only interviewed by David Johnson and his team after the report and its conclusions were already submitted and being translated into French.
What a country!
Update: The new leader of the Conservative Party is showing some backbone (see video below).
No Public Inquiry In Canada On Chinese Election Interference
OTTAWA - The Liberal government is expelling Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei, whom Canada's spy agency alleged was involved in a plot to intimidate Conservative MP Michael Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly wrote in a statement that Canada has declared the Toronto-based diplomat as "persona non grata."
"We will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs," she wrote.
"Diplomats in Canada have been warned that if they engage in this type of behaviour, they will be sent home."
Joly's statement came just as MPs were voting in favour of a Conservation motion calling for certain diplomats to be expelled and for the government to call a public inquiry into foreign interference.
OTTAWA - The Liberal government is summoning China's ambassador over allegations by Canada's spy agency that a Chinese diplomat in Toronto was involved in a plot to intimidate a Conservative MP and his family.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Thursday she asked her deputy minister to tell Chinese Ambassador Cong Peiwu that Canada will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in its affairs.
Joly confirmed media reports that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service believes a diplomat working out of China's Toronto consulate had targeted Conservative MP Michael Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong, due to his criticism of Beijing's human-rights record.
Will sit as an Independent, vows to refute 'absolutely untrue claims'
Han Dong, the Toronto-area MP at the centre of allegations involving Chinese government interference in Canada's affairs, says he is leaving the Liberal caucus and will sit as an Independent.
"I'm taking this extraordinary step because to [sit] in the government caucus is a privilege and my presence there may be seen by some as a conflict of duty and the wrong place to be as an independent investigation pursues the facts in this matter," he said , reading a statement in the House of Commons on Wednesday night.
"I will be sitting as the Independent so that business of government and indeed the bills of Parliament is not interrupted as I work to clear my name and the truth is presented to Parliament and to Canadian people."
WNU Editor: This is one of many leaks in the past few months coming from Canada's spy agencies on Chinese influence in recent Canadian elections, and within the Canadian government itself. What is astounding is that Prime Minister Trudeau must have learned about all of these allegations, but choose not to do anything. It is only through these leaks that the public is now getting a glimpse on possible Chinese government interference, and not surprising, we are now finally seeing the government finally acting on it.
Also not surprising. The Trudeau government wants to know who in the intelligence community is leaking this intel to the news media, and have launched a massive investigation to find the leaker/leakers.
Did A Canadian Member Of Parliament And A Member Of PM Trudeau's Party Advised China To Not Release Two Canadians
Days after a US fighter jet shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon that had entered American airspace after flying over Canada, a new report has revealed that the Canadian military got hold of a Chinese monitoring buoy in the Arctic Ocean.
The Canadian military discovered and retrieved Chinese monitoring buoys from the Arctic as part of ‘Operation Limpid,’ which is a continuous effort to provide early identification of threats to Canada’s security by its military forces, The Globe and Mail reported.
The revelation would likely put Beijing’s surveillance activities under the scanner again, as it comes weeks after the US Air Force shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon with the support of the Royal Canadian Air Force. The balloon had flown over Alaska and Canada before entering US airspace.
(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said China has been attempting to interfere in Canada’s democracy for years, but Canadians can have “total confidence” in the integrity of its election results.
Trudeau was responding to a Globe and Mail report that said Canada’s intelligence agency has evidence China employed “a sophisticated strategy” to try to disrupt the country’s federal election in 2021.
The newspaper reported that Chinese diplomats worked through proxies to persuade Chinese-Canadians to vote against certain Conservative Party candidates. Chinese officials expressed a preference to see Trudeau’s Liberal Party win a minority government, according to the intelligence reports.
Move will signal to China Ottawa’s contention that waters are international
Canada plans to sail more warships through the Taiwan Strait to affirm the waters claimed by China are international, after Ottawa released an Indo-Pacific strategy that described Beijing as an “increasingly disruptive” power.
“We will continue to enforce the international rules-based order when it comes to the Taiwan Strait. And that’s why also we had a frigate going through the Taiwan Strait this summer, along with the Americans, [and] we’re looking to have more frigates going through it.”
The Cdn Pool cam captured a tough talk between Chinese President Xi & PM Trudeau at the G20 today. In it, Xi express his displeasure that everything discussed yesterday “has been leaked to the paper(s), that’s not appropriate… & that’s not the way the conversation was conducted” pic.twitter.com/Hres3vwf4Q
'Everything we discuss has been leaked to the paper; that's not appropriate,' Xi told Trudeau
Chinese
President Xi Jinping has accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of behaving inappropriately by leaking the substance of a conversation between the two leaders to the media.
The accusations came as the pair crossed paths in a public space in Bali, Indonesia, where both leaders are attending the G20 summit.
"Everything we discuss has been leaked to the paper; that's not appropriate," Xi told Trudeau through an interpreter.
"That's not ... the way the conversation was conducted. If there is sincerity on your part—" Xi said.
It was the Canadian Prime Minister's office that pushed for this meeting, and after repeated requests Beijing accepted a private 10 minute face-to-face talk. On reflection, and I know the Chinese are seeing it this way, they now see this meeting was pushed by Ottawa to give the Canadian Prime Minister a few sound bites to give to the Canadian media.
To say that the Chinese are unhappy with how they were manipulated by the Canadian Prime Minister is not surprising.
Bottom line.
Chinese President Xi is not going to have anymore private talks with Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau in the future.
Europe is home to the most Chinese 'overseas police service stations'
China has opened dozens of "overseas police service stations" around the globe to monitor its citizens living abroad, including one location in New York City and three in Toronto.
"These operations eschew official bilateral police and judicial cooperation and violate the international rule of law, and may violate the territorial integrity in third countries involved in setting up a parallel policing mechanism using illegal methods," reads a report by Safeguard Defenders, a human rights watchdog, released earlier this month.
The report, titled "110 Overseas: Chinese Transnational Policing Gone Wild," details China's extensive efforts to combat "fraud" by its citizens living overseas, in part by opening several police stations on five continents that have assisted Chinese authorities in "carrying out policing operations on foreign soil."
Beijing threatens ‘forceful measures’ if Canada ‘interferes’ as MPs plan trade delegation to Taipei later this year
China warned it will take “forceful measures” if Canada “interferes” in Taiwan, a week after it emerged that a delegation of Canadian parliamentarians was planning to visit the island later this year to explore trade opportunities.
China claims Taiwan as its territory under its “one-China principle” and objects to foreign politicians visiting the island. Democratically governed Taiwan rejects China’s claims.
J-16 fighter jets attached to an aviation brigade of the air force under the PLA Western Theater Command taxi on the runway during an aerial combat training exercise under complex electromagnetic conditions in early April, 2021.(Photo: eng.chinamil.com.cn)
Beijing warns Australia of ‘serious consequences’ if it does not stop ‘provocations’ after incident Canberra called ‘very dangerous’
Beijing has accused Australia and Canada of “spreading disinformation” over allegedly dangerous manoeuvres by Chinese military pilots in international airspace.
China also warned Australia to stop “provocations” or face “serious consequences” after the Albanese government said a Chinese jet intercepted an RAAF plane in a dangerous manoeuvre in late May.
A day earlier Justin Trudeau hit out at “irresponsible and provocative” actions by Beijing’s air force after Canadian aircraft deployed in Japan narrowly avoided a collision with Chinese jets late last month.
Seoul, South Korea (CNN)Canadian surveillance planes helping to enforce United Nations sanctions on North Korea are being repeatedly buzzed by Chinese jets that fly so close their crews can see each other, Canada's military has alleged.
In some instances the Chinese warplanes have come so close the Canadian aircraft have had to change course to avoid a collision, the Canadian Armed Forces said Wednesday.
"In these interactions, PLAAF (People's Liberation Army Air Force) aircraft did not adhere to international air safety norms. These interactions are unprofessional and/or put the safety of our RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force) personnel at risk," said Dan Le Bouthillier, media relations chief of the Canadian Armed Forces.
Decision comes loaded with implications for national security and diplomacy
The federal government has banned Huawei from working on Canada's fifth-generation networks over security concerns — a decision critics say was long overdue.
The move puts Canada in line with key intelligence allies like the United States, which have expressed concerns about the national security implications of giving the Chinese tech giant access to key infrastructure.
The government is also banning ZTE, another Chinese state-backed telecommunications firm.
A government policy statement posted online says companies will have until June 28, 2024, to remove or terminate 5G equipment from Huawei and ZTE.
The Trudeau government has claimed that a Chinese acquisition of a Canadian lithium mining company poses no national security risks whatsoever.
Ottawa’s decision comes after it was revealed that the purchase of Neo Lithium Corp. by Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd had triggered no extensive national security review.
Liberal industry minister François-Philippe Champagne said that the federal government had initially looked over the project and had no qualms with it.
“This transaction was absolutely reviewed to make sure there was no security risk,’’ Champagne said.
Neo Lithium has developed one of the world’s largest overseas lithium brine projects in Argentina. Zijjin Mining Group acquired the company for $960 million.
Soldiers from Chinese People's Liberation Army parade during the opening ceremony of the Military World Games in Wuhan, China, October 18, 2019. Photo by Reuters/File
* Long-serving officer among many athletes who fell sick with debilitating illness
* They had attended the World Military Games in Wuhan in 2019
* He fears he was at 'Ground Zero' of Covid and has demanded investigation
A Canadian military officer who fears he was at the 'Ground Zero' of Covid two months before China officially acknowledged the virus has demanded an investigation into the suspicious outbreak of illness there.
The long-serving officer, who cannot be named as he is still in the forces, was among the scores of athletes who fell sick with a debilitating illness after attending the World Military Games in Wuhan in October 2019.
He said foreign competitors found the city of 11 million people 'like a ghost town', and so many cases of a mysterious virus afflicted the Canadian team that a quarantine section was set up on their military flight back home.
FILE PHOTO: Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada December 15, 2021. REUTERS/Blair Gable/File Photo
TORONTO (Reuters) - Western countries should have a united front against China to prevent the Asian state from using commercial interests to play them against each other, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in an interview aired on Saturday.
Trudeau said China has been "playing" Western countries against one another as they compete for access to economic opportunities in the country.
"We've been competing and China has been, from time to time, very cleverly playing us off each other in an open market, competitive way," he said in an interview with Global television.
"We need to do a better job of working together and standing strong so China can't play the angles and divide us one against the other."
WNU Editor: This is not like Trudeau to target China in such a manner. Like his father and former Prime Minister, he has long been accused of being sympathetic to China.
WNU Editor: A friend that I trust in China told me that the reason why this dispute was resolved now was because of the Winter Olympics to be hosted by China in four months. The Chinese want a world class event, not an event where nations are protesting China's treatment of detained Canadians.
* Two Canadian men - Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor - on are their way home, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters Friday night
* They were arrested in China in December 2018 on espionage charges just nine days after Canada authorities arrested Meng Wanzhou on behalf of the U.S.
* Meng was arrested in Vancouver International Airport and wanted by the United States for fraud and accused of lying about her dealings with Iran
* Meng is heir apparent to the Huawei communications empire
* Attending the trial virtually from her house arrest, Meng came to the agreement with DOJ prosecutors Friday that ends the years-long, multi-country standoff
* That agreement set off a chain of events that included the release of the Canadian men and allowed Meng to return to China
* In the agreement, Meng agreed to a 'statement of facts' admitting that she knowingly made false statements and misled US bank HSBC
* The DOJ said it is still continuing to prepare for trial against Huawei
Two Canadians jailed in China since 2018 were freed after the U.S. Department of Justice reached a deal with China and an imprisoned Chinese communications executive.
The two Canadian men - Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor - on are their way home, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters Friday night.
This puts an end to a three-year, multi-country standoff that started late 2018 when Canadian authorities arrested Meng Wanzhou - Huawei Technologies’ chief financial officer - at the Vancouver International Airport on behalf of the U.S.
WNU Editor: China detaining these two innocent Canadians sets a dangerous precedent. Beijing will use this tactic again in the future if they feel a Chinese national has been detained unjustly and/or is part of China's establishment.
More News On Two Canadians Jailed In China Since 2018 For 'Spying' Are Released After Huawei CFO Resolves US Charges
I have been involved in numerous computer science projects since the 1980s, as well as developing numerous web projects since 1996.
These blogs are a summation of all the information that I read and catalog pertaining to the subjects that interest me.
