By Elishya Perera
TORONTO, Canada (CWBN)_ Chinese ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu, made this statement during a video press conference held yesterday (Oct 15). Rejecting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s claim that China is engaging in coercive diplomacy.
Cong insisted that there is no link between Chinese government’s prosecution of the two Canadians, and the detention of Chinese Huawei official Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver.
Dominic Barton and Michael Kovrig were detained in China, nine days after the arrest of Wanzhou in Vancouver, on a US extradition request. Last week, the two Canadians were granted consular access, for the first time, since January. However Conservative MP Michael Chong criticised China’s pandemic excuse, for preventing Canadian diplomats from visiting Barton and Kovrig. “The economy in China has largely reopened. A direct in-person visit should have already taken place a long time ago with appropriate social distancing,” he said.
Meanwhile, Cong also warned Canada against granting asylum to Hong Kong protesters, fleeing a national security law imposed by Beijing. Calling the protesters “violent criminals”, Cong claimed that granting asylum to them would amount to interference in China’s domestic affairs.
“So 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 SAR, you should support those efforts to fight violent crimes,” the ambassador said.
