Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before an investigation into foreign election interference that Chinese interference in the past two elections did not change the outcome.
Prime Minister Trudeau says China prefers certain Canadian political parties despite substantial indications that China helped the Liberals defeat a challenger who would have been more hardline against the People’s Republic of China (China) He argued that such a thing is “impossible.”
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attend the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference in San Francisco on November 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vasquez)
Prime Minister Trudeau responded to this bomb reveal On Monday, his administration was presented with evidence from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) that China “covertly and deceptively interfered in both the 2019 and 2021 elections,” but took no action. It was announced that there was no.
The most disturbing of these sabotages is the fact that in 2021 China actively targeted MPs from Prime Minister Trudeau’s Liberal Party, including MP Kenny Chiu, who lost his seat to the Liberal Party and eventually won his seat. It was targeted at Conservative Party candidates.
CSIS too found China threatens Chinese students in Canada that if they don’t comply, their “student visas could be at risk and there could be serious repercussions for their families back in China,” Liberal candidate Handong said. It is possible that he was forced to support the
In a previously confidential briefing document released Monday, CSIS said: Similarity in wording to articles published by Chinese state media. And partnership agreements between these Canadian-based distributors and Chinese entities all suggest that these efforts were orchestrated or directed by China. ”
Former Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole said while his party lost up to nine seats in 2021 due to Chinese interference, this was not enough to change the balance of power in Parliament, but Canada’s electoral system remains He said that it would be an outrageous distortion of the law. O’Toole said he raised his concerns with the Trudeau government, but no action was taken.
prime minister trudeau pushed return He disputed these claims in sworn testimony before the Intelligence Committee, which investigates foreign election interference.
“Indeed, despite attempts at foreign interference, those elections were held in good faith. They were decided by Canadians,” the prime minister said.
Prime Minister Trudeau claimed on Monday that he had not seen the blockbuster report released to the public, but said the Chinese government wants to weaken the Liberal Party to a minority and put it in charge of Canadian affairs. He disagreed with CSIS’s conclusions.
“While it is entirely possible that individual officials have expressed some preferences, the impression we got, and will continue to get consistently, is that…the Chinese government itself has no electoral preferences. “It’s very unlikely,” he declared.
CSIS tells the commission that it believes China tried to interfere in the past two elections in a systematic and “realistic” way, but it will not be able to determine exactly how effective its efforts were. said it is difficult. Intelligence agencies also noted that some of the report contained information that was unsubstantiated or not thoroughly investigated.
“What I’m saying is that this information still needs to be verified, or it needs to be taken with some understanding that it may not be 100 percent accurate. ” said Prime Minister Trudeau. Said In his testimony.
Other Trudeau government officials said they were aware of the CSIS warning and O’Toole’s complaint, but others, like Trudeau’s national security adviser Nathalie Drouhin, said they were aware of the warnings from CSIS and O’Toole’s complaints, but others, like Trudeau’s national security adviser Nathalie Drouhin, did not justify the intervention. He said he felt there was insufficient evidence to make such a move, and that it “could do more harm than good.” put it.
The Chinese government was furious at Trudeau’s testimony because he took the election interference allegations too seriously for Beijing’s liking. An embassy spokesperson claimed that Trudeau “denigrated” China during his hearing.
“China strongly regrets this and firmly opposes it,” the spokesperson said.
The Chinese embassy in Canada issued a statement Wednesday insisting that China has never attempted to interfere in foreign elections.
“China has repeatedly emphasized its consistent principle of non-interference in Canada’s internal affairs and had no interest in interfering in Canada’s internal affairs. and has clearly stated this,” the statement said.
The embassy suggested that some Canadian politicians are slandering China and capitalizing on anti-China hatred in a “politically orchestrated farce.”China’s state-owned Global Times on thursday accused Prime Minister Trudeau says he’s one of those desperate politicians:
Prime Minister Trudeau’s personal approval ratings have plummeted in the past six months, and he needs to use such criticism to offset public dissatisfaction with his handling of issues such as the economy, housing and climate change. said Yao Peng, deputy executive director of the Center for Canadian Studies. A professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences told the Global Times on Thursday.
“This is another move by him to lead Canadians who don’t know the truth and the ‘deep state’ hostile to China into double-standard politics. This is his personal political agenda.” said a Chinese expert.
Mimicking the United States’ Cold War approach, Canada’s prime minister used such aggressive accusations to counter the Conservative Party’s growing popularity in Canada over the past six months, drawing attention and directing public criticism of the party. Yao pointed out that the aim is to distract from the situation.
of Global Times He further added that China is actually a victim of foreign election interference, which is an interesting thought given that the brutal communist tyranny does not allow anything resembling free elections. . Due to “political intervention” Global Times This meant allegations of human rights violations of Chinese people in places such as occupied East Turkestan, Tibet, and Hong Kong. China dismisses all such accusations as disingenuous and hypocritical attempts to smear the regime in Beijing.
