ANTI-ASIAN SCAPEGOAT
MP Han Dong threatens legal action against Global over foreign interference report
Story by The Canadian Press •
OTTAWA — Han Dong is threatening legal action against Global News and its parent company after the media outlet published an allegation the Toronto MP spoke to a Chinese diplomat about delaying the release of two Canadians.
MP Han Dong threatens legal action against Global over foreign interference report© Provided by The Canadian Press
"Yes, I am taking legal action against Global News and Corus Entertainment," Dong said in a statement on Monday. "I have retained a lawyer to begin legal action to its fullest extent."
The statement follows a Global News report last week, citing anonymous security sources, that alleged the Toronto MP spoke about Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig with a Chinese diplomat in Toronto in February 2021.
The two Canadian men had been detained by China in December 2018, just over a week after the RCMP arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver on a U.S. extradition warrant.
Global News alleged that Dong told China's consul general in Toronto that releasing the men would benefit the Conservatives, but also that showing some "progress" in the case would help the Liberals.
Global News has also published allegations that Dong benefited from Chinese foreign interference in the Canadian electoral process.
The Canadian Press has not independently verified the allegations against Dong, who announced Wednesday that he was leaving the Liberal caucus and would sit as an Independent to defend himself.
Global News editor-in-chief Sonia Verma stood by the outlet's reporting on Monday, saying in a statement: "Global News is governed by a rigorous set of journalistic principles and practices, and we are very mindful of the public interest and legal responsibility of this important accountability reporting."
Dong did not immediately respond to questions about his lawyer's identity, or whether he has filed a statement of claim in court to formally launch legal proceeedings.
In his statement on Monday, Dong pushed back against allegations of having worked with Beijing by relating his father's experience under the Chinese Communist regime, which included having been sent to a "re-education camp" in 1970.
"The trauma left on my father is one of the compelling reasons why, as co-chair of the Canada-China Legislative Association and a member of Parliament, I took every available opportunity to advocate on behalf of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor and to call for their immediate release," he said.
"It is inconceivable that I would ever suggest a falsely accused individual should spend an extra minute in jail."
Dong said he supports a public inquiry on foreign interference in Canada, and that he is willing to meet with former governor general David Johnston, who has been tapped as a special rapporteur to look into such allegations.
"I can look at myself in the mirror and know, with full certainty, that I have the truth on my side," he said. "My anonymous false accusers and their enablers cannot say the same."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2023.
Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press
Story by The Canadian Press •
OTTAWA — Han Dong is threatening legal action against Global News and its parent company after the media outlet published an allegation the Toronto MP spoke to a Chinese diplomat about delaying the release of two Canadians.
MP Han Dong threatens legal action against Global over foreign interference report© Provided by The Canadian Press
"Yes, I am taking legal action against Global News and Corus Entertainment," Dong said in a statement on Monday. "I have retained a lawyer to begin legal action to its fullest extent."
The statement follows a Global News report last week, citing anonymous security sources, that alleged the Toronto MP spoke about Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig with a Chinese diplomat in Toronto in February 2021.
The two Canadian men had been detained by China in December 2018, just over a week after the RCMP arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver on a U.S. extradition warrant.
Global News alleged that Dong told China's consul general in Toronto that releasing the men would benefit the Conservatives, but also that showing some "progress" in the case would help the Liberals.
Global News has also published allegations that Dong benefited from Chinese foreign interference in the Canadian electoral process.
The Canadian Press has not independently verified the allegations against Dong, who announced Wednesday that he was leaving the Liberal caucus and would sit as an Independent to defend himself.
Global News editor-in-chief Sonia Verma stood by the outlet's reporting on Monday, saying in a statement: "Global News is governed by a rigorous set of journalistic principles and practices, and we are very mindful of the public interest and legal responsibility of this important accountability reporting."
Dong did not immediately respond to questions about his lawyer's identity, or whether he has filed a statement of claim in court to formally launch legal proceeedings.
In his statement on Monday, Dong pushed back against allegations of having worked with Beijing by relating his father's experience under the Chinese Communist regime, which included having been sent to a "re-education camp" in 1970.
"The trauma left on my father is one of the compelling reasons why, as co-chair of the Canada-China Legislative Association and a member of Parliament, I took every available opportunity to advocate on behalf of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor and to call for their immediate release," he said.
"It is inconceivable that I would ever suggest a falsely accused individual should spend an extra minute in jail."
Dong said he supports a public inquiry on foreign interference in Canada, and that he is willing to meet with former governor general David Johnston, who has been tapped as a special rapporteur to look into such allegations.
"I can look at myself in the mirror and know, with full certainty, that I have the truth on my side," he said. "My anonymous false accusers and their enablers cannot say the same."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2023.
Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press
MP Han Dong says he has retained a lawyer, plans to take legal action against Global News
Story by Catharine Tunney • CBC
MP Han Dong says he has retained a lawyer and plans to sue Global News after it published a story alleging he advised a senior Chinese diplomat in February 2021 that Beijing should hold off on freeing Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor — the two Canadians being held by China at the time.
Toronto-area MP Han Dong announced he was leaving the Liberal caucus after Global News published a story alleging he advised a senior Chinese diplomat in February 2021 that Beijing should hold off on freeing Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor — the two Canadians being held by China at the time.
Dong, who left Liberal caucus last week, confirmed to Global that he had a discussion with Consul General Han Tao but emphatically denied that he had advised Beijing to delay releasing the two Canadians.
On Friday, the Globe and Mail reported that the government received a CSIS transcript of Dong's conversation with the consul and concluded that there was no "actionable evidence," adding that it could not be determined that Dong asked the Chinese government to keep the two Canadians in prison for political reasons.
In a statement posted to Twitter Monday, Dong said he has a lawyer to "begin legal action to its fullest extent."
Dong writes that his father was shaped by the time he spent at the May Seventh Cadre School re-education camp in 1970 during China's cultural revolution, where he was "subjected to forced labour and 24-hour surveillance" for a year.
"From that experience my father knew there was no future left for him in China," Dong wrote.
He said his father came to Canada two months after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 and brought the rest of family over the next year.
"The trauma left on my father is one of the compelling reasons why, as co-chair of the Canada-China Legislative Association and a Member of Parliament, I took every available opportunity to advocate on behalf of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor and to call for their immediate release," he wrote.
"It is inconceivable that I would ever suggest a falsely accused individual should spend an extra minute in jail."
CBC News has reached out to Global and Corus Entertainment for comment.
'I have the truth on my side:' Dong
The Don Valley North MP said he supports a public inquiry into Chinese government interference and said he is willing to meet with former governor general David Johnston, the government's recently appointed special rapporteur on foreign interference, and provide him with information.
"Despite the abuse and shame my family has suffered over the last few weeks, I truly believe that my parents made the right decision to come to Canada," Dong wrote.
"I can look at myself in the mirror and know, with full certainty, that I have the truth on my side. My anonymous false accusers and their enablers cannot say the same."
During a news conference Friday, Trudeau was asked if he believed Dong advocated for the delayed release of Kovrig and Spavor.
He responded by recommending that people watch Dong's speech in the House of Commons earlier this week.
"We fully accept that he is stepping away from the Liberal caucus in order to vigorously contest these allegations," said Trudeau.
"Interference from authoritarian governments like China, Russia, Iran and others is a very real challenge to our democracies and it's absolutely unacceptable."
Dong is also the centre of allegations his election campaign benefited from Beijing's meddling and that he was "a witting affiliate."
Global News cited anonymous sources who alleged national security officials gave an urgent briefing to senior aides from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office in 2019 "warning them that one of their candidates was part of a Chinese foreign interference network."
Dong also denies those allegations.
Story by Catharine Tunney • CBC
MP Han Dong says he has retained a lawyer and plans to sue Global News after it published a story alleging he advised a senior Chinese diplomat in February 2021 that Beijing should hold off on freeing Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor — the two Canadians being held by China at the time.
Toronto-area MP Han Dong announced he was leaving the Liberal caucus after Global News published a story alleging he advised a senior Chinese diplomat in February 2021 that Beijing should hold off on freeing Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor — the two Canadians being held by China at the time.
Dong, who left Liberal caucus last week, confirmed to Global that he had a discussion with Consul General Han Tao but emphatically denied that he had advised Beijing to delay releasing the two Canadians.
On Friday, the Globe and Mail reported that the government received a CSIS transcript of Dong's conversation with the consul and concluded that there was no "actionable evidence," adding that it could not be determined that Dong asked the Chinese government to keep the two Canadians in prison for political reasons.
In a statement posted to Twitter Monday, Dong said he has a lawyer to "begin legal action to its fullest extent."
Dong writes that his father was shaped by the time he spent at the May Seventh Cadre School re-education camp in 1970 during China's cultural revolution, where he was "subjected to forced labour and 24-hour surveillance" for a year.
"From that experience my father knew there was no future left for him in China," Dong wrote.
He said his father came to Canada two months after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 and brought the rest of family over the next year.
"The trauma left on my father is one of the compelling reasons why, as co-chair of the Canada-China Legislative Association and a Member of Parliament, I took every available opportunity to advocate on behalf of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor and to call for their immediate release," he wrote.
"It is inconceivable that I would ever suggest a falsely accused individual should spend an extra minute in jail."
CBC News has reached out to Global and Corus Entertainment for comment.
'I have the truth on my side:' Dong
The Don Valley North MP said he supports a public inquiry into Chinese government interference and said he is willing to meet with former governor general David Johnston, the government's recently appointed special rapporteur on foreign interference, and provide him with information.
"Despite the abuse and shame my family has suffered over the last few weeks, I truly believe that my parents made the right decision to come to Canada," Dong wrote.
"I can look at myself in the mirror and know, with full certainty, that I have the truth on my side. My anonymous false accusers and their enablers cannot say the same."
During a news conference Friday, Trudeau was asked if he believed Dong advocated for the delayed release of Kovrig and Spavor.
He responded by recommending that people watch Dong's speech in the House of Commons earlier this week.
"We fully accept that he is stepping away from the Liberal caucus in order to vigorously contest these allegations," said Trudeau.
"Interference from authoritarian governments like China, Russia, Iran and others is a very real challenge to our democracies and it's absolutely unacceptable."
Dong is also the centre of allegations his election campaign benefited from Beijing's meddling and that he was "a witting affiliate."
Global News cited anonymous sources who alleged national security officials gave an urgent briefing to senior aides from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office in 2019 "warning them that one of their candidates was part of a Chinese foreign interference network."
Dong also denies those allegations.
March 27, 2023
KINSELLA: Can former Liberal MP Han Dong be charged with treason?
LILLEY: Liberal MP Dong resigns from party over interference claims
For those who remain livid about the allegations against Han Dong, we’re sorry: He can’t be charged with high treason or even mere treason.
He wasn’t a cabinet minister or a senior bureaucrat or a member of the military, so he isn’t easily caught by the new version of the Official Secrets Act, the Security of Information Act. Did he — as the Act says — harm “Canadian interests”?
The interests of the two Michaels, to be sure, if true. But were those identical to Canada’s? That’s less clear.
What’s clear, however, is this: While Han Dong may not be in any legal jeopardy, he sure is, politically.
CSIS is not his friend. And CSIS has apparently decided he needed to be removed from the Trudeau government.
And he has been.
Opinion by Warren Kinsella • Thursday, March 23,2023
MP for Don Valley North Han Dong.© Provided by Toronto Sun
Can he be charged with treason?
It’s a question many are asking. It’s a fair question.
Since Wednesday night, when Global News dropped a bomb on Canadian politics — that former Liberal and now Independent MP Han Dong had allegedly lobbied China’s regime to illegally keep two Canadians in prison there, that’s a question I’ve been asked many times: If the allegations are true, can Dong be prosecuted for treason?
It’s important to emphasize, here, that the Toronto-area MP hasn’t been charged with any crime. He’s resigned from the Liberal caucus to clear his name — as a Conservative MPP in Ontario did earlier this month, for similar reasons — but no one has charged Han Dong with breaking any law.
And that may be because there’s no law to charge him with breaking.
In Canada, as with our allies, “treason” remains a serious crime. In the Criminal Code, it is defined in this way: “Every one commits treason who, in Canada, uses force or violence for the purpose of overthrowing the government of Canada or a province …
“[Or] without lawful authority, communicates or makes available to an agent of a state other than Canada, military or scientific information or any sketch, plan, model, article, note or document of a military or scientific character that he knows or ought to know may be used by that state for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or defence of Canada.”
We’ve got a criminal prohibition against “high treason,” too. But it’s a dramatically higher bar for prosecutors to clear. High treason is killing or attempting to kill our King or Queen — or waging actual war against Canada, or helping the enemy during a time of war.
But, as far as we know, we’re not at war. And, so far, the allegations against Dong don’t seem to fit a “treason” charge, either.
In the United States, someone facing similar allegations might not be so lucky.
The Americans don’t mess around. There, treason is a capital offence — you can be put to death for it.
Chapter 115 of the U.S. Code: “Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years.”
Having sworn an oath to Canada, the allegations Dong faces would be a violation of a similar law here. And “giving aid or comfort” to the enemy — here, China — would easily describe the untried allegations against Han Dong.
In Britain, the law against treason has been around for nearly seven centuries. It’s one of the oldest statutes in the United Kingdom
Though amended many times over the years, The Treason Act 1351, as in Canada, distinguishes between treason and high treason. High treason is killing the King or Queen — but also, originally, less serious offences like making counterfeit currency.
Ironically (given their origins), Americans seem to have borrowed the “aid or comfort” idea from the Brits. There, the allegations against Dong would arguably amount to high treason. The last Briton executed for treason — collaborating with wartime Germany — was hanged in 1946.
MP for Don Valley North Han Dong.© Provided by Toronto Sun
Can he be charged with treason?
It’s a question many are asking. It’s a fair question.
Since Wednesday night, when Global News dropped a bomb on Canadian politics — that former Liberal and now Independent MP Han Dong had allegedly lobbied China’s regime to illegally keep two Canadians in prison there, that’s a question I’ve been asked many times: If the allegations are true, can Dong be prosecuted for treason?
It’s important to emphasize, here, that the Toronto-area MP hasn’t been charged with any crime. He’s resigned from the Liberal caucus to clear his name — as a Conservative MPP in Ontario did earlier this month, for similar reasons — but no one has charged Han Dong with breaking any law.
And that may be because there’s no law to charge him with breaking.
In Canada, as with our allies, “treason” remains a serious crime. In the Criminal Code, it is defined in this way: “Every one commits treason who, in Canada, uses force or violence for the purpose of overthrowing the government of Canada or a province …
“[Or] without lawful authority, communicates or makes available to an agent of a state other than Canada, military or scientific information or any sketch, plan, model, article, note or document of a military or scientific character that he knows or ought to know may be used by that state for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or defence of Canada.”
We’ve got a criminal prohibition against “high treason,” too. But it’s a dramatically higher bar for prosecutors to clear. High treason is killing or attempting to kill our King or Queen — or waging actual war against Canada, or helping the enemy during a time of war.
But, as far as we know, we’re not at war. And, so far, the allegations against Dong don’t seem to fit a “treason” charge, either.
In the United States, someone facing similar allegations might not be so lucky.
The Americans don’t mess around. There, treason is a capital offence — you can be put to death for it.
Chapter 115 of the U.S. Code: “Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years.”
Having sworn an oath to Canada, the allegations Dong faces would be a violation of a similar law here. And “giving aid or comfort” to the enemy — here, China — would easily describe the untried allegations against Han Dong.
In Britain, the law against treason has been around for nearly seven centuries. It’s one of the oldest statutes in the United Kingdom
Though amended many times over the years, The Treason Act 1351, as in Canada, distinguishes between treason and high treason. High treason is killing the King or Queen — but also, originally, less serious offences like making counterfeit currency.
Ironically (given their origins), Americans seem to have borrowed the “aid or comfort” idea from the Brits. There, the allegations against Dong would arguably amount to high treason. The last Briton executed for treason — collaborating with wartime Germany — was hanged in 1946.
LILLEY: Liberal MP Dong resigns from party over interference claims
For those who remain livid about the allegations against Han Dong, we’re sorry: He can’t be charged with high treason or even mere treason.
He wasn’t a cabinet minister or a senior bureaucrat or a member of the military, so he isn’t easily caught by the new version of the Official Secrets Act, the Security of Information Act. Did he — as the Act says — harm “Canadian interests”?
The interests of the two Michaels, to be sure, if true. But were those identical to Canada’s? That’s less clear.
What’s clear, however, is this: While Han Dong may not be in any legal jeopardy, he sure is, politically.
CSIS is not his friend. And CSIS has apparently decided he needed to be removed from the Trudeau government.
And he has been.
Story by Ryan Tumilty , Catherine Lévesque • Wednesday, March 22,2023
OTTAWA — MP Han Dong has resigned from the Liberal caucus and will sit as an Independent after a new report alleged that he spoke with Chinese diplomats in 2021 to advise them to continue to hold two Canadians captive to help the Liberal party.
Han Dong .
Dong, who represents the Toronto riding of Don Valley North, announced his resignation in an emotional address in the House of Commons on Wednesday evening. He said he informed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the leadership of the Liberal party caucus that he would be sitting as an Independent, even as he vehemently denied the allegations.
“Let me be clear, what has been reported is false,” he said. “And I will defend myself against these absolutely untrue claims.”
“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 added.
“I’ll be sitting as an Independent so the business of government and indeed the business of Parliament is not interrupted as our work to clear my name and the truth is presented to Parliament and to Canadian people.”
The Liberal MP has faced allegations of having received help from China in winning his Toronto seat. He has denied that, and has has also defended his record in missing votes condemning China’s human rights abuses of the Uyghur minority.
“Members skip their votes, abstain their votes all the time and I wasn’t the only one that skipped the vote,” he told reporters outside the House of Commons Tuesday.
He said he has cast several votes in Parliament that could be deemed hostile to China, including voting to include Taiwan in the World Health Organization.
A Global News story last month reported that CSIS warned the Prime Minister’s Office before the 2019 election that Dong received assistance from the Chinese consulate when he successfully ran for the Liberal party’s nomination in the Toronto riding of Don Valley North. According to Global’s reporting, the consulate bussed in seniors and Chinese international students to vote for Dong in the nomination race that was contested by other Liberal candidates.
Global published new reporting on Wednesday citing anonymous national security sources alleging that Dong had spoken with China’s consul general in February 2021 and advised him that releasing Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor too soon would help the Conservatives.
The Prime Minister’s Office said it only became aware of the conversation between Dong and China’s consul general after Dong told them following Global News’ inquiries about the matter.
Dong, who vehemently denied Global’s story, said he spoke with the consul general, but urged him to release the two men as soon as possible.
Related video: Liberal MP Han Dong announces he's leaving Liberal caucus amid foreign interference allegations (cbc.ca) Duration 4:18 View on Watch
“At every opportunity before they returned home, I adamantly demanded their release to Canada without delay. Any suggestions otherwise are false and are attempts to mislead you and your readers, and slander me,” he told Global News.
The two men were ultimately released in September 2021, a few days after a federal election in which Dong’s Liberal party won a minority government.
“Let me assure you as a parliamentarian and as a person, I have never and I would never or support the violation of the basic human rights of any Canadian, of anyone, anywhere,” said Dong in the House of Commons Wednesday night.
“I want to assure Mr. Michael Spavor and Mr. Michael Kovrig and their families that I did nothing to cause them any harm,” he added. “Like everyone in this House, I’ve worked hard and advocated for their interest as a parliamentarian. The allegations made against me are as false as the ones made against you.”
His final words in his address were for his wife and children. In tears, he said the truth would protect them and they would get through this together.
Since Dong was elected in 2019, the House of Commons has had two votes connected to the Uyghur genocide and in both cases Dong was not present. In a vote this year, Dong was present for votes on other motions immediately before and immediately after the genocide vote.
Dong did not respond when the National Post initially reported on the missed votes, but spoke with reporters late Tuesday and said he didn’t miss them for a specific reason.
“Members skip their votes, abstain their votes all the time and I wasn’t the only one that skipped the vote,” he told reporters outside the House of Commons Tuesday.
He said he has cast several votes in Parliament that could be deemed hostile to China.
“I voted to condemn China when they sanctioned one of our vice chairs of a standing committee. I voted to include Taiwan in the WHO. In 2020 I moved a motion in ethics committee to study election interference, domestic and international,” he said.
Dong was asked several times if he believes a Uyghur genocide is occurring in China’s Xinjiang’s region, as many human rights groups allege, and said he has concerns about human rights there.
“I have no doubt there is a severe human rights abuse in the Xinjiang region and that needs to be looked at independently,” he said. “I have deep concerns about human rights abuse in China, especially in the Xinjiang region, and I call for the opportunity for an independent Canadian review.”
Dong said the broader accusations against him, that the Chinese consulate helped him secure his nomination don’t add up.
“I’ve never been offered nor would I accept help from a foreign country or representative from a foreign country,” he said. “I’m a Canadian nominated by Liberals, registered Liberals in Don Valley North and elected by Canadians to serve Canadians. I’m just going to focus on my work.”
Dong noted that he has never received a call from CSIS, the RCMP, or Elections Canada about any of his campaigns and all of his expense and donations have been publicly reported.
He also defended Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s approach on the issue of foreign interference.
“The prime minister’s decision to have a special rapporteur to look into this and make a decision of whether a public inquiry is needed, I think it’s a very good decision.”
The RCMP told a House committee last month it did not open any investigations into foreign meddling in either the 2019 or 2021 elections. Independent panels overseeing each of those votes did not find any attempted interference that put the integrity of the elections at risk.
A closer look at MP Han Dong’s voting record on China
Story by Andrew Russell • Yesterday
Provincial Liberal candidate Han Dong celebrates with supporters while taking part in a rally in Toronto on Thursday, May 22, 2014. Han Dong, the member of Parliament at the centre of allegations of Chinese meddling in the 2019 federal election, says he is resigning from the Liberal caucus and will sit as an Independent.
Provincial Liberal candidate Han Dong celebrates with supporters while taking part in a rally in Toronto on Thursday, May 22, 2014. Han Dong, the member of Parliament at the centre of allegations of Chinese meddling in the 2019 federal election, says he is resigning from the Liberal caucus and will sit as an Independent.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
A look at MP Han Dong’s political background and voting record
Toronto-area MP Han Dong is at the centre of a political firestorm following a Global News report that he allegedly spoke with a Chinese diplomat in 2021, advising Beijing to delay freeing Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, according to two intelligence sources.
While Dong acknowledged the conversation with China’s consul-general in Toronto, Han Tao, he strongly denied the allegations that he told Beijing to hold off the release of the two Canadians.
He has subsequently resigned from the Liberal caucus, giving an emotional speech Wednesday night in the House of Commons.
“What has been reported is false, and I will defend myself against these absolutely untrue claims,” said Dong, who will now sit as an Independent.
“Let me assure members that, as a parliamentarian and as a person, I have never advocated, and I will never and would never advocate or support the violation of the basic human rights of any Canadian or of anyone, anywhere, period.”
Video: Han Dong leaving Liberal caucus, will sit as an Independent
Global News previously reported last month that Dong is one of at least 11 Toronto-area riding candidates who was allegedly supported by Beijing in the 2019 federal election, according to national security sources.
The sources spoke to Global News on the condition of anonymity, which they requested because they risk prosecution under the Security of Information Act.
Dong has denied the allegations.
In an effort to glean more about the Don Valley North MP’s positions on issues regarding China, Global News has compiled a review of his votes and statements inside and out of the House of Commons:
Statements on the Two Michaels
Toronto-area MP Han Dong is at the centre of a political firestorm following a Global News report that he allegedly spoke with a Chinese diplomat in 2021, advising Beijing to delay freeing Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, according to two intelligence sources.
While Dong acknowledged the conversation with China’s consul-general in Toronto, Han Tao, he strongly denied the allegations that he told Beijing to hold off the release of the two Canadians.
He has subsequently resigned from the Liberal caucus, giving an emotional speech Wednesday night in the House of Commons.
“What has been reported is false, and I will defend myself against these absolutely untrue claims,” said Dong, who will now sit as an Independent.
“Let me assure members that, as a parliamentarian and as a person, I have never advocated, and I will never and would never advocate or support the violation of the basic human rights of any Canadian or of anyone, anywhere, period.”
Video: Han Dong leaving Liberal caucus, will sit as an Independent
Global News previously reported last month that Dong is one of at least 11 Toronto-area riding candidates who was allegedly supported by Beijing in the 2019 federal election, according to national security sources.
The sources spoke to Global News on the condition of anonymity, which they requested because they risk prosecution under the Security of Information Act.
Dong has denied the allegations.
In an effort to glean more about the Don Valley North MP’s positions on issues regarding China, Global News has compiled a review of his votes and statements inside and out of the House of Commons:
Statements on the Two Michaels
Trudeau says foreign interference ‘very real challenge,’ urges people to watch Han Dong’s speech View on Watch
Kovrig and Spavor spent more than 1,000 days in prison in China in what was believed to be in retaliation for Canada’s 2018 detention of Meng Wanzhou. The Huawei senior executive was arrested in Vancouver on a U.S. extradition warrant over fraud charges related to U.S. sanctions violations against Iran.
While two national security sources told Global News that Dong urged Chinese Consul General Han Tao to delay freeing the Michaels, Dong pushed back strongly against the allegations in a response to Global News.
“I raised the status of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig and called for their immediate release,” he wrote.
“At every opportunity before they returned home, I adamantly demanded their release to Canada without delay. Any suggestions otherwise are false and are attempts to mislead you and your readers, and slander me.”
Global News reviewed all statements made by Dong in Parliament since he was elected in 2019 and found no remarks related to the Two Michaels or calls for their freedom prior to March 2023.
Dong did not respond to questions about where he’s previously made such statements.
The Globe and Mail reported Thursday that the Trudeau government determined there was no “actionable evidence” after it received a CSIS transcript of a 2021 conversation between Dong and China’s top diplomat in Toronto.
According to The Globe, a senior government source indicated that conclusions could not be drawn that Dong asked Beijing to keep the two Canadians in prison for political reasons.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked Friday by reporters about whether he believed Dong advocated for delaying the Michaels’ freedom.
The prime minister did not directly answer that question despite his office’s review of the conversation’s transcript.
“Dong gave a strong speech in the House that I recommend people listen to. We fully accept that he is stepping away from the Liberal caucus in order to vigorously contest these allegations,” the prime minister said.
Trudeau added that meddling by China, Russia or Iran “is a very real challenge to our democracy and is absolutely unacceptable.”
Calls for interference inquiry
Shortly after resigning from the Liberal caucus, Dong voted Thursday for an inquiry into foreign election interference.
The Trudeau government has been under intense pressure for perceived inaction after reports of China's alleged meddling in Canadian elections.
Dong voted with the Conservative Party, Bloc Québécois and New Democrats to help pass the motion with 172 votes in favour and 149 against, largely comprised of Liberal MPs.
Canada-China relations
Since 2019, there have been three votes on Canada-China relations. One was to review “the Canada–China relationship,” the second a call to combat growing Chinese foreign operations in Canada, and third recognizing that authoritarian regimes like China “increasingly pose a threat to the rules-based international order.”
Dong voted with the entire or vast majority of the Liberal caucus against the three motions.
Uyghur Genocide
On Feb. 1, a Liberal motion was brought forward condemning China’s human rights abuses of the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang and called on the government to bring 10,000 Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims to Canada.
Uyghurs in other countries, the motion said, are pressured to return to China, where they face “forced sterilization, forced labour, torture and other atrocities.”
Dong voted before and after the Uyghur genocide motion but missed the show of hands on the Uyghurs, which passed with the unanimous consent of all 322 MPs present. His absence was first reported by the National Post.
The Toronto MP did not respond to questions from Global News about his non-attendence and referred Global to his statement before the House of Commons.
“Members skip their votes, abstain their votes all the time, and I wasn’t the only one that skipped the vote,” he told reporters Tuesday.
In February 2021, there was a House vote to declare that China’s treatment of the Uyghurs constituted genocide.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet abstained, but MPs were free to vote. Dong skipped that motion, which passed unanimou
Election interference
Amid a flurry of questions from reporters about the stunning allegations against him, Dong said that in 2020 he had called for a motion to study “election interference.”
In November 2020, Dong did call for a study on “ways to further protect Canada’s democratic and electoral institutions from cyber and non-cyber interference.”
The study, he said at the time, should include “how new domestic and international stakeholders, as well as other orders of government, can work together to strengthen Canada’s whole-of-society preparedness, resilience and civic engagement in the face of evolving threats to democracy.”
Wuhan Institute
In 2021, a Conservative motion sponsored by MP Michael Chong requested that the Public Health Agency turn over unredacted documents related to the shipment of viruses sent from Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory to Wuhan, China in 2019, and the subsequent firing of two scientists from the Winnipeg facility.
Dong voted with the nearly entire Liberal caucus against the motion, which nonetheless passed in Parliament.
Taiwan
Speaking to reporters outside the House of Commons earlier this week, Dong said he had voted in favour of motions considered hostile to Beijing’s interests.
“I voted to condemn China when they sanctioned one of our vice chairs of a standing committee," he said. "I voted to include Taiwan in the WHO. In 2020, I moved a motion in [an] ethics committee to study election interference, domestic and international.”
China considers Taiwan a breakaway province and views any overture of support as meddling in its internal affairs.
In October 2022, Dong indeed joined 323 MPs in voting for the politically sensitive country to become a WHO member. And in June 2021, Dong joined all 327 MPs in favour of unanimously passing a Parliamentary committee motion to condemn Chinese sanctions levied against Conservative MP Michael Chong.
Hong Kong
In February, Dong publicly supported the Liberal government’s move to expand the open-work permit program for Hong Kong residents.
The former British colony, which reverted to Beijing's control in 1997, has seen a massive wave of emigration following anti-government demonstrations four years ago. The protests were sparked by a bill that would have allowed people to be extradited from Hong Kong to mainland China.
“[This] announcement will ensure that Hong Kong residents who share Canada's values of freedom and democracy will continue to be able to seek opportunities to settle and succeed in Canada,” Dong said in a press release at the time.
