Amid calls from opposition parties to disqualify a Liberal MP who suggested the kidnapping of a Conservative opponent to collect a bounty from the communist Chinese government, Liberal Leader Mark Carney has vowed to keep him as a candidate.
Instead of disqualifying Markham–Unionville candidate Paul Chiang, Carney said Chiang’s calls to hand over a political rival to the Communist Party of China were a “teachable moment,” excusing Chiang because he apologized.
“The comments were deeply offensive, and this is a terrible lapse of judgment by Mr. Chang. He has apologized for those comments. He has apologized directly now to the person that he mentioned.”
During an interview with the CCP-funded Hong Kong outlet, Ming Pao, Chiang suggested the audience could bring Don Valley Conservative candidate Joe Tay to Toronto’s Chinese Consulate to “claim the one-million dollar bounty” against him. The bounty is reportedly worth HK$1 million and was issued by CCP-influenced authorities in Hong Kong against Tay for his advocacy.
“I view this as a teachable moment; it underscores the respect with which we treat human rights in this country, the differences between Canadian society, and other countries,” Carney said. “It was a terrible lapse in judgment.”
Tay has now requested RCMP security due to the threat of kidnapping and has not accepted the “apology.” In a statement released Monday, Tay renewed calls to have Chiang fired, saying his comments were intended to “intimidate” Tay and the Chinese diaspora in Canada.
“I want to be clear: no apology is sufficient. Threats like these are the tradecraft of the Chinese Communist Party to interfere in Canada. And they are not just aimed at me. They are intended to send a chilling signal to the entire community in order to force compliance to Beijing’s political goals,” Tay said. “Suggesting that people collect a bounty from the Chinese Communist Party to deliver a political opponent to the Chinese Consulate is disgusting and must never be condoned.”
Opposition parties condemned Chiang’s comments and are calling on Carney to remove him from the Liberal Party of Canada.
“He must be disqualified,” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in response to reporters on Monday. “I find it incredible that Mark Carney would allow someone to run for his party that called for a Canadian citizen to be handed over to a foreign government on a bounty, a foreign government that would almost certainly execute that Canadian citizen.
Poilievre called out Carney for keeping Chiang on amid foreign interference inquiries and the gravity of his comments.
“Think about that for a second. We have a Liberal MP saying that a Canadian citizen should be handed over to a foreign dictatorship to get a bounty so that that citizen could be murdered,” Poilievre said. “And Mark Carney says he should stay on as a candidate. If Mark Carney would allow his Liberal MP to make a comment like this when would he ever protect Canada or Canadians against foreign hostility?”
Poilievre accused Carney of being “deeply conflicted” by the CCP.
“Just in November, he went to Beijing and secured a quarter-billion-dollar loan for his company from a state-owned Chinese bank. He’s deeply compromised, and he will never stand up for Canada against any foreign regime,” Poilievre said. “It is another reason why Mr. Carney must show us all his assets…all the money that his companies owe to foreign hostile regimes.”
NDP Candidate Jenny Kwan said, that as a 28 year veteran police officer, Chiang knows that Canadian citizens are protected from any bounties ordered by a hostile foreign government.
“That cannot be acceptable, that is intimidation at its worst, and yet (Chiang) played right into it. He advocated for people to bring him to the Chinese Consulate to collect the bounty,” Kwan said during a press conference Monday. “In what universe is this normal, and especially in the face of Canada, where we are faced with foreign interference, active, sophisticated foreign interference activities targeting Canada’s democratic institutions.”
She noted that the Hogue report on foreign interference detailed how China was a major offender in interfering with Canada’s election processes, including the intimidation of Canadians.
“The Liberals, frankly, have not taken this file, this issue, seriously. We have a (foreign agents) registry. people have called for the registry, and the House of Commons,” she said. “What did the Liberals do? They did not fully enact the registry, so we still don’t have to be Commissioner, and we’re into the election.”
Bloc Quebecois Leader Francois Blanchet also blasted the Liberals for the incident, and said it puts Carney’s own affiliations into question.
“There are so many things that we don’t know about so many candidates that appear to be a problem,” Blanchet said in a presser. “But there’s so much we don’t know about the Liberal leader, which is no better for democracy.”