Liberal candidate and incumbent MP Paul Chiang has dropped out of the election race after coming under pressure for saying his Conservative rival should be brought to the Chinese Consulate to collect a bounty.
During an ethnic news conference in January, Chiang suggested Tory candidate Joe Tay be turned in to the consulate in order to claim a bounty placed on Tay’s head by the People’s Republic of China.
His comments are now under review by the RCMP.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney said on March 31 that Chiang had a “terrible lapse in judgment” in making the comments but that he would remain on the Liberal ticket.
“He has my confidence,” Carney said, adding that Chiang had apologized and noting his record of service for the community as a former police officer.
Later on March 31, Chiang issued a statement saying he was pulling out of the election campaign.
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“As the Prime Minister and Team Canada work to stand up to President Trump and protect our economy, I do not want there to be distractions in this critical moment,” he said.
In a statement to media, the RCMP said it is “looking into” the comments made by Chiang but didn’t provide further details. The police force noted that foreign interference and transnational repression remain “pervasive” threats in Canada.
Advocacy group Hong Kong Watch wrote a letter to RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme on March 31, asking for an investigation. The group said it believes Chiang’s comments “may cross into criminality” by having counselled to commit the indictable offence of kidnapping.
Hong Kong Watch also said Chiang’s comments could have contravened a provision of the new legislation adopted last year to counter foreign interference.
The group noted that Section 20 of the Foreign Interference and Security of Information Act states that “Every person commits an offence who, at the direction of, for the benefit of or in association with, a foreign entity or a terrorist group, induces or attempts to induce, by intimidation, threat or violence, any person to do anything or to cause anything to be done.”
The controversy stems from comments made by Chiang to Chinese-language media Ming Pao during an ethnic media event in January.
“To everyone here, you can claim the $1-million-dollar bounty if you bring him to Toronto’s Chinese Consulate,” Chiang reportedly said about Tay, his then-rival in the Markham-Unionville riding.
Hong Kong authorities, controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, placed a bounty of HK$1 million (approximately CA$180,000) on Tay and other democracy activists in Canada and elsewhere in December.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly had condemned this attempt by the Chinese regime to “conduct transnational repression abroad” and said it would “not be tolerated.”
Chiang’s comments led to calls from Hong Kong democracy groups and the Conservative Party for him to be dropped from the Liberal ticket.
Tay, who is now running in the riding of Don Valley North, said he fears for his safety and had contacted the RCMP before Chiang’s comments surfaced.
“Threats like these are the tradecraft of the Chinese Communist Party to interfere in Canada,” he said in a March 31 statement.
The federal election is taking place under heightened concerns around foreign interference, with Canada being rocked in the last two years by multiple intelligence leaks in the media about Beijing’s meddling, along with key reports from official entities.
The Foreign Interference Commission concluded its work in January and said the Chinese regime is the foremost perpetrator of foreign interference in Canada.
