Groups Call on Canadian Government to Expel Chinese Diplomat

A Chinese diplomat in Ottawa has ignited a chorus of voices calling for his expulsion from Canada.
Groups Call on Canadian Government to Expel Chinese Diplomat
Standing across the street from Toronto's Chinese Consulate, protesters called on Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon to have Liu Shaohua, first secretary of the education section at the Chinese Embassy, declared persona non grata and expelled from Canada. (Allen Zhou/The Epoch Times)
Matthew Little
7/18/2010
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/EXPEL-IMGP4951.JPG" alt="Standing across the street from Toronto's Chinese Consulate, protesters called on Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon to have Liu Shaohua, first secretary of the education section at the Chinese Embassy, declared persona non grata and expelled from Canada. (Allen Zhou/The Epoch Times)" title="Standing across the street from Toronto's Chinese Consulate, protesters called on Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon to have Liu Shaohua, first secretary of the education section at the Chinese Embassy, declared persona non grata and expelled from Canada. (Allen Zhou/The Epoch Times)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1817237"/></a>
Standing across the street from Toronto's Chinese Consulate, protesters called on Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon to have Liu Shaohua, first secretary of the education section at the Chinese Embassy, declared persona non grata and expelled from Canada. (Allen Zhou/The Epoch Times)
TORONTO—A Chinese diplomat in Ottawa has ignited a chorus of voices calling for his expulsion from Canada following the release of a tape that catches him directing Chinese students to battle against Chinese Canadians.

Liu Shaohua, first secretary of the education section at the Chinese Embassy, appears to have been a key organizer of the welcome rallies that greeted Hu Jintao during his visit to Ottawa last month in advance of the G-20 in Toronto.

But as Liu explains on the tape, those rallies were more about counteracting and battling Chinese dissident groups than about welcoming the Chinese leader.

An audio tape obtained by The Epoch Times captures Liu saying the embassy would cover the cost of hotels, food, travel, and clothing for what he estimated would be 3,000 people to welcome Hu.

Liu describes that as “little money,” in light of the “political struggle” the Chinese regime is waging, the goal being to overshadow human rights advocates who planned to protest during Hu’s visit.

He tells the students that because they are on Chinese state scholarships they are expected to attend and must ask permission to be absent from events for more than four hours.

“You do not talk about it outside. Do not talk about it to anyone except to people in this circle.”

Liu makes reference to Tibetan, Uyghur, and democracy activists, but focuses mainly on Falun Gong, a spiritual group heavily persecuted by the communist regime in China.

Liu’s remarks have disturbed members of various communities in Canada, including Uyghurs, Falun Gong, and Tibetans. In total, 13 organizations and four prominent individuals on Wednesday issued a call to Lawrence Cannon, minister of Foreign Affairs, to have Liu declared a persona non grata and expelled from the country.

Under the Vienna Convention, a country can at any time declare a diplomat from a foreign country persona non grata and have them removed without explanation.

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Speaking for the Falun Dafa Association of Canada, Grace Wollensak told reporters in Ottawa that the language used by Liu and organizer Yuan Pinghua, who was also caught on tape, was a disturbing reminder of why many left China.

“They used words like ‘fight,’ ‘battle,’ ‘struggle,’ ‘political struggle,’ even ‘war’ in their action plan and mobilization and referred to Canadian protesters as the ‘enemy.’”

She said such hostile language has been invoked by the regime in the various political movements it has carried out in China for 60 years. Those movements began by targeting landowners, business owners, and later intellectuals. Presently, Falun Gong practitioners are the main target of attack in mainland China.

“It is not acceptable that they are exporting it here in Canada to instigate hate against Canadian groups,” said Wollensak. “Liu’s actions were completely outside the scope of his diplomatic duties as set out in the Vienna Convention.”

A letter cosigned by the 13 groups notes that Liu targeted “Falun Gong, Tibetan separatists, Uyghur separatists, and democracy [activists]” who he said were planning protests that would “sabotage” and “interfere” with Hu’s visit.

He laid out a plan for three days of counterattacks against the protesters, including bringing enough people to Parliament Hill to surpass the number of protesters, arranging day and night shifts outside the Westin Hotel starting from June 22 (one day before Hu’s arrival), and carrying out “counteracts” against protesters on the way to the airport and to the governor general’s residence.

In a separate letter, former member of Parliament and secretary of state for Asia-Pacific, David Kilgour, said it is not a matter of what the Canadian government could do, but what it should do.

“In my view, there is more than enough evidence to justify expulsion of this official. He should be expelled,” said Kilgour.

“Usually what constrains the government of Canada when dealing with foreign officials are concerns about reciprocity. The government of Canada will not do anything to others it would not want inflicted on its own diplomats. Yet, how long would the government of China allow a Canadian official to stay in Beijing who tried doing something similar there to what Liu Shaohua has done in Canada? The answer is not an instant.”

Events calling for Liu’s expulsion were held in Ottawa, Vancouver, and Toronto.

Groups participating included the China Rights Network, China Democratic Party, Canadian Friends of Burma, Canadian Tibet Association of Ontario, Uyghur Canadian Society, Tibetan Youth Congress, the Interfaith Committee on Restorative Justice, One Free World International, and others.