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Following a speech to the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, Cong said if the Senate or House of Commons adopts the motion, “It suddenly would be a very serious violation of Chinese domestic affairs under such pretext of human rights or democracy.”

We do hope they will stop this kind of dangerous activity

He said “very firm countermeasures” would result. “It’s not in the interest of Canada’s side,” he added. “We do hope they will stop this kind of dangerous activity.”

In an emailed statement, Housakos said the ambassador’s comments illustrate why his motion is needed. “The real danger is that the more we appease them, the more emboldened they become,” he said. “It’s time for Canada to stand up for our values. We are either defenders of democracy, human rights and the rule of law or we are not.”

After his speech, Cong dismissed as “fake news” recent reports in international media that China is detaining hundreds of thousands of Muslims in the territory of Xinjiang, the Uighur homeland, in ideological and behavioural re-education centres.

The Chinese government is conducting “preventative counter-terrorism measures” that are providing security to the country, he said. “Since the past three years (there has been) no single violent terrorist incident,” he said.

Classified documents leaked to a consortium of news organizations and published last month revealed a Chinese government strategy to lock up ethnic minorities before any crime has been committed to rewire their thoughts and the language they speak.