Liberal Party in Talks to Reintegrate MP Han Dong: Report

Former Liberal candidate Han Dong celebrates with supporters while taking part in a rally in Toronto on May 22, 2014.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press

A Liberal cabinet minister says he will meet with now-independent MP Han Dong in the coming weeks in order to evaluate his potential return to the party caucus.

“I’m still going through the process. It’s something the prime minister asked me to do (and) I want to do it properly,” Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc told reporters on July 19, according to Global News.

“The Prime Minister asked me to begin a process that would look at all of these issues. ... And when we have more to say at the right moment, I’d be happy to do so,” he said.

Mr. Dong left the Liberal caucus in March after Global News reported, based on national security leaks, that he had advised the Chinese regime to keep Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig in detention during the Meng Wangzhou affair.

Mr. Dong denied the allegation and filed a lawsuit against the outlet, arguing that the reporting is “malicious, false, and defamatory.”

Meanwhile Global has defended its reporting in a statement of defence, saying the information published had been “rigorously checked and cross-referenced.”

Global had previously reported that Mr. Dong was, according to anonymous security sources, a “witting affiliate” in Beijing’s interference activities in Canada. The outlet said he received help from the Chinese consulate in Toronto to secure the nomination and that he had met a senior official of the United Front Work Department (UFWD) in New York state.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) views the UFWD as Beijing’s prime tool to interfere abroad.

David Johnston, the former special rapporteur on foreign interference, addressed the allegations surrounding Mr. Dong in his report filed on May 23. Regarding the alleged comments on Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor, Mr. Johnston wrote that the allegation is “false.”

“Mr. Dong discussed the ‘two Michaels’ with a PRC [People’s Republic of China] official, but did not suggest to the official that the PRC extend their detention,” says the report.

Mr. Johnston told a House of Commons committee on June 6 that Global’s reporting had been based on “an early draft of an understanding of what transpired in a conversation between a member of the PRC consulate and Mr. Dong.”

“That was subsequently superseded by another interview that indicated the suggestion in the first one, that he had suggested the two Michaels be detained further, was simply a wrong interpretation,” he said.

Mr. Dong said on May 24 he felt “vindicated” by Mr. Johnston’s report and that he “absolutely” wanted to rejoin his former party.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hinted on the same day he would welcome the MP back into the Liberal Party. “Mr. Johnston was very clear about the non-substance of those allegations,” he said. “I look forward to conversations with Han about whether he wants to come back and whether his fight to clear his name is ongoing.”

The Epoch Times reached out to Mr. Dong to get details about the talks but didn’t hear back.

Other Allegations

Mr. Johnston, who had access to all intelligence files and who interviewed political and security officials, did find issues with Mr. Dong’s 2019 party nomination.

He wrote there is “well-grounded suspicion that the irregularities were tied to the PRC Consulate in Toronto, with whom Mr. Dong maintains relationships.” But he added had found no evidence that Mr. Dong was aware of the consulate’s involvement.

CSIS had warned the Liberal Party about the irregularities, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “concluded there was no basis to displace Mr. Dong as the candidate for Don Valley North,” says Johnston’s report.

The report did not address the allegation of a contact between Mr. Dong and a senior UFWD official.

In his testimony before the House of Commons committee, Mr. Johnston said he had not reviewed all relevant information to come to his report’s conclusions.

“I’m not sure how we could absorb any more than we had in the space of eight weeks,” he said.

Mr. Johnston’s most consequential report recommendation was to not hold a public inquiry into foreign interference, citing the need to protect sensitive information.

The opposition parties in the House of Commons reacted by passing a motion asking him to resign in late May. While he initially resisted, he did so shortly after.

Parties are currently in talks about the terms of an eventual public inquiry into foreign interference. Mr. Leblanc was asked on July 17 about whether there were any particular hold-ups in announcing progress on the matter.

“You'll understand that if we’re having constructive private conversations, they’re not helped by public conjecture around the work we’re doing,” he said.

“We’re encouraged by the collaborative tone with the opposition parties, but one of the reasons why we think we’ve made progress is because we’ve sort of taken it away from the toxic, partisan House of Commons.”

Andrew Chen and Matt Horwood contributed to this report.