Toronto Independent MP Hon Dong who represents the Don Valley North Riding is fighting to clear his name and save his reputation.
The once-Liberal caucus member left the party after Global News published a story last week alleging that he had advised a Chinese diplomat to delay the release of two Canadian diplomats in detention in China so it would damage the Conservative’s reputation.
Dong strongly denied the allegations and now says he has retained a lawyer and is taking legal action against Global News and Corus Entertainment for publishing that story, according to a statement he posted on Twitter yesterday.
“It is inconceivable that I would ever suggest a falsely accused individual should spend an extra minute in jail,” Dong wrote.
In the statement, he goes on to explain the hardships his father faced back in China and why his family ended up in Canada.
“In 1970, my father was sent to the May Seventh Cadre School (re-education camp) during the Cultural Revolution and subjected to forced labour and 24-hour surveillance for almost an entire year. From that experience, my father knew there was no future left for him in China. As a result, in 1990 my father brought me, my sister, and my mother to Canada to begin a new life,” he said.
“The trauma left on my father is one of the compelling reasons why, as co-chair of the Canada-China Legislative Association and a member of Parliament, I took every available opportunity to advocate on behalf of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor and to call for their immediate release,” Dong wrote.
A different report in The Globe and Mail published by Robert Fife said the Prime Minister’s Office has examined a transcript of Dong’s call with the diplomat and found it contained no “actionable evidence.”
University of Toronto political science professor Nelson Wiseman understands why Dong put out the statement.
“The best defence is a good offence,” Wiseman said. “How good will it be? I am pretty sure it will not go to a trial. This story deals with national security, where a whistleblower is risking going to jail for a long time.”
Wiseman noted that Dong was noticeably absent for a recent House of Commons motion condemning the Chinese government’s treatment of its Uyghur population.
Meanwhile, Global News editor-in-chief Sonia Verma is standing by the network’s reporting in a statement issued yesterday.
“Global News is governed by a rigorous set of journalistic principles and practices, and we are very mindful of the public interest and legal responsibility of this important accountability reporting,” she wrote.
“There are pretty strong protections for freedom of the press,” University of Toronto political scientist Christopher Cochrane said. “If he is not at all involved, I see a reason that his reputation has been damaged.”