Canadian MP quits election race amid Hong Kong activist bounty remark controversy
Paul Chiang apologises for ‘deplorable’ suggestion to turn election rival Joseph Tay over to Chinese consulate for HK$1 million bounty
A Canadian politician who encouraged supporters to turn a wanted Hong Kong activist over to the Chinese consulate for a HK$1 million (US$128,540) bounty has announced he will not run in a coming election after the country’s police said they were investigating his comments.
Paul Chiang, a member of parliament for the governing Liberal Party, made the announcement on Tuesday shortly after apologising to Joseph Tay, who is running for the opposition Conservative Party in the country’s April 28 election.
“This is a uniquely important election with so much at stake for Canadians,” Chiang wrote on social media. “That’s why I’m standing aside as our 2025 candidate in our community of Markham-Unionville.”
Just hours before, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed with local media they were looking into whether the Toronto politician had broken the law over comments made in January encouraging people to turn Tay over to the Chinese consulate.
Tay, a former actor and founder of Canada-based NGO Hongkonger Station, is among 19 opposition figures with HK$1 million bounties on their heads for allegedly contravening the Beijing-imposed national security law in Hong Kong.
Chiang, a former police officer, said he had apologised to Tay for the “deplorable” comments.