BREAKING: Carney recalls Liberal MPs from Taiwan just days before he visits China

Liberal MPs were abruptly sent home from their diplomatic trip to Taiwan just days before Prime Minister Mark Carney visits the People’s Republic of China.

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Liberal MPs were abruptly sent home from their diplomatic trip to Taiwan just days before Prime Minister Mark Carney visits the People’s Republic of China.

True North was tipped off that two Liberal MPs, Marie-France Lalonde and Helena Jaczek, left a parliamentary trip to Taiwan early, while another Liberal MP, Sameer Zuberi, allegedly cancelled his attendance before departing.

Lalonde, Jaczek, and Zuberi were not immediately available when asked to confirm and justify the move; however, in a Globe and Mail piece published Monday, Lalonde and Jaczek confirmed that they were leaving Taiwan to “avoid confusion” about Canada’s foreign policy.

The Liberal MPs stated they were acting on the “advice of the Canadian government” and didn’t want to “overlap with the Prime Minister’s engagement in Taiwan.”

Global Affairs Canada was not immediately available for comment on why the MPs were advised to withdraw or if Canada would support the PRC if it invaded Taiwan.

“Canada’s position on Taiwan has not changed, and our focus in this visit has been on meetings related to trade, culture, and strong people-to-people engagement.”A joint statement from Lalonde and Jaczek stated. “It’s important that we avoid confusion with Canada’s foreign policy, given the overlap with the Prime Minister’s engagement in Beijing, which was only confirmed last week,”

Conservative MPs Melissa Lantsman, Adam Chambers, and Shelby Kramp-Neuman are still committed to the trip, which is paid for by the Taiwanese government and includes meetings with Taiwanese officials.

Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong told True North in a statement that cutting the trip to Taiwan short was “nothing short of kowtowing to Beijing’s authoritarianism.”

“Conservative MPs were not asked to return home. Taiwan is a partner in democracy, with a strong relationship between people, on trade and with a shared commitment to freedom and the rule of law. It’s not a liability,” Chong said in a statement. “Ordering elected representatives home to avoid offending an authoritarian regime sends a clear message: convenience comes before principle.”

The PRC has long considered the sovereign nation of Taiwan to be Chinese territory and has threatened military invasion since the two countries’ split after the Communists seized control of the PRC.

Canada adopted the Communist Party of China’s “One China Policy” in the 1970s, which claims the PRC is the “legitimate government of China.”

This comes as Carney is set to visit China on Tuesday and leave the PRC on Saturday, further strengthening trade relations with the country as an alternative to U.S. markets.

The strategy to appease China reflects the Liberal Party’s pro-Chinese communist stance of its former leader and prime minister, Justin Trudeau, who once said he “admires China’s basic dictatorship.”

“It’s increasingly looking like Prime Minister Carney is taking the same approach as Trudeau on the communist government of China,” Chong said. “This kind of retreat weakens our democracy, our relationship with Taiwan, and rewards Beijing’s intimidation.”

Carney’s trip to Beijing also sparked outrage as the Liberals’ newest floor-crosser from the Conservative party, Michael Ma, will be escorting the prime minister on his trip. Ma has been accused of allegedly being an agent of the despotic Chinese Communist Party, which rules China.

Judy Sgro, the Liberal MP who chairs the parliamentary Canada-Taiwan Friendship group, was not immediately available for comment.

Conservative MPs Melissa Lantsman, Adam Chambers, and Shelby Kramp-Neuman are still committed to the trip. The trip is paid for by the Taiwanese government and will include meetings with Taiwanese officials.