Canada hypes 'foreign interference' claim ahead of election; trick serves to divert attention from tensions with US: expert

加拿大在选举前大肆炒作“外国干预”指控；专家指出：此举旨在转移公众对与美国紧张关系的注意力。

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun

中国外交部发言人郭嘉琨

China has never interfered in Canada's internal affairs, nor do we have any interest in doing so, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson once again emphasized on Tuesday, following a Canadian intelligence official's claim that countries such as China and India are likely to try to interfere in the upcoming Canadian election on April 28 and China is "highly likely" to use tools enabled by AI to interfere.

中国从未干涉过加拿大内政，也没有任何干涉的意图。中国外交部发言人周二再次强调了这一点，此前一名加拿大情报官员声称，中国和印度等国可能试图干涉将于4月28日举行的加拿大大选，而中国“极有可能”利用人工智能技术进行干涉。

Chinese observers told the Global Times the recurring narrative of "foreign interference in election" has been created to serve Canada's domestic agendas, and they described the ploy as "self-entertaining."

中国观察人士向《环球时报》表示，关于“外国干预选举”的反复出现的叙述是为了服务于加拿大的国内议程，他们将这一策略描述为“自娱自乐”。

"China is highly likely to use AI enabled tools to attempt to interfere with Canada's democratic process in this current election," Vanessa Lloyd, deputy director of operations at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, claimed during a press conference on Monday, according to Reuters.

据路透社报道，加拿大安全情报局运营副局长范妮莎·洛伊德（Vanessa Lloyd）周一在新闻发布会上表示。“中国极有可能利用人工智能技术工具试图干预加拿大此次大选的民主进程。"

Accusing others but using phrase such as "highly likely" with no certainty reveals the apparent guilty conscience of the Canadian official when making the allegation, Liu Dan, a researcher at the Center for Regional Country Studies at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, told the Global Times.

广东外语外贸大学区域国家研究中心研究员刘丹在接受《环球时报》采访时指出。指责他人时却使用“极有可能”等不确定表述，这暴露了加拿大官员在提出指控时明显的良心不安。

This is not the first time that Canada has deliberately created a narrative of "Chinese interference" in its elections. The approach is primarily a Conservative Party tactic to sow doubt over the legitimacy of Liberal Party victories, Liu said.

这不是加拿大第一次刻意制造“中国干预”其选举的叙述。刘表示，这种做法主要是保守党为质疑自由党胜选合法性而采取的策略。

With the so-called allegation, Liberal Party would be under pressure of domestic public opinion to continue the investigation over "interference in election" claim, the expert said, noting that although the so-called evidence has always been elusive or didn't exist, the hype can easily attract the attention and support of voters.

专家指出，随着所谓指控的出现，自由党将面临国内舆论压力，被迫继续调查“干预选举”的指控。他指出，尽管所谓证据一直模糊不清或根本不存在，但这种炒作很容易吸引选民的关注和支持。

On Tuesday's press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun reemphasized that "China stays committed to the principle of non-interference in other countries' domestic affairs. China has never interfered in Canada's internal affairs, nor do we have any interest in doing so."

在周二的新闻发布会上，中国外交部发言人郭家坤再次强调，"中国始终坚持不干涉他国内政的原则。中国从未干涉过加拿大的内政，也没有任何兴趣这样做。”

New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Conservative opponent kicked off their election campaigns on Sunday against the backdrop of a trade war and annexation threats from the Trump administration, according to AP.

据美联社报道，新任加拿大总理马克·卡尼及其保守党对手于周日正式启动竞选活动，此举正值特朗普政府发起的贸易战及吞并威胁的背景下。

Carney announced there will be a five-week election campaign before the vote on 28 April, the report said.

报道称，卡尼宣布将在4月28日投票前进行为期五周的竞选活动。

Liu said hyping foreign interference helps divert public attention from US-Canada tensions, mitigating the impact of strong nationalist sentiments on Canada's relations with the US, and it also allows the Canadian government to exploit the topic of foreign interference to justify its hardline policies towards China and garner support from voters.

刘表示，炒作外国干预有助于转移公众对美加紧张关系的注意力，减轻强烈的民族主义情绪对加拿大与美国关系的影响，同时还使加拿大政府能够利用外国干预这一话题来为其对华强硬政策辩护并获得选民支持。

Carney on Sunday called a snap election for April 28, saying he needed a strong mandate to deal with the threat posed by US President Donald Trump, who "wants to break us so America can own us," according to Reuters.

据路透社报道，卡尼于周日宣布将于4月28日举行提前大选，称他需要一个强大的授权来应对美国总统唐纳德·特朗普构成的威胁，特朗普“想要摧毁我们，以便美国能够控制我们”。

"The comments showed the extent to which relations between the US and Canada, two long-time allies and major trading partners, have deteriorated since Trump imposed tariffs on Canada and threatened to annex it as the 51st state," Reuters report said.

路透社报道称：“这些评论显示，自特朗普对加拿大征收关税并威胁将其并入美国作为第51个州以来，美国与加拿大这两个长期盟友和主要贸易伙伴之间的关系已恶化到何种程度。"

The objective reality, which even the current Prime Minister of Canada acknowledges, is that the primary threat facing Canada comes from the US, which aims to turn Canada into its 51st state, against this backdrop, hyping "Chinese interference" and smearing China demonstrate the amateurishness and unprofessionalism of this Canadian intelligence official, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.

中国外交学院教授李海东在接受《环球时报》采访时指出。加拿大现任总理也承认的客观现实是，加拿大面临的主要威胁来自美国，美国企图将加拿大变成其第51个州。在此背景下，炒作“中国干预”并抹黑中国，充分暴露了这位加拿大情报官员的业余和不专业。