A Chinese journalist wanted to get a divorce to pursue a relationship with Conservative MP Bob Dechert, says an email allegedly sent by the woman’s husband.
The person who hacked emails between the Mississauga MP and Xinhua News correspondent Shi Rong appended the note at the top of the package of emails, which were forwarded last week to 250 recipients on Shi’s contacts list.
“In order to love this MP, Shi Rong has not hesitated to ask to end her marriage while posted abroad,” the note said in Chinese. “This is the Shi Rong you should know about.”
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Shi has said it was her husband who hacked and circulated the messages between her and Dechert, which date to April 2010.
The message appears at odds with Dechert’s claim that he had only an innocent “friendship” with the Chinese journalist. It suggests that Shi’s husband believed his wife and the MP were involved in an affair.
Dechert, 53, has said the sentimental emails in which he said he missed Shi, complemented her beauty and signed “love, Bob,” were merely flirtations.
The Prime Minister’s Office says it has no information to dispute Dechert’s claim he did nothing wrong and has resisted calls for him to resign his role as parliamentary secretary to Foreign Minister John Baird. Some critics contend that Xinhua functions as an espionage arm of the Chinese government. They claim Dechert’s personal relationship with Shi could put Canada’s security at risk.
The sender of the hacked emails also said in English that the messages that followed were “only one part” – suggesting there may be more related correspondence not yet public.
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