China completely rejects Canada’s false accusations, smears: spokesman

China urges Canada to respect and face up to the facts, discard ideological prejudice and immediately stop groundless attacks and smears against China, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lin Jian said on Monday.

Lin made the remarks in response to a press query about the Initial Report issued by the Commissioner of Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions of Canada on Friday, which says that “China currently stands out as the most persistent and sophisticated foreign interference threat to Canada."

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Lin said that "We've repeatedly stressed on China's commitment to the principle of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs. China has never and will never have any interest in interfering in Canada’s internal affairs. The so-called 'China’s foreign interference' is nothing but a lie to serve political purposes. China strongly deplores and opposes this so-called 'Initial Report.' We reject its groundless accusations and vilification, and have lodged serious démarches to Canada."

"The so-called Report is riddled with speculative wording such as 'possible', 'may' and 'potential.' It says its arguments are mainly supported by 'intelligence', but adds that 'intelligence is not proven fact' and provides no real evidence. Such ideologically driven reports are the product of some self-serving Canadian politicians, who deliberately seek to confuse and mislead the public with false accusations and self-contradictory allegations. This is extremely irresponsible," he said.

"Canada has long had a record of grossly interfering in China’s domestic affairs on issues concerning our core interests such as Taiwan, Xinjiang, Xizang, and Hong Kong. When discussing foreign interference activities, Canada should introspect and reflect on its own behaviors. China urges Canada to respect and face up to the facts, ditch its ideological bias and immediately stop groundless attacks and smears against China," Lin said.

China completely rejects Canada’s false accusations, smears: spokesman

The depreciation of Japanese yen has caused an old coffee shop in Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture of Japan to suffer rising financial strain due to surging import costs.

The coffee shop, with a 50-year history, is facing fund squeeze. The owner, 82-year-olld Hajime Yoneyama said that the depreciation has led to increased prices for imported raw materials, particularly coffee beans sourced mainly from Brazil, Vietnam, and Colombia, resulting in a 20 percent surge in purchase costs.

"The purchase price (of coffee beans) has increased by 20 percent. I feel that the prices of vegetables and oil have also increased by at least 20 percent. Now the prices of these things continue to rise, with no sign of stopping. The expenditure situation of the store may become more severe in the future," said him.

Yoneyama said that he had to raise the prices to sustain the coffee shop's operation.

"Recently we had to raise the price. Previously, a cup of coffee cost 500 yen. It's no longer sustainable (without price increases) and now it's up to 600 yen," said the owner.

Furthermore, in an effort to cut costs, the elderly Yoneyama works with just one employee, yet the store business kept crippling. He said that a significant portion of his pension funds is used to cover store expenses and employee wages.

Locals worry that if the weak yen trend persists, the pressure on livelihoods will further intensify.

"The prices of everything are increasing, food, drink, vegetables. It would be great if there was a solution. Medical supplies are also an issue that needs to be considered. I do worry about what the future will bring," said a local resident.

"Not only are labor costs rising, but gas costs are also rising, so operators need to cut expenses, such as advertising expenses, and the work that they originally paid to hire people to do may now be borne entirely by the operators themselves," said another resident.

Japan’s time-honored coffee shop face fund squeeze due to weakening yen