generalspeaking

Canada's Toxic/Benign Relationship with China

Jason Kenney (R) with Martin Lee.

"[I was] shocked to learn [of the arrest]. Martin is the elder statesman of Hong Kong democracy. I hope for his immediate release."
"Look, Alberta doesn't have a foreign policy, and I don't freelance in foreign policy. But I'll just say this: when a personal friend of mine is arrested as a political prisoner, I can't in good conscience stay silent."
"I make no apologies for speaking out in the interests of a great champion of human rights and democracy who was a political prisoner."
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney

"Canada is concerned by the arrests of political figures in Hong Kong on April 18 in relation to popular demonstrations that took place last year and believes that this extraordinary measure calls for close scrutiny."
Foreign Affairs Minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne, Ottawa

"No one stays out of the law. Ignoring the facts and openly advocating for the rioters can only undermine the rule of law, which is not in Canada's own interests."
"Local [Canadian] politicians [should] abide by the basic norms governing international relations -- and immediately stop interfering in China's internal affairs."
Chinese Consulate-General, Calgary

Pro-democracy activist Martin Lee waves as he leaves Hong Kong’s central police station on Saturday. He was one of 14 people arrested on charges relating to last year’s mass protests © AFP via Getty Images

"It is feeling very, very much like a lost cause now [democratic movement in Hong Kong]."
"The enemy is advancing. We are losing. We are losing at a rate that the international community is not keeping up with as a counter force. It's like we have nothing to fight back with. And it's going to keep getting worse."
"We in the pro-democratic people, within the space of nine months, we've pushed the space against Beijing further than they [Hong Kong's older-generation democrats] have in 20 years."
"There are a hundred reasons under the sun, all the reasons under the sun, that Hong Kongers want to break free, because look at what we're suffering. So long as there is any hint or trace of Beijing rule in Hong Kong, we will always, always be fighting. We will always be struggling with our flesh and blood, with our lives. There are a hundred reasons why we want to break free."
"But where the conflict comes in is that Hong Kongers can't fight alone. We don't stand a chance against Beijing when we're fighting alone. We stand half a chance against Beijing when we have the international support that we really do need, but the international community isn't able to echo what Hong Kongers truly want in their hearts."
Catrina Ko, activist, pro-democracy uprising

Protesters standoff with police during a clash at an anti-government rally in Tsuen Wan district on August 25, 2019 in Hong Kong.

While the world is distracted with the over-arching issue of gaining control over the novel coronavirus, just incidentally unleashed upon it by cultural-cuisine happenstance or sloppy laboratory techniques in research zoonotics, Beijing has taken advantage of a focus elsewhere to advance its long-range plan a little closer to the present through a "supervisory" role in Hong Kong. In the process, dumping the agreement reached between it and Great Britain with the transition of Hong Kong from British oversight to China's benevolent care.

Martin Lee, 81, an elder statesman of democratic Hong Kong, was responsible for co-structuring the mini-constitution setting out the "one country, two systems" arrangement called the "Basic Law" whereby for 50 years Hong Kong's British-inherited democracy would be the law of Hong Kong. President Xi Jinping, however, is impatient with that rule which he seems to feel should be set aside as a useless historical document of no moment. He envisions complete control of Hong Kong; 'one country, one system'.

His agenda was not unknown to Hong Kong's democratic players who began their response of resistance to Beijing for the past several years. The Chinese Communist Party has done all it could to delegitimize, slander, imprison and demoralize the democratic activists. Last August and September large protests came out in the streets against Beijing's interference in Hong Kong, much less its short-term plan to obliterate the long-term plan. Protests drew 1.7 million Hong Kongers into the streets last August, to Beijing's alarm.



Intent on imposing itself in Hong Kong's internal affairs against the Basic Law, almost 8,000 Hong Kongers were arrested and more latterly along with them the older generation leaders of the democratic movement.And when Alberta Premier Jason Kenney's personal friend, the 81 year-old founder of Hong Kong's Democratic Party was arrested and imprisoned, he responded as a friend and fellow democrat should. Drawing the ire of the ever-irascible Chinese envoys to Canada, quick to respond with scathing comments about foreign interference in China's internal affairs.

It would be comic if it were not so peculiarly-Beijing-sinister. The CCP has spent years infiltrating Canada at every level, political, social, academic, to guide Canada's opinion of Beijing and acceptance of its 'basic dictatorship' as an admiring Justin Trudeau described it, for its ability to respond to situations, as totalitarian governments are known to. Canada has been in Beijing's bleak, back books of late, however.

When, in December 2019, police in Vancouver arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in respose to an extradition request from the United States, Beijing swiftly arrested two Canadians on espionage charges, sentenced two others to death for drug trafficking, and halted all imports of Canadian canola products and pork with the obvious intention of punishing Canada for its lack of adequate humility when it comes to dealing with China. And threatening repercussions should Ms.Meng not be released swiftly, with all due apologies. Oh, and by the way, inviting Huawei to work on Canada's 5G upgrade.

"To say the very least, it was quite a disappointment [the statement issued by Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne calling for dialogue and restraint on 'all sides'; anodyne and weak]."
"It was really beyond weak. The Canadian government couldn't even bring itself to utter the word 'condemn'. I am torn -- would it have been better to not even have a statement? I don't know. It was such a joke."
Natalie Hui, core member, Canadian Friends of Hong Kong organization