Xi Jinping

Wednesday November 16, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday November 16, 2022

Has the Trudeau government finally got Beijing’s number?

An ancient Chinese proverb: To learn is to come face to face with one’s own ignorance.

December 5, 2017

Seven years ago, full of naive bravado, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government embarked on a quest for tighter ties with the People’s Republic of China. It assumed it was signing up for all sorts of cost-free economic and political rewards. Instead, it got an expensive education.

Another Chinese proverb: Strict teachers produce outstanding students. The Trudeau government has spent the past seven years getting schooled by one of the world’s most unreasonable tutors, the Xi Jinping regime. The lessons are paying off.

On Wednesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly gave a speech introducing her government’s new Indo-Pacific strategy. The full policy won’t be unveiled until next month, but the minister teased its key elements. The most important involves a new approach to China.

The government has evolved from dreaming of ever-closer economic integration with China, to trying to minimize conflict – the better to return to the quest for closer ties – to now, as a cum laude graduate of the Xi Jinping School of Experiential Education, recognizing that China, at least in its current form, is an adversary and a threat.

November 20, 2020

Ms. Joly says that Canada will of course continue to have extensive trade and economic ties with the world’s second-largest economy. Given how much of the world’s industrial capacity has moved there over the past two decades, there is no other option. But the government now recognizes that Beijing’s autocratic regime, its hostility to the rules-based international order, and its eagerness to impose its will on smaller states, is a challenge to Canada’s interests.

What’s more, Ms. Joly says that, to give Canada the heft to stand up to China, we have to bolster our traditional alliances with Washington and Europe, while creating new ones with countries such as Japan, South Korea and India.

It’s a long way from where the Trudeau government started.

In 2016, as we watched the Trudeau government “make like a pretzel while attempting to court the hard men of Beijing,” we asked whether “Canada [was] caving into China’s demands,” and whether the Trudeau government was “clueless as to the brutal nature of the regime it is dealing with.”

December 8, 2017

In 2017, as the government bid for a free-trade accord with China, and China started upping its demands, we wrote that Ottawa “did not appear to be sufficiently aware of the potential dangers and downsides.” And we asked, not for the first or last time: “Does the Trudeau government, and the Prime Minister in particular, appreciate who they are dealing with?”

A few months later, after Mr. Trudeau went to China seeking that free-trade deal but was snubbed by his hosts, we wrote that this failure would “come to be seen as less of an embarrassment, and more of a blessing.”

And that was before Canada arrested a Chinese executive on an American extradition warrant, and China retaliated by turning two Canadians into hostages. “The case of Meng Wanzhou has torpedoed the Trudeau government’s China policy,” we wrote in late 2018. “At the same time, it has also sunk China’s Canada policy. Call it a win-win.”

January 29, 2019

“It’s never pleasant to discover the gap between one’s wishes and objective reality, but it is the beginning of the path to wisdom. The Trudeau government is being forced to wise up about the nature of the People’s Republic of China.”

A year later, in December of 2019, with the Two Michaels still behind bars, we wrote that “Beijing has spent the last year giving Canada a special education in how it sees our not-at-all special relationship. We should be thankful for the lessons. The Trudeau government, and the entire political and business establishment, must study them carefully. It may allow this country to finally get over its China delusions.”

February 20, 2021

The Trudeau government has since made progress on getting over those delusions, and let us give thanks for that. But it’s still a few steps short of the end of its 12-step program.

This week brought news that, according to information obtained by Global News, the PM was given an intelligence report last January – that’s nearly a year ago – detailing extensive Chinese meddling in the 2019 Canadian election. There are also credible reports of Beijing meddling in the 2021 election, in particular targeting China-critical Conservatives. What has the Trudeau government done about that? So far, nothing. (The Globe & Mail) 

 

Thursday April 28, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday April 28, 2022

UN ambassador Bob Rae condemns Security Council veto after historic General Assembly vote

September 29, 2012

Canada joined more than 100 global allies Tuesday in subjecting a paralyzed United Nations Security Council to more public scrutiny, while the Ukrainian government praised a Canadian senator for pushing forward with a new, tougher sanctions law.

Bob Rae, the Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, denounced as undemocratic the Security Council’s veto power as the General Assembly voted to subject the world’s most powerful body to more public scrutiny.

The General Assembly adopted a consensus motion that would require any of the five permanent veto-wielding members of the council — Russia, the United States, China, France and Britain — to appear before the 193-country assembly to justify its decision.

The move doesn’t get rid of the council’s controversial veto power, but with Russia threatening to continue using it to prevent action against its war on Ukraine, Rae said the historic vote sends a signal that the world will be watching.

March 4, 2020

“The veto power that is held by the five permanent members of the Security Council is as anachronistic as it is undemocratic,” Rae said in explaining Canada’s support.

At the UN, Tuesday’s unprecedented motion seeks to hold Russia to account politically if it uses its veto. The new motion requires the General Assembly “to hold a debate on the situation” that gives rise to any council veto within 10 working days and for the country that uses it to be among the first to speak.

Representatives from Russia and Belarus spoke against the motion, but they were countered by the envoys of dozens of countries that sponsored the motion, which was led by tiny Lichtenstein and included Canada.

From the floor of the assembly, Rae delivered a blistering condemnation of a broken UN system that he said was enabling what he called a shameful and illegal act of aggression by Russia against Ukraine.

April 24, 2002

Rae said the recent deadlock over Ukraine has happened when the world most needs the Security Council.

“We’re watching the destruction of cities. We’re watching the killing of women and children. We’re seeing the destruction of an entire infrastructure of a country and we’re seeing a country fight back. The Security Council may not be able to act. That doesn’t prevent us from having an ability to act,” Rae said.

Rae and the world’s diplomats were speaking as Russian bombs continued pounding the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, large swaths of which have been reduced to rubble in a war that has killed thousands of Ukrainian civilians and forced millions to flee their homes.

April 12, 2022

“The use and threat of the veto in situations where atrocity crimes are being perpetrated in Syria and Myanmar, and Mariupol, for example, or in situations where a permanent member of the Security Council has launched a war of aggression against another UN member state, as the Russian Federation is now doing in Ukraine, are not only shameful, they are also contrary to obligations under the UN Charter and to international law.” (The Globe & Mail) 

 

Thursday January 30, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday January 30, 2020

U.K.’s plan to deal with Huawei 5G provides an uncertain course for Canada to consider

By cautiously allowing Huawei into only select parts of its 5G cellular networks, Britain is charting its own course in cybersecurity, while seeking to appease both China and the U.S.

December 12, 2018

But the unique nature of the British strategy means it is untested and could yet prove impossible to carry out.

And as Canada moves closer to its own decision on whether to allow the Chinese telecom manufacturer into this country’s 5G systems, Britain’s plan will serve as an example to either follow or avoid.

“They are putting together a policy for themselves which, on paper, is logical,” said Catherine Rosenberg, the Canada research chair in future internet at the University of Waterloo. “But is it going to work the way they want? It’s unclear.”

The U.K.’s announcement on Tuesday amounts to letting Huawei halfway in the system.

Identified as a “high-risk vendor” by British officials, the Shenzhen-based telco will only be allowed to provide equipment used in the outer layer of Britain’s 5G networks, such as transmission facilities. Huawei gear will be banned from the brains of the operation, known as the core components.

January 29, 2019

With current 4G technology, only the core equipment processes user information. The outer tier — known as the edge — beams cellular data between devices.

But here’s where it gets complicated — and potentially cumbersome for Britain. Higher-speed 5G is designed to cut down on latency by integrating some processing functions on the edge of the network, effectively blurring the line between core and edge.

Rosenberg said U.K. mobile networks could indeed choose to only purchase Huawei equipment to perform transmission functions in 5G networks.

But she questioned whether the plan would achieve its intended goal. The next-generation cellular technology is “more and more software-oriented” and “edge-based,” said Rosenberg, who also holds the Cisco research chair in 5G systems.

In vehicle terms, it’s like banning a certain manufacturer’s parts from being used in a car’s engine, only to buy tires from the same company. And with 5G, it’s as if engine parts are now being installed in the wheels.

June 17, 2017

The U.S. has long contended that China could access Huawei’s technology to spy on — or even shut down — foreign telecommunication services. China has always denied these claims.

The fifth-generation technology raises the stakes, as it’s not only expected to provide higher speeds on new 5G-enabled smartphones and other communication devices, it’s also set to form the basis for a deeper presence of the internet in everyday life. A 5G-enabled “internet of things” is meant to allow for more smart devices, self-driving vehicles, as well as tech-based solutions in health care and beyond.

Despite 5G’s projected ubiquity, the thinking behind Britain’s plan is this: if Huawei doesn’t supply core system components, then it won’t have access to sensitive data. But from country to country, the perception of the technological reality of 5G seems to vary based on political considerations. (Source: CBC) 

 

Saturday June 22, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday June 22, 2019

Trudeau and Trump meet and U.S. president says he will press China to release detained Canadians 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s third official visit to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump got off to a better start than his last disastrous G7 meeting with the unpredictable president.

May 24, 2019

Trump welcomed Trudeau to the Oval Office, calling him a “friend” and saying they would have a “positive day” and in a photo opportunity, Trump told reporters he would take up Canada’s cause with Chinese president Xi Jinping to release the detained Canadians “at Justin’s request.”

“I will represent him well, we have a meeting set up with President Xi and it’s obviously on the big transaction that we’re talking about and negotiating…but anything that I can do to help Canada I will be doing.”

Trump also said Trudeau’s going up to Capitol Hill to speak to members of Congress about ratifying the new NAFTA is “a good thing.”

Trump wavered for a moment on the ratification of the new NAFTA however, after a reporter asked about a promise of no more tariffs when the deal is ratified.

November 30, 2018

“I have to get the Democrats to approve it, so I like your positive thinking. But if — and the if is really subject to the Democrats, let’s see what happens — but I really believe that Nancy Pelosi and the House will approve it, I think the senate will approve it rapidly. It’s going to be very bipartisan.”

Trump did not rule out any further tariffs against Canada and Mexico, saying “they have to do what they have to do.”

He said if there are any “tremendous shipments of certain products” into U.S. markets, he might revive them.

“We were very pleased the steel and aluminum tariffs were lifted,” said Trudeau.

Trump replied: “There won’t be hopefully transshipping. If there’s transshipping, I’ll call Justin and he’ll take care of it, I’ll probably call him a second time and if he does it again, we’ll have to talk.” (Hamilton Spectator)

 

Friday June 28, 2019

June 28, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday June 28, 2019

Canada has ‘broad international coalition’ of support on China file, Freeland says

Canada is fortunate to have assembled a “broad international coalition” of countries who support Canada and believe arbitrary detentions are harmful, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Friday at the G20 summit in Osaka.

August 10, 2018

Freeland, who spoke to reporters alongside her cabinet colleague Finance Minister Bill Morneau, said China has been hearing about the detention of two Canadians from a range of countries, adding that efforts continue here at the summit.

The Prime Minister’s Office said Trudeau had “brief, constructive interactions” with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the first day of meetings at the gathering of major economies.

Video footage from a working lunch on Friday showed the two leaders sitting beside each other but not interacting for several minutes while cameras were positioned on them. Trudeau could be seen making an effort to interact with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, located on his other side.

Trudeau and Xi greeted each other prior to the interaction in the footage, government officials said.

December 5, 2017

Canada has been open for a long time to having conversations with China in addition to discussions unfolding at some diplomatic levels, Freeland said Friday, adding it remains “very, very open” to having conversations at the summit at higher level.

At present, communication has proved to be difficult because the Chinese have indicated they have no interest in speaking with senior officials including Freeland or Trudeau.

To try and get through to China, Canada is now relying heavily on the influence of U.S. President Donald Trump to raise the issue in his own bilateral meeting with the Chinese president on Saturday. The president committed to doing so following a meeting last week with Trudeau in Washington.

Freeland wouldn’t speak to whether there was a specific ask of Trump going into the meeting, adding it is never prudent or appropriate to detail private meetings with partners.

June 22, 2019

In addition to having the backing of the U.S., the prime minister has been trying to establish heightened support as part of a strategy to encourage China to release two Canadians detained in China and to put an end to diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

The arrests of the detained Canadians is largely viewed as retaliation for the December arrest of Chinese high tech executive Meng Wanzhou.

Meng remains under house arrest in Vancouver, where she awaits extradition to the U.S. to face allegations of fraud in violating Iran sanctions.

It is important to see whether Trump does indeed raise the issue of the detentions, how he does that, and whether it has any impact, said Thomas Bernes, a fellow with the Centre for International Governance Innovation, a research think-tank. (CBC News)