By Si Tong, Minghui reporter
Since
the Conservatives have come to power in Canada, the government has been cooling
off its relations with China by avoiding meetings, canceling trips to China, and
similar actions. Last Wednesday, September 27, the Canadian Foreign Minister denounced
the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) current human rights situation.
People have started to notice that, since the Conservative Party has been in power,
the government's policy on China seems to have made an abrupt about face
when compared to the policies of the Liberal Party, which was in office beginning
in 1993. The Liberals' diplomatic policy ignored China's human rights
issues and regarded the economy as of primary importance, while the current government's
main focus is on China's human rights and other issues.
On September 26, eight Canadian MPs took part in the rally on Parliament Hill,
supporting Falun Gong and condemning the CCP's crimes against humanity practice
of harvesting live organs. MP Diane Bourgeois, above, came to voice her support.
  MP Wayne Marston made a speech |
  MP Irwin Cotler, former Canadian Minister of Justice and Attorney General |
MP Jim Peterson spoke
MP Peter Julian came to show support and make a speech
David Kilgour made a speech
  MP Larry Bagnell spoke at the rally |
  Renowned Jewish scholar Dr. Reuven Bulka denounced the CCP's evil deeds |
Canada Cools off “Partnership”
The Globe and Mail
reported on September 27: “A year ago, in a solemn signing ceremony, China and
Canada announced a 'strategic partnership'–the highest political relationship
that Beijing can bestow on a friendly country. But a few months later, something
happened in Canada that never happens in China: a democratic change of government.
Since then, the new government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has deliberately
avoided the 'strategic partnership' term. His China policy has fallen
into limbo, with the two sides barely talking.”
The report said that Beijing
remains keen on the partnership, but Ottawa has been cool or uninterested. “It's
going nowhere,” one participant said privately. Canadian officials say China is
“not on the radar” of Mr. Harper's government.
The Globe and Mail
cited a foreign affairs official that the government has still not sent a
cabinet minister to China more than eight months after winning power. Several
cabinet ministers have made plans to go, notified the Chinese government of their
intentions, then abruptly canceled their trips, to Beijing's puzzlement.
The paper also reported that Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn might travel
to Beijing in November to attend a mining conference and a heavy oil conference.
But even that visit is not confirmed yet, officials say. And Mr. Lunn is hardly
the senior cabinet minister that China would expect Canada to send.
The
Globe and Mail compared the differences in the China-Canada relationship between
the current government and the Liberal rule of Jean Chrétien, “The Conservative
approach is a far cry from the first year or so of the Liberal rule of Jean Chrétien.
Twelve years ago, one year into his first term, Mr. Chrétien led nine premiers,
two territorial leaders, 350 business executives, and other municipal politicians
on a trade mission in an effort to exploit the Chinese market."
The CCP's Live Organ Harvesting Is One of the Reasons for the Worsening of
Canada-China Relations
Yuchao Zhu, a political scientist at the University
of Regina, said the conundrum, from China's viewpoint, is that the Chinese
don't know what is in Mr. Harper's new China policy. “The Harper government
seems to have simply left Sino-Canada relations out in the cold since last January,”
he said. “The political relationship seems to be at a definite low point.”
The Globe and Mail pointed out that, among the other tensions and disputes
between the two countries, is a report by Canadian lawyers David Matas and David
Kilgour supporting a Falun Gong allegation that China executed thousands of prisoners
for their internal organs.
Foreign Affairs Minister Denounces the
China's Human Rights Situation
According to a Reuters' report,
last Wednesday, September 27, Canadian Foreign Minister MacKay denounced the current
state of human rights and democracy under the CCP. The report said that the comments
by the Foreign Minister were among the bluntest Canada has made about Beijing
since the right-wing Conservatives won a federal election in January.
MacKay
said, “We have concerns about their justice system, and we have concerns about
the way in which their democracy functions, if we can call it that.”
Reuters
reported that MacKay said that they are reexamining the policy of giving aid to
China, but that Canada can still make a contribution to helping China develop
democratic institutions.
In June, Prime Minister Stephen Harper told his Japanese
counterpart that China was a challenge the two countries should work together
to tackle.
Eight MPs Take Part in the Rally Condemning the CCP's
Atrocities
On September 26, eight Canadian MPs participated in the rally
on Parliament Hill, voicing their support for Falun Gong practitioners and condemning
the CCP's crimes against humanity by harvesting organs from living practitioners.
Posting date: 19/Oct/2006
Original
article date: 3/Oct/2006
Category: World
News
