‘Tibet is sovereign issue for China to deal with’
The Tories are getting more cautious in pointing fingers at China’s human rights, despite 2009 is the 50th anniversary of the Dalai Lama’s escape from Lhasa.
In an interview with Ming Pao, International Trade Minister Stockwell Day gave an identical answer despite asked repeatedly on what’s our government stance on Tibet. (NOTE: I’m only translating a few lines here. For the full story in Chinese, please check the Ming Pao article).
“These are sovereign issues for China to deal with,” Day said.
He refused to comment further. It’s a little surprising. I expected Day would try to be “balance” and would comment a little bit like “but we are also concerned about human rights situation in Tibet” etc etc. But he didn’t. Instead, he sounded like Canada admits the Tibet issue is an internal affairs of China and Canada does not want to get involved.
Stockwell Day is planning to visit China in April. He told the reporter that he’s been planning the trip since last November and the trip “very important” to him.
The question was raised to Day in response to a series of declassified documents released by the Canadian Tibet Committee in January 2009 that in the 1950s and 1960s, Canada had disputed China’s claims on Tibet. The declassified documents showed that then Progressive Conservative prime minister John Diefenbaker and then-secretary of state for external affairs Lester B. Pearson were of the opinion that Tibet was an independent country.
“The question is, should Canada consider Tibet to be an independent state, a vassal of China, or an integral portion of China?” the memo states. “It is submitted that the Chinese claim to sovereignty over Tibet is not well founded.”
The legal opinion considers claims of Chinese suzerainty over Tibet, but finds these assertions of historic Tibetan vassalage to “have been a mere fiction.”
“In fact, it appears that during the past 40 years Tibet has controlled its own internal and external affairs,” the opinion reads. “Viewing the situation thus, I am of the opinion that Tibet is, from the point of view of international law, qualified for recognition as an independent state.”
It’s getting more obvious that the Tories are trying hard to mend the relations with China recently, in several high profile comments made by high profile cabinet ministers. For instance, foreign minister Lawrence Cannon told CTV in Feb 2009 that Ottawa “has been extremely active” in purusing trade opportunities with China. Although he was frank to admit that China HAS NOT INVITED Stephen Harper for a state visit.
Cannon even said doing business with China is “the top foreign policy goal by the Conservative government”. This government has denied that Canada-China relations has gone cold at all.
In fact, Canada really has some serious catching up in terms of trade, especially during the current economic downturns. Though Canada has seen great leap in trades with China in the last few years, Canada’s share with the rest of the world remains neglectible, at only around 1.5% and ranks in the mid teens. The number hasn’t changed much between 2004 and 2007.
Amid such background, the Conservative think-tank Fraser Institute released a report earlier that Canada needs to work harder on Canada-China relations.
What a change a little more than a year has made! In June 2007, when Harper met Chinese president Hu Jintao at the G8 summit in Germany, this was then:
Canada turned up the pressure on China over human rights on Friday, telling President Hu Jintao that it would pursue Beijing’s “problems with the lack of democracy,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said.
Harper also told reporters he had brought up the case of Huseyin Celil, a Canadian-Chinese citizen and Uighur activist who was jailed for life in April for “terrorist activities.” China has repeatedly told Canada not to broach the matter.
On the other hand, ChinaNews.com reports Hu Jintao telling Harper that China and Canada should “respect each other on an equal level.”
Harper is one of the most vocal critics of China’s human rights record among western leaders, shrugging off complaints from businesses who say his attacks could hit commercial ties.
“Despite problems with the lack of democracy and human rights that still exist … the development of China over the last 25 years (has) in general been good and important for the world,” he said after meeting Hu at a summit in Germany.
“That cannot stop the government from aggressively and appropriately raising very legitimate concerns that we have, not just about general democracy and human rights in China but obviously specific cases such as the Celil case which I raised very directly.”
“Given what’s happened in this case we think it’s inevitable it will continue to be a factor in Canadian policy and therefore a factor in our relations,” said Harper.
“It is essential that we can have such discussions, not just positive discussions but sometimes discussions that are more difficult. I think these discussions will continue.”
Hu Jintao said it’s for the mutual interests that the two Pacific countries continue to build “mutual trust ” and “pragmatic cooperation”.
Hu said it’s normal for China and Canada to have different views on things, as they are two very different countries. He said China is serious about China-Canada relation. China hopes to work with the Canadian government to strengthen cooperation on political, economic, cultural and international affairs, so that the two countries can straight out differences in a constructive way. China also hopes to further develop a “strategic partnership” with Canada.
Harper said he had told Hu that as China “grows in importance and wealth, it will face increasing pressure from the world community on issues on democratic development and human rights.”
China’s record would also come under closer scrutiny when foreigners flocked to the country for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the 2010 World Fair in Shanghai, he added.“When you open your country to the world that way and ask every television camera in the world to come in, I would think it would be in your own self interest to make that image as positive as it could be,” he said.
