China recently cancelled a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. But later a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at a news conference that Hu would meet Harper on the sidelines of the APEC summit. It seems to me that Canadians do not need to panic and beg for forgiveness. If Hu does not want to meet Harper, then let it be. No big deal. When dealing with a small-minded and insatiable government like the Chinese communist regime, you just cannot play by gentlemen's rules unless you don't want to stand your ground.
I know Beijing cannot be happy with Canada's recent attitude. But the "attitude" is really nothing but a few conscientious remarks from Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peter MacKay, made in front of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs committee: "We have concerns about their justice system, we have concerns about the way in which their democracy functions, if we can call it that."
Of course, the Chinese communist regime has more to worry about than MacKay's honest remarks. Not long ago, Canada publicly accused China of commercial espionage. In June Harper also agreed during a meeting with outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi that Canada and Japan should work together in dealing with the world's largest remaining communist nation. In September, Canada gave an honorary citizenship to the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader. In response China threatened "that will harm the Canadian image and also harm the relationship between China and Canada."
None of these things Canada did or said is wrong. It is Canada speaking the truth that has stung China. During its long reign, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has known only one way to deal with individuals and organizations who dare to disagree with the regime: violent suppression. However, when it comes to a foreign government, it is not as easy for the CCP to play this bloody card. That is why the CCP is now playing this little uncreative trick with the meeting arrangements. So, Harper, never mind this whining.
When Western politicians decide to try their oriental legs, they seem to always ask themselves, "How should we deal with China?" They more or less take China as a lifeless object which they can conveniently move around to perfect their international order ideals. In other words, they believe that China and Chinese policies are easy to control.
But they are wrong. The Western world is always bewildered by the huge gap between the value systems of communist China and other parts of the world. The CCP, like a lonely giant monster living among normal human beings, faces problems that other countries cannot really understand, including the legitimacy of the communist regime and demands for social justice. Nervous, even desperate, as it is, the CCP has little tolerance for outside criticism.
Seen in this light, the bureaucratic jargon that Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu used on Nov. 16 may be easier to understand: "China has always advocated dialogue on the basis of equality and mutual respect to broaden common consensus and narrow differences, but China strongly opposes interference in the internal affairs of other countries." This amply demonstrates China's demands of the rest of the world: whatever I do, you just stay out of it.
But Mr. Harper has made it clear that he does not buy it. "I think Canadians want us to promote our trade relations worldwide, and we do that," Harper said. "But I don't think Canadians want us to sell out important Canadian values: our belief in democracy, freedom, human rights." Harper's honesty and integrity, which Paul Martin, former Prime Minster of Canada lacked, makes the CCP most uncomfortable. No doubt it had expected Harper to say something like: "It is clear that China has made noticeable progress on human rights issues, and Canada looks forward to have a more fruitful cooperation and dialogue with China in various areas."
Actually Canada has gained little from deals with China. The Liberal Party invested tens of millions of Canadian dollars each year in China's human rights projects, but with little achievement. Later, Canada tried to help improve China's justice system by training judges for China, but the Chinese judges only focused on collecting Canadian information during their stay in Canada.
The China-Canada trade also did little good for Canada, leaving a US$ 19.9 billion deficit for Canada. Maybe only people with a family business in China, like Paul Martin, would advocate for such a deal.
I also heard threats about the possible decrease of Chinese students in Canada following a colder relationship between the two countries. But that is just a hoax. With thousands of immigration applications waiting for approval in the Canadian Embassy in China, it is only fair to estimate that a minimum of 40,000 Chinese would pour into Canada each year. The moment we Chinese people set foot on Canadian ground should be the moment we start to recover our conscience and humanity, and forget about the communist bureaucracy.
Some people say Harper's China policy is vague, but it seems to me the only thing vague here is the loyalty of Chinese immigrants to Canada. The only way to really improve the China-Canadian relationship is that all Chinese people stick to universal values and humanity, and make a better country out of China.
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