HEILIGENDAMM, Germany—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.
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."
Celil, whose first name can also be spelled Huseyincan, fled China in the 1990s and obtained Canadian citizenship in November 2005. He was arrested in Uzbekistan in March 2006 when visiting relatives and sent to China.
Beijing says Uighur militants are using violence in their campaign to set up an independent East Turkestan state in the western predominantly Muslim region of Xinjiang.
"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."
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.
Feeds