University of Ottawa President Jacques Frémont apologized Nov. 30 for the university’s decision to limit press freedoms during a talk by Chinese Ambassador Cong Peiwu.
Cong requested that university staff stop journalists from recording his talk on Nov. 28. A Radio-Canada cameraman was asked to leave.
“We made the wrong decision at the last moment. We apologize to the media involved. We should have done better to protect the freedom of the press,” Fremont said on Twitter.
University staff also allegedly closed the blinds, reported CBC, hiding the view of protesters outside who were denouncing the Chinese regime for its persecution of Uyghurs. The Epoch Times asked the university to comment on the allegation, but did not receive a reply by time of publication.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “For me, they made a mistake, banning the cameras.” He said the press must have access to public figures.
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said: “I find that extremely unfortunate. Our country was built on the principle of freedom. Often, we are happy to see you [journalists], sometimes less so. But you still have your business to be here. And in Canada, freedom of the press is non-negotiable.”
Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus said the situation shows what’s at stake with China’s interference in Canadian institutions. He said he understood the university was on the spot and made a quick decision. But the ambassador should be summoned by the government to let him know limits on freedom of the press are not acceptable in Canada.
Paul-Hus also spoke critically of Ambassador Cong in 2020 when Cong warned Canada not to grant asylum to Hong Kong refugees. Cong said in a video press conference at the time that Canada should support the national security law imposed by Beijing if it “really cares about the good health and safety of those 300,000 Canadian passport holders in Hong Kong.”
Paul-Hus called it a “veiled threat regarding the safety of the 300,000 Canadians living in Hong Kong.” Paul-Hus continued on Twitter, “As a member of the Special Committee on Canada–China Relations, it also unacceptable that he refused our invitation to explain himself.”
A Change.org petition gathered more than 100 signatures ahead of Cong’s talk at the university, which was titled “China and the World: Development, Trade and Governance in the 21st Century.” He is “an ambassador of a repressive totalitarian regime,” the petition states, and his presentation “is nothing but propaganda for a regime well-known for committing countless atrocities, as well as going against freedom of speech, and silencing dissidents.”
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