Burton: As Xi Jinping faces a crisis, Ottawa finally takes the China threat seriously

As Xi Jinping faces a crisis, Ottawa finally takes the China threat seriously  

 https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-as-xi-jinping-faces-a-crisis-ottawa-finally-takes-china-seriously/

 

 Despite the Canadian government’s new Indo-Pacific Strategy, which is aimed at challenging Beijing’s malign schemes here and abroad, there are vested interests in this country who will seek to neutralize that effort. But Canada will no longer tolerate China interfering in our elections and subverting our policy. We can expect Canada to take firm action against the Chinese government’s harassment of Canadians who are Tibetans or Uyghurs, or who champion human rights and democracy. We will no longer accept the “hiding-in-plain-sight” espionage operations of the Chinese military and police here. China’s reported campaigns to erode the loyalty of Canadians of Chinese origin – through disinformation and racism over WeChat and Chinese-language media.

 China’s surging grassroots fury is a threat that the regime could never have expected. If the Chinese Communist Party under Mr. Xi becomes more and more at odds with the popular will of the people, tensions within China will keep rising. Canada, with its positive and timely shift in China policy, should now also prepare itself for the potential consequences of political instability that may come sooner than we foresaw.