My Take on the Terrible Incident at the Kunming Railway Station

Mercifully, none of our family and friends were at the Kunming Railway Station that terrible evening.

Yesterday, I was asked to make a few comments for the Toronto Mandarin TV News.  I judge that the questions the reporter asked me shed more light on the issue than my answers.  For example, I was asked if I thought that the reason the incident occurred in Kunming is because so many Uyghurs travel to Yunnan to buy drugs.  Another was did I think that the reason that the Uyghurs engage in terrorism is because they want are an independent East Turkestan so they can keep all the wealth generated by natural resource extraction in Xinjiang for themselves.  So is it about greed?  And there was the implication that all Uyghurs, coordinated by Rebiya Kadeer with U.S. support, foment terrorism to further their cause.

But I see the Han-Uyghur conflict as fundamentally a problem of incompatible and evidently  irreconcilable narratives of history about the same piece of territory.  Unfortunately, the signal importance of language, culture and religion to the Uyghurs largely escapes most Han people.  But the fight for recognition of their identity, the symbols of their own flag, a seat for their nation at the U.N., a free media in the Uyghur language that tells their people's story in their own terms, and of course their own schools and political leaders is to many Uyghurs their paramount abiding concern, because it is the stuff of their souls.  And for this some will resort to terror and violence and even lay down their lives.

I wish that I could see some path to a resolution of all this.  But, regrettably, I cannot.

Report in Chinese that Zhou Yongkang has been expelled from the Party

快讯：中共中央下发《关于周永康涉嫌严重违纪的通报》，通报指出，周永康在担任中国石油天然气集团、国土资源部、四川省委书记领导职务和中央政法委书记期间，严重违反党的纪律，滥用职权，犯有严重错误、负有重大责任；利用职权为他人谋利，直接和通过家人收受他人巨额贿赂；利用职权、其子周某利用其的职务影响为他人谋利，其家人收受他人巨额财物；与多名女性发生或保持不正当性关系；违反组织人事纪律，造成严重后果；涉嫌侵吞巨额国有资产；包庇和纵容黑社会团伙犯罪。周永康的行为造成了严重后果，极大损害了党和国家声誉，在国内外产生了非常恶劣的影响，给党和人民的事业造成了重大损失。中共中央政治局会议决定，根据《中国共产党章程》、《中国共产党纪律处分条例》的有关规定，给予周永康开除党籍处分，待党的十八届四中全会予以追认

It has not been denied by the Chinese MFA yet

Canada’s Ambassador for Religious Freedom Meets with His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Canada’s Ambassador for Religious Freedom Meets with His Holiness the Dalai Lama

"Canadians are concerned about the restrictions placed by the Chinese government on the right to freedom of religion of Tibetan Buddhists, especially on their ability to worship in peace. We are also concerned by the self-immolations by some Tibetans.

Canada has consistently advocated substantive and meaningful dialogue between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama or his representatives to work toward a resolution of outstanding issues that is acceptable to both sides."

On China's Refusal to Endorse the UN Report on Human Rights in the DPRK

I find this report on  China-Korea and human rights' analysis highly convincing:
From The Globe and Mail:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/world-insider/why-wont-china-call-out-north-korea-on-charge-of-nazi-like-abuses/article16933237/

China says UN report on ‘great suffering,’ murder, rape in North Korea is ‘unreasonable criticism’ | National Post

China says UN report on ‘great suffering,’ murder, rape in North Korea is ‘unreasonable criticism’ | National Post



Keep hoping for the day when China has a government that champions justice.  Hope it comes to pass in my lifetime and preferably much sooner.

NYTimes: Imax Faces a Threat in China: technology stolen from Canada

From The New York Times

Imax Faces a Threat in China
Not only could competitors in China cut into its potential market share there, but Imax has charged in several courts that the Chinese system relies on technology that was blatantly stolen from its offices in Canada.
http://nyti.ms/1fCZJdK

My interview about this on SUN TV:
http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/video/search/all/source/the-source/chinas-industrial-espionage/3227792434001

Ambassador of Canada to China, Guy Saint-Jacques‘ Statement on Sentencing of Law Professor Xu Zhiyong

Ambassador of Canada to China, Guy Saint-Jacques‘ Statement on Sentencing of Law Professor Xu Zhiyong - http://bit.ly/KZqRIJ

"Other incidents of concern include:

• the arrest of Professor Ilham Tohti, who has publicly expressed his concern for the well-being of Chinese Uyghurs;

• the disappearance on February 2, 2009 of Gao Zhisheng, a Christian human rights lawyer known for defending religious minorities and land-rights petitioners;

• the house detention of Liu Xia, wife of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, who has been held largely incommunicado even though she has never been convicted of any offence;

• the 11-year sentencing of Liu Xiaobo for incitement to subversion."

My views are quoted in Ann Hui's report "Canadian ambassador rebukes China for jailing rights activist" published in the Globe and Mail on January 27, 2014: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/canadas-ambassador-to-china-criticizes-jailing-of-xu-zhiyong/article16505333/

Interviews about this on Radio Canada International Mandarin Service and English Service:

伯顿谈加拿大对许志永案的声明以及习近平的“列宁主义” - http://bit.ly/1jCb6GK

http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2014/01/27/canadian-ambassador-rebukes-china-on-human-rights/

My Sun TV interview on this: http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/video/featured/prime-time/867432237001/canada-condemns-china/3233030309001

China blocks CBC website after story about offshore accounts - World - CBC News

China blocks CBC website after story about offshore accounts - World - CBC News



Seems this reflects Communist Party fear about Chinese people fulfilling the Biblical injunction:

John 8:32

King James Version (KJV)

32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Tiananmen | Ideas with Paul Kennedy | CBC Radio

Re-broadcast of CBC "Ideas" program that I was part of.

Tiananmen | Ideas with Paul Kennedy | CBC Radio

We Wei Po report: Jang's execution bodes ill for China

According to the report, unlike previous executions of political prisoners which were carried out by firing squads with machine guns, Jang was stripped naked and thrown into a cage, along with his five closest aides. Then 120 hounds, starved for three days, were allowed to prey on them until they were completely eaten up. This is called "quan jue", or execution by dogs.  The report said the entire process lasted for an hour, with Mr Kim Jong Un, the supreme leader in North Korea, along with 300 senior officials observing this horror.


http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/asia-report/china/story/jangs-execution-bodes-ill-china-20131224

Uncle Jang's Death May Not Be Such a Plus for Kim Jong-un

I fear possibly dangerous times ahead in the DPRK.  The late Jang Song-thaek's formidable faction may decide that a highly risky coup attempt may be preferable to death by political purge.  Already a number of North Koreans with connections to China are suspected to have disappeared / gone to ground.

An Outsider's Perspective on China's Third Plenum

The assumption of power by Xi Jinping and his "Fifth Generation" of leaders marks a first for China's post-1949 generation and those who spent their formative years during the Cultural Revolution.  Of course consistent with Chinese tradition, Mr. Xi has been respectful and affirming of the record of his senior predecessors.  But of course it is expected that as a new and younger leader that Mr. Xi will seek to promote vigorous, fresh new measures to respond to the challenges and opportunities of his era in power and revitalize his Party’s role in China’s modern society of this 21st century.  Traditionally it has been at the third plenary session of a new Central Committee that the stage is set for the introduction of innovative policies that will shape the Chinese Communist Party’s program over the next ten years of the new leadership group’s mandate.  So the third plenum assumes a special character that makes it stand out in China’s political calendar.

The issuing of the Resolution of the Third Plenary session of a newly convoked Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party is also much anticipated by foreign China watchers.  It augurs for new beginnings and new policy orientations and the promise of new political  initiatives to grapple with and interpret for foreign government policymakers and in public fora through the media.  

In some ways it is comparable to the opening of a new session of parliament in Westminster systems or state of the union addresses in presidential systems.  But while the speech from the throne that opens parliament sets out a legislative agenda for perhaps a couple of years, at a third plenary session of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party the proposed political agenda comprises a much longer period.  Moreover, the legislative agenda of a parliamentary session addresses only a few highly specific priorities of the party in power.  It is followed by the detailed drafting of bills that are publicly debated in the legislature and consequently modified (or even rejected altogether) before being brought in to codified law.  Implementation of these specific laws is precisely defined to be  pursued by lawyers and enforced by court orders.  

But the most recent resolution of the Third Plenary Session of the Chinese Communist Party's 18th Central Committee is a much more comprehensive and complicated political proposition.   It comprises economics, politics, culture, society, environment, the military defense and internal security.  All this developed through an extensive process of internal party consultations.  

But unlike bills prepared for parliamentary debate in the West, the documents that will direct the policy reforms indicated in the resolution are not publicly available.  As is the case with legislation proposed in parliamentary systems, these new policy reforms will inevitably discomfit significant vested interests in China today.  But those vested interests have no means to publicly express their principled arguments against the policy changes that will be disadvantaging them.  So it is difficult for the foreign observer to be very clear on the implications of the publicly available documents.  It is more challenging still to expound with much authority on the extent to which these new policies will be able to effectively bring about the promised results.

Chairman Xi in the explanation of tthe Third Plenum’s statement pulbished under his name does clearly set out the serious challenges that his government currently faces.  These overall can be identified in three main aspects: the widening gap between rich and poor in  China, official corruption, and slowing growth rates due to inefficiencies in the state-owned sectors of the national economy.  These are not new problems.  All of these issues have been acknowledged by previous Party leaderships as demanding priority resolution.  All are prominently set out in work reports at National People's Congresses and Chinese Communist Party meetings over the years of Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao's leadership.  But there is consensus that regrettably the gap between rich and poor and the pervasiveness and degree of official corruption have grown considerably worse over time.  And China's rate of economic growth is slowing due to structural deficiencies and future prospects for the economy are not as uniformly rosy as earlier in the process of China’s post-Mao reform and opening.  Now as then the people of China expect that their political leaders must address these issues in a meaningfully effective manner.  So the issue comes down to what will Xi Jinping do differently from his predecessors to satisfy the people’s aspirations and concerns?

The author was a student at university in Shanghai at the time of the famous Third Plenary Session of 11th Central Committee in December 1978.  On the campus of Fudan University it was a period of great enthusiasm for the politics of reform and opening and boundless optimism for China's future.  Throughout China’s great and diverse land, the powerful political charisma of Deng Xiaoping alone went a long way to enforcing compliance with measures that challenged significant elements of the pre-reform political, social and economic status quo.  Moreover, Mr. Deng with his distinguished record of military service enjoyed strong support from the PLA and security agencies which is so critical in China’s Leninist system.

Xi Jinping, unlike Deng Xiaoping is unable to offer the promise of a fresh and new ideology to buttress the implementation of his policy initiatives.  The theoretical bases of the policies enunciated in this Third Plenary Resolution are the same that have guided the Party under the leadership of all of Mr. Xi’s predecessors since Chairman Hua Guofeng.  

To strengthen his political position, Mr. Xi proposes to create a National Security Commission that will concentrate unified authority over security agencies, the police, and the military in the Office of the Party Chairman.  One could expect that there will be vigorous resistance by the present security apparatus to any measures that weaken their existing prerogatives. 

In addition, there are measures afloat to strengthen control of political discourse by cracking down on social media over the Internet, and to more rigorously sanction intellectuals who espouse political perspectives at odds with the Party's authoritarian people's democratic dictatorship.  

These are all  bold measures, not without an element of political risk.

The Third Plenum’s proposal of measures to enhance economic justice are certainly consistent with the legitimating basis for the Chinese Communist Party's assumption of power as the vanguard of the proletariat and true representatives of the workers and peasants in 1949.  Granting genuine ownership by farmers of the land that they till would go a long way in this direction.  But practically speaking so much of the revenue of local governments is based on below value expropriation of rural property, that without this revenue stream local governments would require significant transfers from the Central authorities.  Moreover, extension of the benefits of urban residency to all the people working in cities would also make great demands on Central revenues.  It would mean increasing taxation to affect transfers from rich to poor.  This would be politically very difficult to to bring about.

Similarly, significantly reducing the income of Chinese communist party cadres via stringent crackdown on their lucrative government associated business activities appears infeasible under current conditions.  Related to this, measures such as capital account and interest rate liberalization, opening of state monopoly economic sectors to non-state competition including permitting foreign enterprises to challenge state-owned enterprises in the Chinese market would surely be countered through administrative measures by threatened local authorities.

So, one waits to see how the implementation of the Third Plenum Resolution which promises such fundamental transformations in so many of the intertwined political, economic and social institutions under the leadership of the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

As an outsider, this author cannot conceive of how these administrative measures that would be overseen by Party branches embedded in all of China's institutions can bring such an ambitious but all the same essential political agenda to successful fruition.  After all, what Mr. Xi proposes impinges exactly on the self interest of those called on to bring it to reality! What is really needed is a lot more transparency and honest debate in such a thoroughgoing process.  For this, media that allows for expression of a free market place of ideas is necessary, but it is also impossible under the current stringent controls of the Party Central Committee Department of Propaganda.

Similarly, if the measures necessary to address China's current serious challenges were expressed through publicly available acts of legislation, then a judiciary whose authority transcended the prerogatives of Party Politics and Law committees, to which the police was fully subject, could in fact compel compliance by those powerful elements that would inevitably be discomfited by the government’s reform program.

In the absence of strong charismatic political leadership buttressed by strong support from security agencies and the military, a free press and an independent judiciary are the only mechanisms available to bring about compliance with measures that impact negatively on the wealthy and powerful.  But it is clear from this year’s Party Document  Nine that the current Party leadership sees constitutional government and western bourgeois liberalizing measures as inappropriate to China's socialism with Chinese characteristics and the overall legitimating bases for sustained Chinese Communist Party rule of China.

So from the outsider's perspective the Party leadership is caught between a rock and a hard place.  If the increasing polarization of wealth continues, if people feel more and more betrayed by official corruption on the part of their political leaders, if China's economic growth stalls, naturally demands for new politics will increasingly arise.  Stronger social measures to repress these, including concomitant increase in censorship of public discourse may not be sustainable in the long term.  Already so much of the national budget must be dedicated to maintaining domestic political stability (wei wen).  A return to the high levels of political consensus and patriotic engagement that the author observed in the Shanghai of the late 1970s and early 1980s, comparable he suspects to the sense of social cohesion and political optimism that existed in China in the early years of the current regime in the 1950s, means developing a fresh political program that responds more closely to the way modern Chinese understand themselves as citizens in a global community.

That is to say, to achieve that degree of support from civil society requires a regime whose institutions and public statements are consistent with the social values of Chinese people in China in the 21st century.  In this regard one thinks of Sun Yat-sen in 1911, Mao Zedong in 1949, and Deng Xiaoping in 1978, great historical figures who are able to align themselves with the spirit of the times.

It remains to be seen where Xi Jinping will fit into the pantheon of China’s political leaders in history.  The Third Plenum is where he will begin to form his political legacy.  The challenges he faces are great.  This is an era in China’s political development which again demands strong political vision and the vigour and willingness to stand up to decay, corruption and ossified institutions that do not serve effectively the requirements of a modern society.  All of the great political leaders of China’s glorious past are remembered for their commitment to social justice and modern progress.  

The degree of achievement of social justice and modern progress that occurs in China under the 5th generation of leaders headed by Xi Jinping will ultimately mark their place in Chinese history.

He is a peak of moral authority, rising above the soulless wasteland of the 20th century

Madiba: A symbol of the power of good | News | National | Mail & Guardian

My Op-ed on Globe and Mail Website on CCP 3rd Plenum

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/world-insider/plenty-of-red-flags-for-investors-in-chinas-new-nod-to-free-markets/article15410123/

My Take on Justin Trudeau's Recent Comments on China

Justin Trudeau's recent comments on China regardless of how ill-considered they may have been, do reflect the fact that the Liberal Party of Canada has a vision of Canada's relations with China that is quite distinct from the Canadian consensus reflected in the China policies of the NDP and Conservatives.  Since Pierre Trudeau's meeting with Chairman Mao in 1973 through to Jean Chretien's policy of quiet diplomacy with regard to China's gross violations of universal human rights norms, the Liberals have tended to favor the interests of Canadian companies with extensive connections to Chinese Communist business networks over the the overwhelming opinion of most Canadians that the Government of Canada should speak out clearly in defense of Chinese citizens who have been unjustly treated by the Chinese regime simply for standing up for their political and civil rights.  The NDP and the Conservatives have been much more willing to incur the wrath of the Chinese government by demanding explanations for the imprisonment without due process and pervasive reports of torture of human rights defenders, Falun Gong practitioners, and  Tibetans, and Uyghurs denied their language, religious and cultural rights.  The Liberals have traditionally been more friendly to the Chinese Communist leadership.  Justin Trudeau's comments are consistent with the unspoken reality of his Party's stance on the Chinese regime.

Document 9: A ChinaFile Translation | ChinaFile

I had had a notion to translate this myself and post when I "have time" to do it  I am surprised the English language version did not come out sooner.  Anyway this document is definitely worth a read in English by those who cannot read Chinese

Document 9: A ChinaFile Translation | ChinaFile

"Introduction
Since the Party’s Eighteenth National Congress, under General Secretary Xi Jinping’s strong central leadership, the nation triumphantly convened the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the Party’s and nation’s various undertakings have made a good start, and the general mood of the Party and Government has been constantly improving. Cohesion among our nation’s people has become stronger and our confidence in our path, our theory, and our system has become more resolute. Mainstream ideology is becoming healthier and more vigorous. The spirit of the Party’s Eighteenth National Congress and General Secretary Xi Jinping’s series of important speeches have unified the thought of the entire Party, the entire country, and the entire people enormously. The ideological foundation of our united struggle is unceasingly solidifying."

Canada honours Cardinal Zen for his unwavering commitment to human rights, democracy and religious freedom in China

​Canada honours Cardinal Zen for his unwavering commitment to human rights, democracy and religious freedom in China​

Link

​ ​

: http://www.international.gc.ca/media/aff/news-communiques/2013/10/31a.aspx 

Lawyers Challenge Judges' Authority in Trial of Chinese Activists - NYTimes.com

Lawyers Challenge Judges' Authority in Trial of Chinese Activists - NYTimes.com

"Raphael Droszewski, a first secretary of the European Union diplomatic delegation to China, said that he traveled to Xinyu City from Beijing, along with diplomats from the American and Canadian Embassies, in the hope of observing the hearing, but that they were refused entry to the courtroom on Monday."

Date of 3rd Plenary Session of Chinese Communist Central C'tee

@ChuBailiang: Communist Party 3rd Plenum date announced: 9-12 November.

http://twitter.com/ChuBailiang/status/395102998579269632

My Op-Ed in Embassy Magazine today "Canada’s Cyber Conundrum" (non-pay walled link)

http://opencanada.org/features/canadas-cyber-conundrum/

"This internationalization of cyber espionage means CSEC not only has to satisfy the hunger of Canadian government departments, including Finance, for purloined data, but is also under pressure from foreign reciprocating agencies to supply its fair share of high quality cyber info to justify Canada’s continuing role in the international consortium."

Bo Xilai’s ‘fair and open trial’ smells like arbitrary rule - My Op-Ed in today's Globe and Mail

Bo Xilai’s ‘fair and open trial’ smells like arbitrary rule - The Globe and Mail

But despite full awareness in China that Mr. Bo, like most senior officials, has accumulated a massive fortune through various forms of kickbacks, he remains very popular among a significant part of the Chinese underclass. While boss of Chongqing, he enacted a number of populist measures in the city of nearly 30 million, including a very visible crackdown on organized crime, providing subsidized housing accessible to ordinary citizens, and extending social welfare measures to migrant workers. People see him as a supporter of the solidarity with workers and farmers that informed the Communist Party's rise to power in 1949.

This is in strong contrast to Mr. Bo's fellow senior leaders, former premier Wen Jiabao and former president Hu Jintao. They periodically made vague promises of respect for democracy, human rights and comprehensive rule of law at some undefined time in the future, when the developmental conditions are "right." But, clearly, that day is not coming any time soon. Instead, the income gap between the party elite and the lower classes gets wider year by year, with no sign of abating. Mr. Bo gave people hope of a developmental model offering more substantive benefits and justice for the rest.

Bad news for me: 7 topics banned for academic discussion in China

The 7 things you can't talk about in China... http://bit.ly/16HVSqu

Indications of Communist Elite Dissatisfaction with Xi Jinping's Anti-democracy Policies

Outspoken China princeling takes on President Xi (repot in Singapore Straits Imes)

http://bit.ly/1aZ2jcc 

"Why can't we learn from the Kuomintang (in Taiwan), reform ourselves and get elected, basing our legitimacy on people's authorisation and not on guns and cannon?"

Ford, Duffy and Chinese scandals

Having been educated in China, and subsequently spending more than 30 years there on and off, I have read a lot of Chinese newspaper reports spinning a convoluted but compelling narrative (based on little hard evidence) alleging serious misconduct by senior Communist officials, a surprising number of whom are depicted as secret agents for the CIA.

Most of these politically titillating accounts, read with considerable fascination during the Cultural Revolution period, were repudiated one by one in the years following Mao Zedong's demise in 1976. I am still waiting for a clear explanation of the mysterious death of Lin Biao, Chairman Mao's designated successor who allegedly died in September 1971. But, 42 years later, I am starting to doubt that patience is in fact its own reward. Oh well.

Recently, however, there have some strange new Chinese media reports to feed one's appetite for this kind of sordid thing.

For example, the official line on how British businessman Neil Heywood died in 2011 due to cyanide poisoning - administered at the behest of the spouse of Bo Xilai, the Communist Party General Secretary in the sprawling city of Chonqing - still doesn't seem to add up. Mr. Bo has been held without charge for over a year. Evidently the matter seems to be informed more by political motives and unknown factors than anything else. I wonder if the Bo matter will ever see credible resolution any more than Lin Biao's death.

But it is interesting that "political motives and unknown factors" have become the leitmotif of recent headlines in the Canadian media, too. Something about the reporting on Rob Ford, Nigel Wright and Mike Duffy seems strangely familiar, though I am more used to reading this kind of thing in Chinese and not in English-language media.

So what have we got here?

Clearly, a lot of people would like to see Mr. Ford cease to be the mayor of Toronto. And if it is true that he bought or was given cocaine, then he couldn't continue to be mayor. After all, under Canada's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, possession of cocaine can lead to a sentence of seven years in prison. But these serious allegations of cocaine smoking against Mr. Ford him seem fantastic and incredible. It is difficult to imagine that the Mayor could be a periodic visitor to crack houses in Rexdale without it having previously being detected. At the very last, his looming corpulent presence makes him quite a readily recognizable figure. It is astounding that a description of the lurid content of this video was reported in the Toronto Star before the Star was able to post the video on its website.

The bottom line with the Rob Ford media hullabaloo is that there is no verifiable evidence available to demonstrate that he has engaged in illegal behaviour. Moreover, there is nothing to do about it until the video, described in the Toronto Star as showing the Mayor ingesting crack, is available for viewing and response. Latest indications are that the people allegedly holding the video have gone to ground and will never hand it over.

While Mr. Ford may be choleric and intensely reviled by many, he cannot be removed from office over this as things stand. But the damage to his reputation by these media reports about him will probably never be undone, no matter how many times we hear the lawyered incantation that the news agency repeating the allegations have "not seen the video and has not been able to validate any of the claims being made."

On the other hand, revelations by CTV News about the $90,000 gift from Nigel Wright to Senator Mike Duffy is something that warrants police attention. Canada's Conflict of Interest Act states that people commit a serious crime if they give a gift "that might reasonably be seen to have been given to influence the public office holder in the exercise of an official power, duty or function". And for a member of Senate on the receiving end, this could be determined in a court of law to fall into the category of accepting a bribe.

Mr. Duffy owed money to the Receiver-General to reimburse expense claims that had been subsequently disallowed. Mr. Wright helped him out with the repayment. The crux of the matter is: Was there any expectation that Mr. Duffy would render any service in his capacity as senator in exchange for the money?

The fact that Mr. Duffy did not publicly acknowledge the gift early on is a cause for concern. It suggests there may be factors underlying this transaction that have yet to see the light of day. Again, there appear to be "political motives and unknown factors" right, left and centre in this.

It is quite possible that there will never be any public resolution of either the Rob Ford or Mike Duffy stories. I feel uneasy about that. I am used to it in Chinese politics. I am not used to it in Canadian politics.

My Interview on Sun TV about BC NDP Candidate Frank Huang

I was interviewed by Ezra Levant for the Sun News program "The Source" on May 8, 2013 about the NDP candidacy in BC of Frank Huang who has been alleged to have ongoing connections with the Chinese Communist Party.

My response to Paul Evans on Canada's China policy published in May issue of Literary Review of Canada

In the April issue of In April Issue of the Literary Review of Canada, Paul Evans published an article on Canada's China policy: http://reviewcanada.ca/essays/2013/04/01/dancing-with-the-dragon/

The editor of this publication, Bronwyn Drainie, asked me to write a response which was published in an edited version in the May issue. Here is that text (it is not otherwise available on-line insofar as I am aware).

===

Re: "Dancing with the Dragon" by Paul Evans (April 2013)

Evans suggests that in Canada "debate has been obsessed with a distinction between pursuing commercial and diplomatic opportunities with China versus promoting human rights . . . our domestic debate still rotates around whether we should be having economic relations with a country run by a Communist Party." Evans further hypothesizes that Canada has adopted a policy stance of "cool politics, warm economics" toward the PRC. 

But his assertions do not stand up to scrutiny. Over the years Canada has adopted a highly consistent approach to relations with China. It is the same one articulated by our 1995 foreign policy statement "Canada and the World" based on "three pillars of diplomacy": the promotion of prosperity and employment; the protection of our security, within a stable global framework; and the projection of Canadian values and culture. 

As to the first pillar, Canada wants fair and reciprocal trading agreements with China. We welcome Chinese investment, but as the Prime Minister made clear in his 2012 press conference announcing Government approval of CNOOC's acquisition of Nexen, Canada will not allow the Chinese state to gain control of Canadian economic resources through full acquisition of Canadian resource companies by Chinese state firms. But we do welcome Chinese state firms to invest in them as minority share holders. 

As to the security aspect, Canada will continue to investigate Chinese state espionage in its economic, political and military aspects including cyber-espionage in Canada and to work in multi-lateral fora to encourage the Chinese regime to follow the norms of responsible global citizenship. 

Finally with regard to the third pillar as the 1995 statement puts it: "Canada is not an island: if the rights of people abroad are not protected, Canadians will ultimately feel the effects at home. They understand that our economic and security interests are served by the widest possible respect for the environment, human rights, participatory government, free markets and the rule of law. Where these are observed, there is a greater prospect of stability and prosperity . . . Their observance, therefore, is both an end in itself and a means to achieving other priority objectives."

There is a strong cross-partisan consensus on how Canada should manage relations with the PRC. After all, even the Dalai Lama's honorary Canadian citizenship was achieved through a unanimous resolution of Parliament. 

Evans' attempts to politicize Canada's China policy just doesn't conform with the facts.

Charles Burton 

Brock University

Yahoo closing all China e-mail services

http://english.sina.com/china/2013/0418/583165.html

University shuts down Dalai Lama visit - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-17/university-shuts-down-dalai-lama-visit/4635906?section=nsw

This video is very much worth watching to the end.

My interview on China and Korea on Wednesday WABC John Batchelor Show

http://johnbatchelorshow.com/podcasts/2013/04/10/first-hour

Further Delay in Trial of Suspect in Death of Miss Liu Qian

In April 2011 the daughter of my friend and colleague, Liu Jianhui of the Central Party School in Beijing died in Toronto.  Liu Qian was 23, a student at York University.  Shortly thereafter, Brian Dickson was arrested for the murder of Miss Liu.  Dickson remains imprisoned.  A lengthy preliminary hearing was held in February 2012.  The full trial was subsequently scheduled to begin on April 2, 2013.

Now I have learnt that the suspect's lawyer successfully achieved a delay in the start of the trial by getting a judge to agree to having mental health assessment of the accused done prior to the trial being held.  This development occurred last Thursday, March 28, the day before the Good Friday/Easter holiday.  It appears that the trial of Brian Dickson will likely be re-scheduled to begin at the end of this year and go over into 2014.  That certainly is some long time after the young woman died in the spring of 2011. Her parents and all of us would like to see closure to the tragedy of the death of this only child of such a good and fine family.  So now we have to wait even longer.

Can anyone explain to me what it going on here?  Is it simply the proclivity of Canadian defence lawyers to seek to delay and delay?  What sort of defence strategy could be behind this?  I would certainly welcome any information from anyone reading this blog post.

In the meantime I feel a very deep sense of unease about all of this.

My Op-Ed in Globe and Mail today "China’s Communists find Marxism"

My op-ed in the Globe and Mail March 6, 2013: "a fading caretaker regime that has more past than future, unable to stop increasing numbers of citizens from realizing the complete disconnect between the Party’s official ideology, the reality of Chinese politics today and the social values of Chinese young people."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/chinas-communists-find-marxism/article9317530/

140 Nobel laureates urge China to release Liu Xiaobo - www.ddinews.com

http://www.ddinews.gov.in/International/International+-+Other+Stories/Nobel+laureates+urge+China+to+release+Liu+Xiaobo.htm

And the report says 4,000,000 people from more than 130 countries signed an accompanying petition.

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Video showing PLA Chinese Cyber-hackers at work

Colloque: «La Chine et le Monde après le XVIIIe Congrès du PCC»

Colloque: «La Chine et le Monde après le XVIIIe Congrès du PCC»

 I am speaking at the event Feb 21-2 in Montreal

PLA Cyber-Unit Has Hacked Into Canadian Pipeline Switches

China's Army Is Seen as Tied to Hacking Against U.S.
http://nyti.ms/XZRMHn


Comment: Question is how long can we blithely accept Chinese MFA denials that the Government of the PRC does not engage in computer hacking against critical Canadian systems?

BBC News - China military unit 'behind prolific hacking' - http://goo.gl/KXOmY via @Shareaholic

Full-text of the Mandant Report: http://intelreport.mandiant.com/Mandiant_APT1_Report.pdf

China Fraud Accusations: Wesley Clark's Ex-Firm Faces Questions - ABC News

China Fraud Accusations: Wesley Clark's Ex-Firm Faces Questions - ABC News

"Now the China deals Clark helped promote at lavish parties are among those facing scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission as they try and account for the billions of dollars lost in dozens of suspicious stock offerings, which some officials believe represent collectively one of the largest financial scams since Bernie Madoff. Authorities told ABC News that firms serving as middle men who helped promote the Chinese companies are now in the crosshairs."

Link: http://abcnews.go.com/story?id=18292965 

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Companies in China are mislabeling domestically made food products as halal imports from Islamic nations

I find this report by Rukiye Turdush really very disturbing.

"Companies in China are mislabeling domestically made food products as halal imports from Islamic nations"
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/halal-01182013161229.html

Foreign Policy Article by U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher on Chinese Media in the USA

I recommend this article about Chinese media in the USA most highly:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/01/08/under_cover?fb_action_ids=521737284525368&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%22521737284525368%22%3A370408879721071%7D&action_type_map=%7B%22521737284525368%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

My Op-Ed in the Toronto Star "Stephen Harper’s decision on CNOOC finally gets the China connection right"

With greatly enhanced Chinese investment in Canada, one could easily see the pro-China business lobbyists and their think-tank pundits ever more active - and effective - in seeking to further the interests of the Chinese state in Canada. The national security implications of this could go far beyond the concerns that Dick Fadden, the CSIS director, has voiced in recent years about Canadian decision-makers being "under the influence of the Chinese state."

So hundreds of billions of Chinese yuan will not be coming to Canada in years ahead, as some had hoped would be the case. The Chinese government and the Canadian China lobby will not be happy about this. But in Canada's relations with the People's Republic of China, it is clearly better to be respected than loved.

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1300372--stephen-harper-s-decision-on-cnooc-finally-gets-the-china-connection-right

My Op-Ed "Stephen Harper’s new trade rules safeguard Canada’s interests"

If China was to follow up its Nexen acquisition with other large investments and become a significant player in Canada's economy, the consequences go far beyond simply which nation would benefit economically from Canada's resources.

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/stephen-harpers-new-trade-rules-are-in-canadas-best-interest/article6136355/?service=mobile

Harper says Canada not for sale, as Conservatives approve CNOOC Nexen buy-out | The Vancouver Observer

"Given the scale of potential Chinese investment in Canada's natural resources, a major question that should be on many Canadians' minds is what percentage of ownership by the Chinese state is acceptable to Canadians in natural resources?"

http://www.vancouverobserver.com/world/harper-says-canada-not-sale-conservatives-approve-cnooc-nexen-buy-out

月亮代表我的心 馬拉威ACC孩子們

Prove China spy allegations or 'shut up,' ambassador says - Politics - CBC News

Prove China spy allegations or 'shut up,' ambassador says - Politics - CBC News

Zhang Junsai said political reform is "high" on the government and party's agenda.  I am inclined to disagree with him on that.

New CCP Poliburo Standing C'tee Emerges

New Politburo Standing c'tee:  Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan, Zhang Gaoli. No "reformers"

 Xinhua reports that Xi Jinping has taken control of the military commission.

The composition of new standing committee of the Chinese politburo that has just emerged this morning reflects the disappointing "stay the course" theme of outgoing Party General Secretary's Work Report at the opening of the 18th Congress.  There are no members among them identifying as in the kaiming (enlightened) faction represented by pro-Western reformers such as the leader of Guangdong Wang Yang.  It is hard to imagine that this groups will pay little more than lip service to addressing official corruption and to the pressing need to stimulate domestic demand to reduce difference between rich and poor.  Strong measures under strong charismatic leaders are needed to renew and refocus the Party to regain popular support.  This bland and largely undistinguished group appears to be the harbinger of a Brezhnev-like era in China with no meaningful reform of political and legal institutions or the winding down of the police state security apparatus.  Transferring Wang Qishan off the economic portfolio suggests that therer will be further reorientation of the economy toward  state enterprises and more Party direction of economic development.  Xi immediately displacing Hu Jintao as Chairman of the Central Military Commission further suggests the eclipse of the relatively liberal Youth League faction and a full consolidation of power by Jiang Zemin's Shanghai faction and the taizidang (Princeling faction).  Canadian was hoping for a younger more liberal more open group, but in Communist Party terms what we are getting are a more conservative and less open to the west group of younger leaders.  This does not bode well for China's future in general nor for improved Canada-China relations in specific.

My Op-Ed in the Toronto Star "China's Communist rulers disappoint hopes for change"

My Op-Ed in the Toronto Star "China's Communist rulers disappoint hopes for change" - thestar.com -

"What Chinese people really want is an end to China's police state repression, an end to censorship of political debate and the right to choose their leaders. It would be a win-win situation - and such a democratic, open China would also give Canada a lot less pause over Chinese state investment in Canada."

http://goo.gl/0QyGm

Deeply Moving Speech by PM for Remembrance Day in Hong Kong

My Interview on Party Congress broadcast on CTV News Channel

CTV News | News Video - Top National News Headlines - News Videos

My Observation on the 18th Party Congress So Far

Xi Jinping is not likely to do for politics what Deng did for economics --- he seems more like a Brezhnev type. Despite recognizing the fact of stagnation and decline, the Party has chosen to pay only lip service to the need to address official corruption, the need to increase domestic demand to address the widening gap between rich and poor, and the need for more political legitimacy by allowing citizen participation and freedom of debate.  No effective measures to address these serious issues are being proposed.

 Any significant legal-political change would probably mean that many CCP leaders would not only lose their jobs, but also face prison for "corruption." They know what happened to the Soviet Union Communist Party under Gorbachev and other Communist Parties under reformers and so do not want to follow that path. 

The Stalinist system in the world only survives now in North Korea, Cuba, Laos and the PRC. In no country that abandoned its Stalinist system is there support for return to that system.

I feel that if Chinese people feel seriously let down by 18th Congress that the political situation in China could become dangerous.  I feel anxious at this prospect.

Video: Analyzing the CCP Leadership Transition (Ong Burton, Paltiel, Potter)

CIC Google+ hangout on 18th Party Congress

We're looking forward to our Google+ Hangout with @cburton001, Jeremy Paltiel, Pitman Potter and Lynette Ong tomorow! #CCP18 (starts at noon Ottawa time 08NOV12)

U.S. Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the U.S. House of Representatives report: "Investigative report on the U.S. National Security Issues posed by Chinese Telecommunications Companies Huawei and ZTE

http://intelligence.house.gov/sites/intelligence.house.gov/files/documents/Huawei-ZTE%20Investigative%20Report%20(FINAL).pdf

Global News | Chinese officials seek Canadian anti-smuggling secrets

Global News | Chinese officials seek Canadian anti-smuggling secrets

Australia's National Plan for "Asia Century"

http://asiancentury.dpmc.gov.au/

Regulations on Communist Officials and Government Employees Fleeing the Country Tweet from @GordonGChang

@GordonGChang: Sign that the end is near: China sets up "Command Group to Fight Against Communist Officials and Government Employees Fleeing the Country"

Report on need for clearer foreign investment rules Charles Burton (@cburton001) 与你分享了一条 Twitter 消息

Charles Burton (@cburton001) 在 7:13 AM on 星期一, 10月 29, 2012 发布的推文: Canada’s hazy takeover rules hurt everyone /via @globeandmail http://t.co/FYoIUB48 (https://twitter.com/cburton001/status/262874678538940417) 访问 https://twitter.com/download 下载官方 Twitter 应用 Tel: +1-905-228-2323 Fax: +1-209-231-4087 MSN, Yahoo, Google: cburton001 Skype: cburton002; QQ: 1323798084 Hushmail: Burton@hushmail.com (from Hush only) http://charlesburton.webplus.net http://spartan.ac.brocku.ca/~cburton

Conservatives work to clarify foreign takeover policy - The Globe and Mail

This report gives me considerable cause for optimism:

Conservatives work to clarify foreign takeover policy - The Globe and Mail

Full Video of Buying Canada: Strategic industries, state-owned enterprises and the national interest | Canada 2020

http://vimeo.com/51672399

Buying Canada: Don Newman interviews Charles Burton (Oct 17 2012) on Vimeo

Buying Canada: Don Newman interviews Charles Burton (Oct 17 2012) on Vimeo

Gordon Chang Speaking at Brock 01NOV12

Chang Talk 01NOV12

Huawei in Canada-China Relations

On October 8, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the U.S. House of Representatives issued their "Investigative report on the U.S. National Security Issues posed by Chinese Telecommunications Companies Huawei and ZTE." It was based on a study carried out over 11 months at the behest of Huawei, the world's second-biggest maker of routers, switches and associated telecommunications. Huawei hoped the Congressional study would dispel persistent but unproven allegations that it is a heavily subsidized front company of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and the Chinese Ministry of State Security.

The Select Committee heard hearsay evidence of serious allegations of malfeasance by Huawei (which have been referred to the U.S. Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security), but it turned up nothing definitive - at least not in the unclassified part of the report.

However, because there was enough doubt that Huawei "cannot be trusted to be free of foreign state influence and thus pose a threat to the United States and to our systems," Congress imposed severe restrictions on Huawei's future business activities in the U.S.

This compelling report is of high interest in Canada, where Huawei, through highly competitive bids, has won contracts to supply sophisticated data networking equipment to at least Bell, Telus, Sasktel and Wind.

Competitors claim that Huawei can offer below-market pricing in its network installations thanks to secret funding it gets from the Chinese Government. Regardless of whether that is true, the Select Committee's report suggests that buying Huawei could be a very false economy for Canada.

Some observers were quick to downplay any implications the U.S. report could have for Canada. Telecom analyst Iain Grant has been quoted as saying he is "not sure that the technical judgment of the U.S. Congress is a yardstick that Canadian companies need to consider when making technical decisions. Canadian companies assess the attraction of Huawei gear on its merits, on function, on delivery and timeliness, on quality of what is delivered and on price. Paranoia is not a measure they find germane."

But clearly there are bases for concern about any Huawei equipment processing massive quantities of Canadian data. Certainly, the Government of Canada has already indicated Huawei will be excluded from bidding on a new government digital, telephone, data and e-mail network, on the basis that it is "too dicey to be included in constructing the network."

Among the unproven allegations in the Congressional report is that Huawei routers are able to activate "back door" software that sends data to "an elite cyber-warfare unit within the PLA." Similar routines hidden in millions of line of code could enable China to remotely shut down any Huawei-installed networks for strategic reasons. As technology progresses, the ability to carry out targeted mining of the huge data quantities passing through Huawei-installed Canadian routers and switches, using sophisticated computer algorithms, becomes a greater cause for concern. Moreover, the equipment will require maintenance and "software updates", opening up the possibility of further opportunities for cyber-espionage.

It all comes down to a question of trust. If the Canadian telecommunications project had been prepared to pay more for the Swedish Ericsson or French Alcatel Lucent installations instead, there would be less cause for alarm.

According to the U.S. report, Huawei admits the Chinese Communist Party maintains a Party Committee within the company, but won't explain how the committee functions or even reveal which individuals compose the committee, on the grounds that this information is a Chinese state secret and Huawei could be prosecuted in China if they came clear on this point.

Furthermore, since only People's Republic of China nationals are permitted to own shares in Huawei by company policy, it stands to reason that Huawei's senior management (also citizens) could not ignore a Chinese Party-State order to facilitate cyber-intelligence gathering or "back door" network processes, if couched in Chinese national security terms. (And it would certainly be virtually impossible for buyers of Huawei networks to detect.)

Beyond a doubt, Beijing has shown a strong proclivity to engage in cyber espionage. After the German Chancellery and three ministries were penetrated by hackers, evidently from China, and infected with spyware, Chancellor Angela Merkel stood in public next to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and openly criticized his government for its attacks. Canadian government computers also suffered similar assaults just last year, causing considerable disruption to operations.

And what of private-sector customers of Canadian telecommunication companies that use Huawei equipment to carry their data? Should activists for Chinese human rights, or Canadian companies competing for business contracts in China, be concerned? Considering how unforthcoming and obscure Huawei was in its responses to the pertinent questions posed by the U.S. Congress, this is a valid concern.

Unfortunately it appears that, for Canada, it is already too late to second-guess our trust in the honesty and sincerity of this Chinese firm.

========

(An edited version of this text was published in Embassy on October 17.2012 under the title "Weighing Huawei in Canada")

My Comment on "Chinese Drywall Lawsuits at a Turning Point" - NYTimes.com

Chinese Drywall Lawsuits at a Turning Point - NYTimes.com


The report says:
"In the years before the economic crisis, hundreds of millions of square feet of Chinese drywall was exported to the United States. But soon after the drywall was installed homeowners noticed a sulfurous smell. In addition, appliances like televisions and microwaves inexplicably failed, and silver and copper items were covered with black soot."

Comment: One would have expected that making drywall with such extraordinary destructive powers able to disable TVs and home appliances would cost more to manufacture, not less.

Nobel winner Mo urges China dissident's freedom

Nobel winner Mo urges China dissident's freedom

http://m.yahoo.com/w/legobpengine/news/nobel-winner-mo-urges-china-dissidents-freedom-094343893.html?orig_host_hdr=news.yahoo.com&.intl=US&.lang=en-US

Mo Yan wins Nobel Prize in literature

China's Mo Yan wins Nobel Prize in literature

http:/
/www.news8000.com/news/China-s-Mo-Yan-wins-Nobel-Prize-in-literature/-/326/16941608/-/uc9t5s/-/index.html


Comment: Very happy about this!

CBC.ca News - China tech firms pose security risk, U.S. panel warns

"Huawei denies being financed to undertake research and development for the Chinese military, but the committee says it has received internal Huawei documentation from former employees showing the company provides special network services to an entity alleged to be an elite cyber-warfare unit within the People's Liberation Army."

http://www.cbc.ca/m/rich/business/story/2012/10/08/china-tech-firms-security-risk.html

Insightful Comment by Diane Francis on Impact of Canada-China FIPA

Diane Francis: Letting China Inc into oil patch could scuttle Keystone | Diane Francis | Financial Post - http://goo.gl/qy4Wl

I am Speaking in Ottawa on October 17

I am speaking in Ottawa on October 17:  "Buying Canada: Strategic industries, state-owned enterprises and the national interest" | Canada 2020 - http://canada2020.ca/event/buying-canada/

Video of Bob Rae's endorsement of choice of Guy Saint-Jacques as China Ambo broadcast on Omni News Mandarin

Bob Rae's endorsement of choice of Guy Saint-Jacques as China Ambo broadcast on Omni News Mandarin TV

  http://goo.gl/AK7tq (starts 1:40 in)

Text of Agreement Between Canada and China for the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments

Agreement Between Canada and China for the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments - http://goo.gl/ksCEt  Full Text

This has been tabled in the Parliament of Canada.  It also has to be ratified by the Chinese National People's Congress before coming into effect.

Bo's Expulsion is a Very Important Development

Bo Xilai's expulsion from the Party is very significant indeed. In contrast Deng Xiaoping retained his Party membership over 3 removals from office allowing for 3 comebacks to power. Bo will likely never be seen in public again.

It suggests that Bo will become the focus of a major Party-wide campaign. This has been the norm for high-profile people expelled from the Party in the past.  Expulsion of senior officials from the Party is a very serious and very rare political event. The fact that the Xinhua news release says Bo will be up for abuse of power and bribery suggests the possibility of very far reaching implications for others who are engaged in comparable corrupt practices.

So I take his expulsion as a promising development that could indicate that the 18th Party Congress may adopt meaningful reforms to bolster the Party's battered reputation with people in China and abroad.

Obviously it will infuriate many powerful people who will be exposed to serious charges. But the Party appears to be willing to risk instability instead of the continuing stagnation incurred by doing nothing meaningful and therefore suffering continuing corrosion of its legitimacy in the eyes of the people.

Rough and ready translation by me of article in today's Ming Pao about CNOOC-Nexen Human Rights Concerns

A Call to Grasp the Opportunity of Chinese Capital Purchasing Canadian Energy Enterprises 
Group Urges Ottawa to Take Advantage and Push China to Improve Human Rights

(Ming Pao Report) The Chinese National Off-Shore Oil Corporation (CNOOC)'s intention to purchase the Canadian energy corporation, Nexen, is currently undergoing a political assessment process. "The Canadian Coalition for Human Rights in China" more than a month ago send a letter to the Federal Minister of Industry who is responsible for this assessment process. It calls on him, in addition to examining the economic benefits, to make human rights policy one of the factors under consideration. But up to know the Coalition has received no response to this letter.

The Canadian Coalition on Human Rights in China, which represents 15 organizations concerned about human rights in China sent this letter to the office of the Minister of Industry, Christian Paradis on August 16. The letter makes reference to Article 20 "Factors Influencing Investment Assessment" of the "Canada Investment Act" whose content expresses the Coalition's stance: "Human rights should be a factor strongly weighted in the foreign investment assessment process."

The Coalition encourages the Government of Canada to grasp the opportunity presented by the deep interest by China to invest in Canada's energy enterprises, to at this time demand that China improve its addressing of human rights issues that have emerged at every level of Chinese society. The letter also makes reference to reports exposing CNOOC's oil extraction operations in Burma which have not been approved by local residents and which have caused very great damage to local villages. Those villagers who have participated in opposition to the oil extraction have been arrested by the Burmese military and put on trial. [I am using "Burma" here, but there is no distinction in Chinese between "Burma" and "Myanmar." In pinyin the name of that country has consistently been "Miandian."]

This letter was sent simultaneously to the office of Prime Minister Harper. But after more than a month it has not elicited any response from the PMO either. The Coalition decided the day before yesterday to make the letter public.. It very rapidly received a reaction from Jason Kenney, the Minister of Immigration: "Our Government has very clearly expressed that Canada-China relations require balanced development, to carry forward our common interests, such as trade and business, as well as our values, such as the importance that we place on human rights."

Kenney made the above statement the day before yesterday at a press conference in response to a reporter's question. He indicated that he is assured that Harper for a long time has expressed the same opinion on issue of balanced development. According to information obtained by the "Toronto Star," Harper is the key person in making the final decision on whether this transaction will be approved or not.

The Chairman of one organization that is part of the "The Canadian Coalition for Human Rights in China," "The Toronto Association for Support of the Democracy Movement in China," Guan Zhuo [Cheuk Kwan], yesterday indicated to this newspaper that Nexen has an excellent human rights record. It was one of the earliest Canadian companies to write a human rights policy. Therefore in assessing whether or not to sell it to the Chinese state-owned CNOOC, whether or not CNOOC has an excellent human rights record, and whether it can fully implement a human rights policy in future management of the enterprise should become a factor that is given significant weight in considerations.

Guan Zhuo indicated that he can understand that the Ministry of Industry will approach its assessment of this transaction from a commercial benefit perspective. But he believes that the Government should not only look at the money benefits. It should also include Canada's human rights values perspective in the assessment, "although the Chinese side has indicated that it will strictly respect Canadian law after it makes the purchase, but the Ambassador of China indicated the day before yesterday that human rights should not be brought into this commercial transaction." Therefore Guan Zhuo feels that in approving this transaction the Government of Canada must ensure that that a human rights policy will be very well implemented in future operations of Nexen.

The original Chinese report can be found here: http://www.mingpaotor.com/htm/News/20120927/tbc1.htm?m=0

New ambassador to China pledges frank dialogue on security, human rights

New ambassador to China pledges frank dialogue on security, human rights


"He'll have close links right to the top, both with me and the prime minister, senior leadership of the public service and business communities here in Canada," Baird told reporters in his office on Parliament Hill, where the two posed for a photo-op.
The minister called the posting "an important political and security position in that part of the world."

My Thoughts on the Chinese Ambassador's Interview on Front Page of Today's Globe and Mail

The interview is entitled "Canada-China free-trade pact touted" (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/china-calls-for-free-trade-deal-with-canada-within-a-decade/article4561149/)

My observation: After 18 years of negotiations to achieve a Canada-China Foreign Investment Protection Agreement, the Chinese Ambassador now indicates that for Canada to obtain "guarantees that its companies will get greater access to investment and markets in China" that we now actually need to negotiate a comprehensive free trade agreement which "might take a few years, but less than a decade." Presumably in the meantime China intends to continue to widen its 4X trade disparity with Canada while interminable negotiations work to "address" Canada's concerns. And according to the Ambassador over this period Canada's concerns over allegations of widespread human rights abuse in China will also work themselves out through "improvement and development."

After 30 years of Chinese officials urging Western patience over trade and human rights concerns, this line of argument is starting to wear a bit thin. But clearly the Ambassador hopes to continue to play to Canadian naivete and gullibility for as long as it can be sustained.

Liberace-like the Chinese regime appears to be "laughing all the way to the bank."



An edited version of the above text appeared as letter to the Globe and Mail entitled "It's wearing thin" published on September 25: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/letters/sept-25-rue-britannia-and-other-letters-to-the-editor/article4565456/

I recommend this Editorial on Pitfalls of China Trade

@cburton001: Trade with caution http://t.co/mffB2Uh1 Strong editorial in National Post on necessary measures to mitigate negative impacts of increasing trade with China

Diplomacy has a human cost

@irbrodie: This morning, remembering all the diplomats who serve in dangerous posts.

I Am Speaking in Toronto Thursday Night

Thursday September 17
What does October’s Chinese Communist Party National Congress mean for China and the World?—The Canadian International Council’s Toronto branch presents this panel discussion. Panellists include Charles Burton, Brock University, and Jeremy Paltiel, Carleton University. 6:30-9 p.m., $15 members; $20 non-members. Aird & Berlis LLP, 181 Bay St., 18th floor, Toronto, Ont. 416-590-0630 or toronto@opencanada.org

Not cracking open the champagne on Canada-China FIPA just yet

The Agreement has now been signed by the President of China.  That has the effect of sending out a signal giving hope that China wants to deal fairly in foreign investment with Canada, so perhaps we should go easy on our concerns over CNOOC-Nexen.  But it is still subject to ratification by the National People's Congress.  Our experience with India might be instructive here:
From the DFAIT website (http://www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/fipa-apie/india-inde.aspx?lang=eng&view=d):
"Canada and India announced the conclusion of negotiations towards a bilateral Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) on June 16, 2007 during the visit to Ottawa of India's then Minister of Commerce & Industry, Mr. Kamal Nath. Both sides agreed to carry out their respective procedures leading to formal signature and ratification of the agreement. However, during this process, in October 2009, India notified Canada that it had some concerns with the agreed text. Canada is committed to this important investment agreement and efforts to negotiate a resolution to these issues have been underway since that time so that the agreement can be completed and ratified as soon as possible."

But to me the larger issue is that we have not seen the negotiated text yet.  
Does it provide sufficient legal teeth to guarantees that Canadians will be treated fairly in the Chinese market? 
Is this an agreement that the Chinese central authorities can or will actually enforce?  
Will it help us to actually make some progress in the Chinese market?  

I wonder about such things.

China, Canada Sign FIPA Amid Nexen Review but it still has to be ratified by legislatures in both countries

China, Canada Sign FIPA Amid Nexen Review but it still has to be ratified by legislatures in both countries


http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-08/china-canada-sign-investor-protection-accord-amid-nexen-review.html?utm_source=Sinocism+Newsletter&utm_campaign=7b6dedc2e3-The_Sinocism_China_Newsletter_For_09_09_2012&utm_medium=email

My interview on APEC and Canada Asia relations with Brian Dunstan: News : SunNews Video Gallery

Canada Asia relations : News : SunNews Video Gallery

Very Insightful Report on Relationship of Chinese State to Chinese Business

Very highly recommend report on B1 of Saturday Globe and Mail "In China, Silvercorp critic caught in campaign by police".

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/asian-pacific-business/in-china-silvercorp-critic-caught-in-campaign-by-police/article4528671/