In Canada, the tide of opinion is turning on China
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-in-canada-the-tide-of-opinion-is-turning-on-china/
"In what should be a wake-up call for the federal government, the Canadian public’s perception of China appears to be swinging dramatically.
An Angus Reid poll last week found that four in five Canadians want Huawei banned from any role in building this country’s 5G network, and just 11 per cent of respondents felt Canada should focus its trade efforts on China – down from 40 per cent in 2015. And 76 per cent said Canada should prioritize human rights and the rule of law over economic opportunity.
If Ottawa has been delaying a decision all these months while it awaits the “right moment" to announce that the future of Canadian telecommunications lies with Huawei, it is now clear that that moment will never come."
Thursday, May 21, 2020
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Think tank slams Ottawa over silence on Beijing attempt to ‘interfere’ with free speech
Think tank slams Ottawa over silence on Beijing attempt to ‘interfere’ with free speech
“Canada is evidently more penetrated byagents of the Chinese regime than other countries,” he said. “As a result, the Chinese regime has been able to dampen the kind of response that one would expect from a liberal democracyagainst a regime which is engaging in activities hostile to the interest of Canada and our values.”
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Burton: Beijing’s coronavirus bungling makes Canada’s choice on Huawei even easier
Burton: Beijing’s coronavirus bungling makes Canada’s choice on Huawei even easier
"The U.K., Australia, France and the United States have called for an international investigation of the PRC and WHO’s apparent mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic. If China were found culpable, would Canada still accept Beijing’s assurance that Huawei poses no threat to the security of Canadian 5G infrastructure, or that China will not seek to use it to further its cyber-espionage program in Canada? And in the background, of course, is China’s broad disregard for international rules-based order in trade and diplomacy."
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Continuing to do nothing will not deter China: Charles Burton’s Remarks to the House of Commons Special Committee on Canada-China Relations
Continuing to do nothing will not deter China: Charles Burton’s Remarks to the House of Commons Special Committee on Canada-China Relations: Canada’s continuing to do nothing in response to China's aggression will do nothing to deter said aggression, MLI's Charles Burton.
Friday, February 21, 2020
Burton: Why Canada can't let Huawei build a 5G network
Burton: Why Canada can't let Huawei build a 5G network
"Does Canada honestly want to send the profits from billions of dollars of 5G installation to China’s Huawei, a dishonest and dissembling corporate entity that is digitally facilitating Xi Jinping’s ever strengthening program of political repression?"
"In New Zealand, a startling report by scholar Anne-Marie Brady to that nation’s Parliamentary Inquiry on Foreign Interference details the Chinese Communist Party’s massive scheme of enticing foreign politicians, academics and business people to promote China’s agenda through political lobbying, the media and academia. Besides offering business opportunities or free trips to China, using bribery or honey traps and so on, there are also 'consultancies' in which prominent advisers pocket up to $150,000 per annum just for being affiliated with PRC entities. So long as the foreign adviser promotes relations with China on PRC terms, the money keeps coming.
Back in Ottawa, the new Special Committee on Canada-China Relations needs to seriously explore whether what is happening in New Zealand can happen here. As decision day on Huawei edges nearer, we need legislation requiring transparent reporting of Canadians’ income derived from foreign sources. Sunshine is the best disinfectant.
Patience is lapsing for Canada’s indecision over Huawei. The government needs to take a stand, once and for all, on the security threat of Huawei 5G. The real question is: Why would any disinterested party think that going with Huawei 5G is the right thing for Canada?"
Tuesday, February 04, 2020
Burton: Many concerns as Canadians wait for evacuation from China
Burton: Many concerns as Canadians wait for evacuation
For many Chinese the anxiety grows daily, trapped in their homes, afraid to go out and lacking supplies of surgical masks or food supplies. In the meantime, party General Secretary Xi Jinping appears to have gone to ground, vanishing from his dominance in the media, his political future evidently uncertain.
Tuesday, December 03, 2019
Burton and Byers: Resetting Canada’s Approach to China
Resetting Canada’s Approach to ChinaA measured and principled strategy will benefit everyone
http://inroadsjournal.ca/resetting-canadas-approach-to-china/
A measured and principled approach to China is ultimately of the greatest sustained benefit first to Canada, then to Canada’s likeminded allies and ultimately to China itself. With a new political configuration in Ottawa, the pursuit of a remade Canada-China relationship is of the utmost importance to Canada’s future as a free, democratic and prosperous nation. Naiveté about China’s global intentions can no longer be our excuse.
Thursday, November 28, 2019
Burton: Trudeau government at a crossroads in its dealings with China
Burton: Trudeau government at a crossroads in its dealings with China
https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/burton-trudeau-government-at-a-crossroads-in-its-dealings-with-china
The new Trudeau government’s approach to China’s Communist Party regime is rife with dilemma. Support the business and political interests of the Laurentian élite, who are entwined in and conflicted by a Beijing engagement approach that eschews established norms of trade and diplomacy? Or adhere to Canadian middle-class values that make Canada the harmonious and tolerant society it is: decency, fairness, reciprocity, honesty, openness?
https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/burton-trudeau-government-at-a-crossroads-in-its-dealings-with-china
The new Trudeau government’s approach to China’s Communist Party regime is rife with dilemma. Support the business and political interests of the Laurentian élite, who are entwined in and conflicted by a Beijing engagement approach that eschews established norms of trade and diplomacy? Or adhere to Canadian middle-class values that make Canada the harmonious and tolerant society it is: decency, fairness, reciprocity, honesty, openness?
Monday, September 16, 2019
Burton - The turmoil in Hong Kong is a bittersweet moment in its history
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-turmoil-in-hong-kong-is-a-bittersweet-moment-in-its-history/
"With the battle cry of “restore Hong Kong’s glory, the revolution of our times,” the continuing protests are a quixotic Cantonese cri de coeur, from a Chinese city that yearns to stave off its creeping and almost certain full subordination to the Mandarin dictates of the Chinese Communist Party.
This is a bittersweet moment in the history of Hong Kong. The emotional furor may just fade away or it could end horribly in violence. In Canada, meanwhile, our government’s milquetoast response to these events is yet another expression of our shameful loss of national vitality in international affairs."
"With the battle cry of “restore Hong Kong’s glory, the revolution of our times,” the continuing protests are a quixotic Cantonese cri de coeur, from a Chinese city that yearns to stave off its creeping and almost certain full subordination to the Mandarin dictates of the Chinese Communist Party.
This is a bittersweet moment in the history of Hong Kong. The emotional furor may just fade away or it could end horribly in violence. In Canada, meanwhile, our government’s milquetoast response to these events is yet another expression of our shameful loss of national vitality in international affairs."
Friday, August 16, 2019
Burton - TIME FOR A NEW DIRECTION IN CANADA'S CHINA STRATEGY: NEW MLI REPORT
OTTAWA, ON (August 16, 2019): The federal election is a little over two months away, and its outcome remains highly uncertain. Irrespective of whichever political party wins, the new government faces the challenging work of remaking Canada-China relations, which has reached an all-time low following China’s hostage diplomacy and use of economic coercion in response to the arrest by Canadian authorities of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou.
In the latest entry in MLI’s “A Mandate for Canada” series, Senior Fellow Charles Burton makes the case for a measured, principled, and forward-looking China strategy.
Titled Remaking Canada's China strategy: A new direction that puts Canadian interests first, the paper details the shortcomings of the country’s past approach to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), outlining the need for a new strategy that better serves Canada’s national interests and is more complementary to that of our key allies.
Over the past more than 25 years, both Liberal and Conservative governments have approached China based on an implied quid pro quo. As Burton notes, “If Canada showed ‘friendship’ to the PRC regime by acceding to demands allowing China to further its economic and geostrategic interests in Canada, then China would be amenable to Canadian approaches on social issues such as human rights.”
Underpinning this formulation has been Canadian political naiveté about the purposes and intentions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which has persisted into the early years of Justin Trudeau’s government.
Yet it is not through political naiveté alone that Canada had pursued policies highly favourable to the CCP’s interests. Equally important has been the CCP’s United Front Work Department and its highly effective, decades-long program of Canadian élite capture.
According to Burton, “This rosy view of China relations has been supported by major Canadian business interests who benefit from lucrative interactions with Chinese Communist state commercial networks.”
It is these interests, as opposed to issues of national security or Canadian principles and values, that should be at the centre of Canada’s China policy. Fortunately, there are growing signs that this captured élite foreign policy consensus is beginning to fray.
“China’s very strong retaliatory measures to pressure Canada to release a senior member of the regime – Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, detained under a US extradition request – has shattered any illusions about any moral obligation the PRC feels in response to Canada’s many decades of asymmetrical acts of ‘friendship.’”
The author offers a new direction in Canada’s China strategy – one that takes into consideration the need to safeguard Canadian security, promote Canadian prosperity, and project Canadian values. Key elements of this new strategy include:
Canada needs to assert comprehensively its national interests in its China strategy, even if doing so will lead to pushback from the PRC and its supporters in Canada. As Burton concludes, “A measured and principled approach to China is ultimately of the greatest sustained benefit to Canada, Canada’s like-minded allies, and, indeed, ultimately to China itself.”
http://macdonaldlaurier.ca/files/pdf/20190812_MLI_COMMENTARY_Future_Canada-China_Relations_Burton_FWeb.pdf
In the latest entry in MLI’s “A Mandate for Canada” series, Senior Fellow Charles Burton makes the case for a measured, principled, and forward-looking China strategy.
Titled Remaking Canada's China strategy: A new direction that puts Canadian interests first, the paper details the shortcomings of the country’s past approach to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), outlining the need for a new strategy that better serves Canada’s national interests and is more complementary to that of our key allies.
Over the past more than 25 years, both Liberal and Conservative governments have approached China based on an implied quid pro quo. As Burton notes, “If Canada showed ‘friendship’ to the PRC regime by acceding to demands allowing China to further its economic and geostrategic interests in Canada, then China would be amenable to Canadian approaches on social issues such as human rights.”
Underpinning this formulation has been Canadian political naiveté about the purposes and intentions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which has persisted into the early years of Justin Trudeau’s government.
Yet it is not through political naiveté alone that Canada had pursued policies highly favourable to the CCP’s interests. Equally important has been the CCP’s United Front Work Department and its highly effective, decades-long program of Canadian élite capture.
According to Burton, “This rosy view of China relations has been supported by major Canadian business interests who benefit from lucrative interactions with Chinese Communist state commercial networks.”
It is these interests, as opposed to issues of national security or Canadian principles and values, that should be at the centre of Canada’s China policy. Fortunately, there are growing signs that this captured élite foreign policy consensus is beginning to fray.
“China’s very strong retaliatory measures to pressure Canada to release a senior member of the regime – Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, detained under a US extradition request – has shattered any illusions about any moral obligation the PRC feels in response to Canada’s many decades of asymmetrical acts of ‘friendship.’”
The author offers a new direction in Canada’s China strategy – one that takes into consideration the need to safeguard Canadian security, promote Canadian prosperity, and project Canadian values. Key elements of this new strategy include:
- Cracking down on harassing, coercive, corrupt, and covert activities by agents of the Chinese state against anyone, regardless of citizenship, in Canada.
- Rejecting PRC regime pressure for us to accept the Huawei bid to install 5G technology
- Condemning police excesses in Hong Kong, calling for an independent inquiry on their excessive use of force, and stating clearly that any PAP (People's Armed Police) crackdown in Hong Kong would carry serious consequences.
- Considering the use of Magnitsky Law against officials of the People’s Republic of China’s Communist Party (or officials from Hong Kong), especially if there is a crackdown in Hong Kong.
- Ending government collaboration in United Front Work Department activities such as Parliamentary exchanges that attempt to establish a moral equivalence between liberal democratic institutions and the CCP’s puppet sham civil institutions.
- Requiring transparency for media and educational institutions that receive PRC regime funding.
- Condemning Chinese human rights abuses and concomitantly supporting agents of progressive change in China.
Canada needs to assert comprehensively its national interests in its China strategy, even if doing so will lead to pushback from the PRC and its supporters in Canada. As Burton concludes, “A measured and principled approach to China is ultimately of the greatest sustained benefit to Canada, Canada’s like-minded allies, and, indeed, ultimately to China itself.”
http://macdonaldlaurier.ca/files/pdf/20190812_MLI_COMMENTARY_Future_Canada-China_Relations_Burton_FWeb.pdf
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Burton: Xi Jinping may want to rule the world, but he has problems at home, too
Perhaps Mr. Xi has done the world a favour by exposing the true nature of the Communist Party’s long-range intentions, but as American commentator Gordon Chang has observed, ultimately his is “a militant, one-person regime that feels surrounded and threatened.”
A “surrounded and threatened” China feeling under siege does not bode well for making a rational conciliatory response to Hong Kong’s unrest. It also does not bode well for the future of Canada-China relations or for global peace. China desperately needs to find a way out of its political conundrum before it’s too late – for all involved.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-xi-jinping-may-want-to-rule-the-world-but-he-has-problems-at-home/
A “surrounded and threatened” China feeling under siege does not bode well for making a rational conciliatory response to Hong Kong’s unrest. It also does not bode well for the future of Canada-China relations or for global peace. China desperately needs to find a way out of its political conundrum before it’s too late – for all involved.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-xi-jinping-may-want-to-rule-the-world-but-he-has-problems-at-home/
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Monday, July 08, 2019
Lary and Burton: Exiled professor Jerome Ch’en taught students about his beloved homeland, China
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-exiled-professor-jerome-chen-taught-students-about-his-beloved/
Jerome Ch’en’s long life was shaped by the momentous historic events in China over the past century, and the insights he gained as a witness to those events informed his work as an eminent historian and author. Prof. Ch’en, who died last month, was one of the last survivors of a gifted generation of Chinese intellectuals who were born into a traditional society, came of age in warfare and either were exiled or remained in China to face persecution. They were steeped in both the Chinese and Western traditions. Prof. Ch’en’s deep knowledge of Chinese culture co-existed with his profound understanding of Western political and economic thought.
Jerome Ch’en’s long life was shaped by the momentous historic events in China over the past century, and the insights he gained as a witness to those events informed his work as an eminent historian and author. Prof. Ch’en, who died last month, was one of the last survivors of a gifted generation of Chinese intellectuals who were born into a traditional society, came of age in warfare and either were exiled or remained in China to face persecution. They were steeped in both the Chinese and Western traditions. Prof. Ch’en’s deep knowledge of Chinese culture co-existed with his profound understanding of Western political and economic thought.
Sunday, June 30, 2019
Burton: How Xi trumped Trump at the G20 summit (Opinion piece in the Globe and Mail)
How Xi trumped Trump at the G20 summit
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-how-xi-trumped-trump-at-the-g20-summit/
While China’s long-term preparations for its new cold war confrontation with the U.S. continue apace, Mr. Trump’s infatuation of autocratic dictators – of which Mr. Xi is primus inter pares – shows no signs of abating. At the press conference following their meeting, Mr. Trump told a Chinese reporter that Mr. Xi is “a brilliant leader. He’s a brilliant man. You know better than I, he is probably considered to be one of the great leaders of 200 years in China.”
There was no mention of Mr. Xi’s leadership over Chinese Communist Party policies which have incarcerated 3 million Uyghurs (the figure used by the U.S. State Department) under harsh conditions in cultural genocide camps. Mr. Trump indicated that Hong Kong also didn’t come up.
In their meeting, Mr. Xi made shrewd inroads, deferring new tariffs on US$300 billion worth of exports to the U.S. with the usual promises of “dialogue,” vague commitments to co-operate on the threats of Iran and North Korea, and talk of large purchases of U.S. agricultural and other goods.
Mr. Trump, meanwhile, was agreeing to reconsider security restrictions on Chinese researchers entering the U.S., and to end the current ban on American company sales to Huawei.
PRC Reference News characterization of this opinion piece: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-how-xi-trumped-trump-at-the-g20-summit/
While China’s long-term preparations for its new cold war confrontation with the U.S. continue apace, Mr. Trump’s infatuation of autocratic dictators – of which Mr. Xi is primus inter pares – shows no signs of abating. At the press conference following their meeting, Mr. Trump told a Chinese reporter that Mr. Xi is “a brilliant leader. He’s a brilliant man. You know better than I, he is probably considered to be one of the great leaders of 200 years in China.”
There was no mention of Mr. Xi’s leadership over Chinese Communist Party policies which have incarcerated 3 million Uyghurs (the figure used by the U.S. State Department) under harsh conditions in cultural genocide camps. Mr. Trump indicated that Hong Kong also didn’t come up.
In their meeting, Mr. Xi made shrewd inroads, deferring new tariffs on US$300 billion worth of exports to the U.S. with the usual promises of “dialogue,” vague commitments to co-operate on the threats of Iran and North Korea, and talk of large purchases of U.S. agricultural and other goods.
Mr. Trump, meanwhile, was agreeing to reconsider security restrictions on Chinese researchers entering the U.S., and to end the current ban on American company sales to Huawei.
PRC Reference News characterization of this opinion piece: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/
Wednesday, June 05, 2019
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Burton: China, U.S., Canada: trade and political disputes and world domination (interview)
Burton: China, U.S., Canada: trade and political disputes and world domination (interview)
http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2019/05/14/china-u-s-canada-trade-and-political-disputes-and-world-domination-interview/
In an article he wrote to the Ottawa Citizen newspaper, he said, “Currently, there is no coherent multi-national strategy against Chinese influence operations. The less we respond to it in any substantive way, the more China is emboldened in its practice of global disruption.
China’s remaking of the global rules is making the world safe for autocracy, tacitly demanding that Canada passively surrender our values to an authoritarian state. Canada should be uniting with our allies in a coordinated stand for political justice and fair economic engagement with China. But this requires more than allocating resources and government expenditure. The political will has to be there”.
http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2019/05/14/china-u-s-canada-trade-and-political-disputes-and-world-domination-interview/
In an article he wrote to the Ottawa Citizen newspaper, he said, “Currently, there is no coherent multi-national strategy against Chinese influence operations. The less we respond to it in any substantive way, the more China is emboldened in its practice of global disruption.
China’s remaking of the global rules is making the world safe for autocracy, tacitly demanding that Canada passively surrender our values to an authoritarian state. Canada should be uniting with our allies in a coordinated stand for political justice and fair economic engagement with China. But this requires more than allocating resources and government expenditure. The political will has to be there”.
Thursday, May 09, 2019
Canada’s frosty relationship with China makes prof’s expertise hot commodity
Canada’s frosty relationship with China makes prof’s expertise hot commodity
https://brocku.ca/brock-news/2019/05/canadas-frosty-relationship-with-china-makes-profs-expertise-hot-commodity/
Burton counts himself among a small number of China specialists who are prepared to criticize the regime.
“The other option is to hold back and not enter into the public debate on China,” he says. “If people understand things that are causing trouble in our relationship with China and don’t dare speak up, I think that would be more damaging to Canada’s interests.”
https://brocku.ca/brock-news/2019/05/canadas-frosty-relationship-with-china-makes-profs-expertise-hot-commodity/
Burton counts himself among a small number of China specialists who are prepared to criticize the regime.
“The other option is to hold back and not enter into the public debate on China,” he says. “If people understand things that are causing trouble in our relationship with China and don’t dare speak up, I think that would be more damaging to Canada’s interests.”
Wednesday, May 01, 2019
Burton: China-Canada tensions are no passing storm
https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/burton-china-canada-tensions-are-no-passing-storm
"Canada’s days of virtue-signalling are long past the point of getting Kovrig and Spavor out of the hell they endure. China has a million or more Turkic Muslims in “re-education” cultural genocide camps in the PRC’s northwest, and plans to do the same to Tibetans. Moreover, there are huge numbers of China’s own political prisoners suffering at least as badly in conditions similar to the “black jail” incarceration of our two citizens. In this light, Canadian concerns are unlikely to be very high on the agenda of China’s Communist leadership.
In 2012, when Canada thought that free trade with China would be the key to sustainable diversified Canadian prosperity, then-Liberal MP Justin Trudeau put forth that “we deceive ourselves by thinking that trade with Asia can be squeezed into the 20th-century mould. China, for one, sets its own rules and will continue to do so because it can. China has a game plan. There is nothing inherently sinister about that.”
But the practice of most Western nations, to condemn politically while engaging economically, has enabled China to make divide-and-conquer an art form. While many of the nations listed above have issued statements supporting Canada’s outrage at China’s flaunting of international law, most countries remain silent, fearing Beijing’s retaliation. In the final analysis, China wields raw money power and the myth that a windfall is coming if Beijing gets what it wants."
"Canada’s days of virtue-signalling are long past the point of getting Kovrig and Spavor out of the hell they endure. China has a million or more Turkic Muslims in “re-education” cultural genocide camps in the PRC’s northwest, and plans to do the same to Tibetans. Moreover, there are huge numbers of China’s own political prisoners suffering at least as badly in conditions similar to the “black jail” incarceration of our two citizens. In this light, Canadian concerns are unlikely to be very high on the agenda of China’s Communist leadership.
In 2012, when Canada thought that free trade with China would be the key to sustainable diversified Canadian prosperity, then-Liberal MP Justin Trudeau put forth that “we deceive ourselves by thinking that trade with Asia can be squeezed into the 20th-century mould. China, for one, sets its own rules and will continue to do so because it can. China has a game plan. There is nothing inherently sinister about that.”
But the practice of most Western nations, to condemn politically while engaging economically, has enabled China to make divide-and-conquer an art form. While many of the nations listed above have issued statements supporting Canada’s outrage at China’s flaunting of international law, most countries remain silent, fearing Beijing’s retaliation. In the final analysis, China wields raw money power and the myth that a windfall is coming if Beijing gets what it wants."
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Debate with Paul Evans on "China: Friend or Foe?"
Video of the whole thing:
MLI text of the opening statement:
Saturday, March 09, 2019
Burton: Canada must develop a backbone in its dealings with China
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-canada-must-develop-a-backbone-in-its-dealings-with-china/
Canada’s years of appeasing China’s Communist regime, in the hope of obtaining economic favour, has led us to this horrendous mess. We must regain Canadian self-respect in our relations with China, by honest reassessment and a reboot to get it right.
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