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Canada raps China over human rights, democracy
2006-10-13
Canada took a swipe at China on Wednesday, saying it was concerned about human rights and the state of democracy in a country that Ottawa regards with some suspicion. The comments by Foreign Minister Peter MacKay were the among the bluntest Canada has made about Beijing since the right-wing Conservatives won a federal election in January. "We have concerns about their justice system, we have concerns about the way in which their democracy functions, if we can call it that," MacKay told Parliament's foreign affairs committee. Previous Liberal governments in Canada tried hard to deepen links with China, but the Conservatives are distinctly less enthusiastic about the idea. Asked what Canada would do about the aid it gives to China to develop democratic institutions, MacKay replied: "That is something we are reexamining but I would suggest that there is still a contribution Canada can make on that front." MacKay met his Chinese counterpart at the United Nations last week and raised the case of Huseyincan Celil, a Canadian citizen and human rights activist who Beijing says is a terrorist. Celil is in a Chinese jail. Shortly after the Conservatives won power, MacKay complained about Chinese industrial espionage in Canada, a charge that Beijing flatly denied. In June, Prime Minister Stephen Harper told his Japanese counterpart that China was a challenge the two countries should work together to tackle, Japanese officials said. Earlier this month Canada bestowed honorary citizenship on the Dalai Lama, a move which China said could hurt commercial relations between the two countries. More than a million people of Chinese descent live in Canada and trade between the two nations is increasing rapidly. Last year, Canada ran a C$22 billion ($19.8 billion) trade deficit with China. ($1=$1.11 Canadian)
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