Meeting at CORIM | The Chinese ambassador put aside all criticism

Melania Marquis
Tap

These are some of the answers given by Chinese Ambassador to Canada Kang Pei, the Council for International Relations of Montreal (CORIM) on Tuesday gave a forum moderated by former Quebec Prime Minister Pierre Mark Johnson. Afternoon.

The Beijing Chef de Mission in Ottawa spent eight minutes giving a presentation on the history of the Middle Kingdom, the creation of the People’s Republic of China as historical milestones and the establishment of various diplomatic relations, particularly with Canada.

When it comes to diplomacy, he said, the Chinese regime “always believes that dialogue is better than conflict.” After completing his eight-minute speech, the host started him on the financial issue before turning to three other critical issues: the genocide in Xinjiang, the unilateral detention of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spover – the couple’s justice was done three weeks ago and the doors were closed for the goon action. Are waiting for – and Beijing’s controversial National Security Act to suppress Hong Kong.

And in each case, they have seized it, despite obstacles we can scarcely imagine. ”

First, with regard to the situation of the Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang, China has once again accused Western countries, including Canada, of “interfering in China’s internal affairs” on the pretext of human rights and insisting that they are there. There is “no carnage”.

In fact, the Xi Jinping regime is engaged in the “fight against terrorism and separatism,” especially in the fight against education. “You call it camps [de rééducation], But these are schools, ”he argued.

The United States has blamed the Uyghurs for the carnage. In Canada, despite the Conservative MP Michael Chong recognizing the genocide and passing a unanimous resolution in the House of Commons, the Trudeau government is not ready to go that far.

Michael both

The host of the virtual event discussed with his guest, the case of two Michael arrested in China on December 10, 2018, a few days after his arrest in Canada, at the request of the United States, Huawei, Meng Wanzhou from number two.

The ambassador pleaded that the two men in prison had not misbehaved – “sleep deprivation, confiscation of reading glasses is not true” – and that the judiciary had “strong evidence” that they stole and sent state secrets to foreign agencies.

Kong Pew insisted that if legal action was being taken behind closed doors, it was because of the nature of the allegations against the former diplomat and founder. “It simply came to our notice then. You have similar practices in Canada, ”he said.

Pierre Mark Johnson politely corrected him.

“While it is true that some aspects of national security cases have not been dealt with publicly, there will always be an outside lawyer who will review the evidence and make recommendations to the judge as to which parts can be disclosed.”

Hong Kong

Another file, another rejection.

When asked about the imposition of a national security law in Hong Kong, Kang Pew argued that he saw it as favorable, as it helped to overcome the “confusion” that existed before the adoption of Beijing law, to “rule of law”.

“In 2019, there were hate crimes on the streets of Hong Kong targeting innocent civilians and police officers. Can’t stand it […] It is not tolerated in the United States or elsewhere, such as in Canada. ”

The Chinese parliament passed the controversial National Security Agreement in May 2020 in response to protests that shook the former British colony in 2019. It fueled the notion of independence in the former colony, which Britain surrendered in 1997.

Controversial existence

Corim’s invitation to the Chinese ambassador – at the request of the Chinese embassy in Canada – was criticized by some observers, especially Guy Saint-Jacques, the former Canadian ambassador to Beijing.

He did not hear the conversion “in principle”.

Guy Saint-Jacques is particularly aware of the “all propaganda efforts” of the Chinese regime internationally. “Why did he give a platform to repeat the same things that Canada’s wrong?” Guy Saint-Jacques asks.

In an open letter published on the pages of, CORIM defended the decision to offer a showcase to Kong Pew Tap. The company did not want to return to the event on Tuesday, which was attended by 250 people.