On Tuesday Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper begins an official visit to Beijing, his first since 2009, where we can expect he will go by the script to show that his government is committed to promoting the so-called "strategic partnership" between the two countries.
In recent years the Conservative government, once seen as unfriendly to Beijing, has made a volte-face on China, which is now Canada's second most important merchandise trading partner, with bilateral merchandise trade reaching $57 billion in 2010.
Harper's change of mind was not so much ideological as predicated on very pragmatic matters, such as increasing business ties with the world's second-largest economy, a move that, we must not forget, was initiated by the Liberals. Consequently, bilateral trade between the two countries more than tripled between 2001 and 2010.
Last year, even before Canadian voters installed the Conservatives as a majority government, the Harper administration was making the case for increased ties with China, brushing aside criticism that such rapprochement would come at the cost of Ottawa's effectiveness in pressuring China on its abysmal human rights record. While embarking on a "pragmatic" approach to China, which doubtlessly has benefited certain sectors of Canada's economy, Harper said his government would engage in constructive dialogue, or "quiet diplomacy" to express its concerns regarding Beijing's treatment of its people.
Such a face-to-face approach among "friends," Foreign Minister John Baird said last year, was more efficient than "sitting at home and griping," which was ostensibly a reference to a more vocal approach to Beijing's human rights violations.
Unfortunately for Harper and Baird, the silent, behind-the-scenes approach doesn't seem to be bearing fruit. While an increasing number of countries - all seeking to improve trade ties with the Asian giant - have muted their criticism in recent years, the human rights situation in China has not improved. In fact, by almost every yardstick, it has deteriorated, with repression in Tibet increasing, while Chinese dissidents, environmental activists, lawyers, journalists and bloggers continue to face censorship, an unjust judiciary, harsh detention, torture and statesponsored murder.
According to Amnesty International, as many as half a million Chinese are currently in punitive detention without having been charged or undergone a proper trial, while harassment, surveillance, house arrest, and imprisonment of human rights defenders are on the rise. While some people have attributed the deteriorating situation in China to Beijing's fears of instability following the Arab Spring, we should note that this downward trend toward greater repression began well before the transformative developments in the Arab world, and soon after President Hu Jintao came into office.
In its 2011-'12 freedom of the press index, Reporters Without Borders ranked China 174th on its list of 179 countries.
Blaming recent developments on the Arab Spring therefore risks blinding us to the real underlying problems in China, which are in part socio-economic, and in part political, as the Chinese Communist Party continues to oppose democratization, political dissent, and the emergence of credible opposition parties.
In recent years the Conservative government, once seen as unfriendly to Beijing, has made a volte-face on China, which is now Canada's second most important merchandise trading partner, with bilateral merchandise trade reaching $57 billion in 2010.
Harper's change of mind was not so much ideological as predicated on very pragmatic matters, such as increasing business ties with the world's second-largest economy, a move that, we must not forget, was initiated by the Liberals. Consequently, bilateral trade between the two countries more than tripled between 2001 and 2010.
Last year, even before Canadian voters installed the Conservatives as a majority government, the Harper administration was making the case for increased ties with China, brushing aside criticism that such rapprochement would come at the cost of Ottawa's effectiveness in pressuring China on its abysmal human rights record. While embarking on a "pragmatic" approach to China, which doubtlessly has benefited certain sectors of Canada's economy, Harper said his government would engage in constructive dialogue, or "quiet diplomacy" to express its concerns regarding Beijing's treatment of its people.
Such a face-to-face approach among "friends," Foreign Minister John Baird said last year, was more efficient than "sitting at home and griping," which was ostensibly a reference to a more vocal approach to Beijing's human rights violations.
Unfortunately for Harper and Baird, the silent, behind-the-scenes approach doesn't seem to be bearing fruit. While an increasing number of countries - all seeking to improve trade ties with the Asian giant - have muted their criticism in recent years, the human rights situation in China has not improved. In fact, by almost every yardstick, it has deteriorated, with repression in Tibet increasing, while Chinese dissidents, environmental activists, lawyers, journalists and bloggers continue to face censorship, an unjust judiciary, harsh detention, torture and statesponsored murder.
According to Amnesty International, as many as half a million Chinese are currently in punitive detention without having been charged or undergone a proper trial, while harassment, surveillance, house arrest, and imprisonment of human rights defenders are on the rise. While some people have attributed the deteriorating situation in China to Beijing's fears of instability following the Arab Spring, we should note that this downward trend toward greater repression began well before the transformative developments in the Arab world, and soon after President Hu Jintao came into office.
In its 2011-'12 freedom of the press index, Reporters Without Borders ranked China 174th on its list of 179 countries.
Blaming recent developments on the Arab Spring therefore risks blinding us to the real underlying problems in China, which are in part socio-economic, and in part political, as the Chinese Communist Party continues to oppose democratization, political dissent, and the emergence of credible opposition parties.
"Quiet diplomacy" is also predicated on the now discredited assumption that economic development in China will inexorably lead to political liberalization and eventually democratization. It is now clear to all but the most obstinate teleologist (or China apologist) that the paradigm of democratization espoused after the end of the Cold War has hit a Great Wall when it comes to China.
Nicholas Bequelin, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, said recently that public pressure on China must continue, "because quiet diplomacy" - the kind of diplomacy embraced by the Harper administration - "leads nowhere."
"Being weak on human rights at a time when the situation has deteriorated markedly is also a mistake because it strengthens the hand of hardliners within the party," Bequelin said, amid signs, furthermore, that real and vocal international pressure had been key to securing the release, or failing that, ensuring better treatment in prison, for some Chinese dissidents, such as Hu Jia and Li Jinping.
What is also becoming more obvious is the fact that even the more vocal critics of China on human rights will not suffer unduly from that criticism in terms of trade - at least as long as those countries have something to offer that China needs. In this relationship, Canada, replete as it is with the natural resources China so desperately needs to ensure its continued economic expansion, should act from a position of strength, and should be confident enough to not shy away from being vocal on the values and principles that Canada stands for.
By continuing to engage in "quiet diplomacy" in the face of a worsening human rights situation in China, while reaping the economic benefits of greater engagement, Canada will not only be refusing to abandon a discredited approach to dealing with China, but worse, it will be complicit in the repression of countless Chinese dissidents and minorities.
The concepts of freedom, liberty and democracy aren't Western inventions; there is, in fact, a very long tradition of such ideals in China, which courageous Chinese are keeping alive to this day. Is Canada intent on throwing those people to the wolves? Will Harper choose to remain "quiet" when he sets foot in Zhongnanhai, believing the cynical lie that doing so will help improve the situation for ordinary Chinese?
Nicholas Bequelin, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, said recently that public pressure on China must continue, "because quiet diplomacy" - the kind of diplomacy embraced by the Harper administration - "leads nowhere."
"Being weak on human rights at a time when the situation has deteriorated markedly is also a mistake because it strengthens the hand of hardliners within the party," Bequelin said, amid signs, furthermore, that real and vocal international pressure had been key to securing the release, or failing that, ensuring better treatment in prison, for some Chinese dissidents, such as Hu Jia and Li Jinping.
What is also becoming more obvious is the fact that even the more vocal critics of China on human rights will not suffer unduly from that criticism in terms of trade - at least as long as those countries have something to offer that China needs. In this relationship, Canada, replete as it is with the natural resources China so desperately needs to ensure its continued economic expansion, should act from a position of strength, and should be confident enough to not shy away from being vocal on the values and principles that Canada stands for.
By continuing to engage in "quiet diplomacy" in the face of a worsening human rights situation in China, while reaping the economic benefits of greater engagement, Canada will not only be refusing to abandon a discredited approach to dealing with China, but worse, it will be complicit in the repression of countless Chinese dissidents and minorities.
The concepts of freedom, liberty and democracy aren't Western inventions; there is, in fact, a very long tradition of such ideals in China, which courageous Chinese are keeping alive to this day. Is Canada intent on throwing those people to the wolves? Will Harper choose to remain "quiet" when he sets foot in Zhongnanhai, believing the cynical lie that doing so will help improve the situation for ordinary Chinese?
Original Article
Source: ottawa citizen
Author: J. Michael Cole
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