Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney gave an impressive speech to the European Parliament on Thursday. Elegant, thoughtful and rich in historical imagery, it began with Goethe and Buchenwald, traveled through Vimy Ridge, and ended with Canada and Europe growing a transatlantic forest together.
Underneath the poetry was a sensible economic argument. Canada is too dependent on the US. The weaponization of trade has exposed the danger of relying excessively on one market.
Canada should diversify, and Europe — with its vast market, technological capabilities and broadly compatible political system — is an obvious partner.
Carney spoke of sovereignty, territorial integrity, democracy, human dignity and individual freedom. Economic integration, he warned, is being weaponized; tariffs and financial mechanisms are being used for coercion; and supply chains have become vulnerabilities. Canada and Europe should build resilience together because they share fundamental values.
However, only eight months ago, Carney was in Beijing announcing a new “strategic partnership” with China, explicitly presenting deeper engagement as part of Canada’s effort to diversify its trade and reduce excessive dependence on its largest trading partner.
There is nothing inherently wrong with Canada trading with China. However, if economic dependence creates vulnerability, and if governments should guard against countries that weaponize trade, China cannot somehow disappear from the analysis.
After Lithuania allowed a representative office bearing the name “Taiwanese” to open in Vilnius, Lithuanian goods began encountering difficulties entering China. The EU later brought a WTO case alleging discriminatory and coercive measures, including customs rejections and restrictions on products containing Lithuanian components. China subsequently imposed import bans on Lithuanian alcohol, beef and dairy products using phytosanitary justifications that, according to the European Commission, China failed to substantiate. Lithuanian exports to China fell dramatically.
Days before Carney’s in Europe speech, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) attended the European Conference for Freedom and Democracy in Ventotene, Italy. Her participation had been kept confidential beforehand. After it became known, the European Commission withdrew its logo from the conference and canceled the participation of its scheduled representative. European Parliament Vice President Pina Picierno publicly linked the commission’s decision to Chinese complaints, while the commission declined to confirm that Hsiao’s presence was the reason.
Days later, Carney stood before the European Parliament declaring that democracies must protect their sovereignty, resist coercion and defend their shared values. “Freedom must be earned ‘every single day,’” Carney said emphatically.
The problem is not that Canada should refuse to trade with China, nor that Europe should confront Beijing at every opportunity. Diplomacy requires pragmatism.
The problem arises when democratic values are presented as fundamental principles against one powerful country, but become more flexible when another powerful country applies pressure.
Carney is right that excessive dependence creates vulnerability, that democracies need resilience and that sovereignty means retaining the ability to make one’s own choices. However, those principles need to survive contact with Beijing as well as Washington, otherwise they are not really principles.
They are just very good speeches.
John Cheng is a retired businessman from Hong Kong living in Taiwan.
Taiwan’s domestic political situation is following recognizable political rhythms, while the international environment surrounding Taiwan is undergoing a major transformation. Within Taiwan, there are ongoing battles between the legislative and executive branches over the budget, and between cities and the central government over resources. Tensions between political parties dominate headlines and consume much of the attention of party leaders. Jockeying is underway for local elections this November and national elections in 2028. And the longstanding philosophical debate inside Taiwan over how best to protect Taiwan and promote the good life remains unresolved. Amidst all of this, Taiwan continues to function well. It
With candidate registration for this year’s local elections closed on Sept. 4 and the elections less than 80 days away, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator and Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) rapidly growing popularity has become the focus of political talk shows and online discussions over the past week, heating up the mayoral election race in Taipei. Local media headlines and political pundits have picked up his supporters’ slogan “ocean current” (洋流) — a play on the last character of Shen’s name, which literally means “ocean” (洋), and the character (流), which can mean “current,” “flow” or “trend” — to
At the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, people will remember less what China achieved and more what the global south attained. China did not lose face: President Xi Jinping (習近平) was an honored guest in India, was endorsed as the chair of BRICS for next year, and China is to host the next summit. Yet the carefully crafted 140-paragraph New Delhi Declaration (NDD), the longest BRICS declaration so far, reveals a subtle, but important shift. BRICS is moving from a loose grouping toward a more substantive platform for the global south, giving developing countries greater voice and bargaining space
As of the end of last month, Taiwan had a total population of 23,224,721, declining for the 32nd consecutive month, the latest household registration data released on Thursday by the Ministry of the Interior showed. The figure was down 103,622 from a year earlier — or an average decline of 283.9 per day — and 10,281 from the previous month. Last month, Taiwan recorded 7,492 births — averaging about one baby every 6 minutes — dropping by 972 from the same month last year and 414 from July. From January to last month, the number of newborns was 61,742, decreasing by
RSS