The Special Committee on Canada-China Relations in the Canadian House of Commons on Thursday published its first report on Taiwan, which analysts in Taiwan have called a “breakthrough” in bilateral relations.
The report, titled Canada and Taiwan: A Strong Relationship in Turbulent Times, suggests that the two nations should launch diplomatic visits, and calls on the Canadian government to voice the position that Taiwan’s future can only be determined by Taiwanese.
The report also discusses Canada’s engagement with Taiwan, its trade with and investment in Taiwan, the state of regional peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region, and other issues related to Taiwan’s relationships with Canada and China.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada via CNA
The report is based on the testimonies at congressional hearings by Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁), Canadian government officials, academics, experts and others.
The report states that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) “has a ‘one China principle’ that is markedly different from Canada’s ‘one China policy.’”
The report cites one Canadian official who characterized Canada’s policy as a “very flexible approach” that was designed to be “strategically ambiguous.”
Conversely, China’s principle “holds that Taiwan is part of the PRC and should be reunited with mainland China,” and China considers visits to Taiwan by foreign government officials as being “inconsistent in bestowing an act of sovereignty to the state that China believes should be a province.”
The committee’s report also cites University of Ottawa professor and Macdonald-Laurier Institute senior fellow Scott Simon as saying that “Canada does not endorse the PRC’s claims over Taiwan.”
The report’s conclusion quotes Tseng as saying that “if Taiwan falls, democracy falls, and that will be the ultimate concern of all of us.”
Speaking to the Central News Agency, Tseng said that the report was the most significant development in Taiwan-Canada relations since the two nations severed diplomatic ties in 1970.
“The Canadian parliament has never published such a comprehensive report on Taiwan,” he said. “The report expresses support for Taiwan’s participation in international affairs, and also emphasizes the importance of economic, trade and diplomatic cooperation between the two countries.”
The report expresses support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, which “would benefit indigenous peoples in Taiwan,” whereas Taiwan’s exclusion “contradicts” the forum’s purpose.
It also calls for Taiwan’s inclusion in the International Civil Aviation Organization and the WHO, and says that the Canadian government should evaluate Taiwan’s application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
It also calls for progress on the Canada-Taiwan Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Arrangement, and says that the Canadian minister of international trade should visit Taiwan to sign the agreement.
No Canadian minister has visited Taiwan since former Canadian minister of industry John Manley in 1998.
The report also calls on China to exercise restraint in the Taiwan Strait and cites Simon as saying that “Canada would continue to oppose economic coercion, as well as more overt military coercion and threats.”
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