The diplomatic spat between Canada and China grew more heated on Monday as Beijing denounced media criticism of its ambassador to Ottawa, only to have Canada’s deputy prime minister and opposition leader echo the criticism.
The exchange comes at a moment when ties between the two countries are at their lowest point in years, largely due to Beijing’s outrage over Ottawa’s detention of a top executive of Huawei Technologies Co and the subsequent arrest of two Canadians.
The new friction arose when Chinese Ambassador to Canada Cong Peiwu (叢培武) branded pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong as violent criminals and said that if Canada grants them asylum, it would amount to interference in China’s internal affairs.
“If the Canadian side really cares about the stability and the prosperity in Hong Kong, and really cares about the good health and safety of those 300,000 Canadian passport holders in Hong Kong, and the large number of Canadian companies operating in Hong Kong SAR [Special Administrative Region], you should support those efforts to fight violent crimes,” Cong said on Thursday in a video news conference from the Chinese embassy.
Asked if his remarks amounted to a threat, Cong replied: “That is your interpretation.”
Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said in parliament on Monday that Cong’s comments “are not in any way in keeping with the spirit of appropriate diplomatic countries between two countries.”
Freeland said Canada would speak out for human rights in China and that it would support its citizens living in Hong Kong.
“Let me also reassure the 300,000 Canadians in Hong Kong that a Canadian is a Canadian and we will stand with them,” she said.
Her statements came hours after Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) told reporters that his government had complained to Canada over media criticism of Cong’s remarks.
He said Canadian leaders “did not verify, but also condoned the anti-China comments spreading across the nation and made groundless accusations against China.”
He did not specify the media criticism, but the Toronto Sun on Saturday published an editorial calling on Cong to apologize.
“If he won’t apologize and retract his threats, boot him back to Beijing,” the editorial said.
Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole said that Cong had threatened Canadians in Hong Kong and called on the envoy to either apologize or leave.
Cherie Wong (王卓妍), executive director of Alliance Canada Hong Kong, called Cong’s comment a “direct threat” to all Canadians.
STEPPING UP: Diminished US polar science presence mean opportunities for the UK and other countries, although China or Russia might also fill that gap, a researcher said The UK’s flagship polar research vessel is to head to Antarctica next week to help advance dozens of climate change-linked science projects, as Western nations spearhead studies there while the US withdraws. The RRS Sir David Attenborough, a state-of-the-art ship named after the renowned British naturalist, would aid research on everything from “hunting underwater tsunamis” to tracking glacier melt and whale populations. Operated by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the country’s polar research institute, the 15,000-tonne icebreaker — boasting a helipad, and various laboratories and gadgetry — is pivotal to the UK’s efforts to assess climate change’s impact there. “The saying goes
FRUSTRATIONS: One in seven youths in China and Indonesia are unemployed, and many in the region are stuck in low-productivity jobs, the World Bank said Young people across Asia are struggling to find good jobs, with many stuck in low-productivity work that the World Bank said could strain social stability as frustrations fuel a global wave of youth-led protests. The bank highlighted a persistent gap between younger and more experienced workers across several Asian economies in a regional economic update released yesterday, noting that one in seven young people in China and Indonesia are unemployed. The share of people now vulnerable to falling into poverty is now larger than the middle class in most countries, it said. “The employment rate is generally high, but the young struggle to
ENERGY SHIFT: A report by Ember suggests it is possible for the world to wean off polluting sources of power, such as coal and gas, even as demand for electricity surges Worldwide solar and wind power generation has outpaced electricity demand this year, and for the first time on record, renewable energies combined generated more power than coal, a new analysis said. Global solar generation grew by a record 31 percent in the first half of the year, while wind generation grew 7.7 percent, according to the report by the energy think tank Ember, which was released after midnight yesterday. Solar and wind generation combined grew by more than 400 terawatt hours, which was more than the increase in overall global demand during the same period, it said. The findings suggest it is
FIRST STAGE: Hamas has agreed to release 48 Israeli hostages in exchange for 250 ‘national security prisoners’ as well as 1,700 Gazans, but has resisted calls to disarm Israel plans to destroy what remains of Hamas’ network of tunnels under Gaza, working with US approval after its hostages are freed, it said yesterday. Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz said that the operation would be conducted under an “international mechanism” led by the US. “Israel’s great challenge after the hostage release phase will be the destruction of all Hamas terrorist tunnels in Gaza,” Katz said. “I have ordered the army to prepare to carry out this mission,” he added. Hamas operates a network of tunnels under Gaza, allowing its fighters to operate out of sight of Israeli reconnaissance. Some have passed under
RSS