Way down under, our Australian allies are facing Beijing’s wrath. And China’s not being subtle about it. This week, the Chinese government leaked a list of 14 grievances it has with Australia, and an official told an Australian reporter that, “China is angry. If you make China the enemy, China will be the enemy.” Well, gee, Chinese official, could you dumb it down a bit more for those of us in the cheap seats?The list of grievances, according to Australian sources, include pushing for an investigation into the initial spread of COVID-19, cancelling Chinese student visas, blocking Chinese investment deals, leading international efforts to study China’s violations of human rights at home and abroad and, of interest to Canadian policy watchers, banning Huawei from contributing to Australia’s 5G telecommunication networks.
China says these actions, and more, are tantamount to poisoning the relationship between the two nations. Australia would be wise, China says, to improve its attitude and behaviour, if it knows what’s good for it. Australia is having none of it, thankfully. The prime minister said in a TV interview that his country’s democracy and values are not for sale.
“We won’t be compromising on the fact that we’ll set what our foreign investment laws are, or how we build our 5G telecommunications networks, or how we run our systems … that are protecting against any interference,” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison rightly declared. “We will always set our own laws and our own rules according to our national interests — not at the behest of any other nation, whether that’s the U.S. or China or anyone else.”
Meanwhile, up in Canada, our foreign affairs minister is also sending a message to China. A clear message. And that message is: come visit!
On Tuesday, the Conservatives brought forward a motion calling on the Liberals to get tougher on China. Specifically, it called for the government to “make a decision on Huawei’s involvement in Canada’s 5G network within 30 days” and “develop a robust plan, as Australia has done, to combat China’s growing foreign operations here in Canada and its increasing intimidation of Canadians living in Canada,” also within 30 days.
Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne, responding for the government, said many of the right things. He noted the continued captivity of the two Michaels, China’s oppressive behaviour at home and abroad and said that promoting and protecting human rights is a fundamental priority for Canada. Trade diversification — code for making us less economically dependent on China — is important, too, he said.
Then he added this: “We are aware that China is, and will remain, an important commercial partner for Canada. China is also a significant source of tourists and students to Canada, and brings economic and enriching social benefits across our nation.”
So there you have it. The position of our Liberal government, laid out in absolutely perfect concision: sure, they’re warehousing religious minorities in concentration camps and crushing freedom underfoot in Hong Kong, and yeah, they’re holding our citizens hostage and threatening our economy, but gosh, have you seen the spin-offs these tourists generate?