Don't point fingers, Chinese ambassador tells PM

[mamaomao]

Posted AT 3:30 PM EST ON 21/11/06


Don't point fingers, Chinese ambassador tells PM

Canadian Press

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061121.wchina1121/BNStory/National/home

OTTAWA ― China's top diplomat in Canada says nothing is achieved in improving relations between the two countries by “standing on rooftops and pointing fingers.”

Ambassador Lu Shemin delivered that message at a business luncheon today and was applauded.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has taken a tough stance on China's human rights record, saying he would never back down from pushing the Asian giant on the issue to protect trade.

The result was that Mr. Harper never got the formal meeting he hoped for with Chinese President Hu Jintao during last week's meeting of Pacific rim leaders in Vietnam.


The two men met informally at a reception, but it was unclear whether Mr. Harper raised human rights issues.

Rights advocates praised Mr. Harper's approach, while business groups fretted over the consequences.

Mr. Lu emphasized that China still regards Canada as a friend, and went on to praise the actions of previous governments in bringing the nations closer.

 

[mamaomao]

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Charles Brown from Vancouver, BC, Canada writes:
Stephen Harper should be a little bit more tactful when engaging the Chinese and the Chinese could do the same. It takes two to dance and if they don't stop yelling at each other, they won't have the the opportunity to get aquainted to the point where they can start commenting on each others faults.

* Posted 21/11/06 at 3:43 PM EST | Link to Comment

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Trillian Rand from Vancouver, Canada writes:
Of course the ambassador is correct. Good relationships, those that involve discourse rather than bullying, are always preferable to the alternatives. It is unfortunate our fearless leader puts his ability to take and give shots above diplomacy and reason. Name calling and finger pointing lead to entrenchment, not change. We might not always agree with the way the Chinese government leads its people, but we don't always support the actions of our own government. China's population is approximately 1.3 billion. Our new government has 30 million people to look after. A sense of perspective and offers to help will go a lot further than ineffective threats.


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David Burke from Ottawa, Canada writes:
I was at the Canadian Club luncheon today where Amb LU Shumin made his comments. Although the statement that the audience applauded the ambassador's comments it must be noted that in the audience were at least three tables of Chinese staff from the large Chinese embassy. It was from those tables that the 'claque' applause eminated first. It is one of the oldest tricks in public speaking to have a pre-planned response to a point that one wishes to make. The ambassador's speech was a masterful performance filled with fine, carefully chosen words that cover the reality of the Communist Party of China and its Leninist hold on the country. Harmony...Democracy...Rule of Law...Stability; they all mean someting else when applied to China.

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Big Jim from Smiths Falls, Canada writes:
Before the election, everyone said that Harper would only represent the interests of big business and ignore social issues. Well, he is standing up for human rights now - at the possible expense of business in Canada. How can you be criticizing him?

 

[Fisher2004]

Opposition blasts Harper's performance on the world stage

Jack Aubry, CanWest News Service
Published: Tuesday, November 21, 2006


OTTAWA - The Harper government has embarrassed Canadians on the world stage with the prime minister's dealings with China and for receiving harsh criticisms from other countries at an international meeting in Kenya over the rejection of Canada's climate change commitments, Opposition MPs said Monday.

Liberal Leader Bill Graham told the House of Commons Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his government's foreign policy "is dangerously driven by preconceptions, deceptions, self-delusions and arrogance''.

He said Harper's brief meeting with China's president had hardly been "a historic event'' since it was mentioned only at the end of a Chinese news agency's report about President Hu Jintao 's get together with another leader at the meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation in Vietnam.

Graham said the end result of his efforts at the APEC meeting had been ``a big fat zero''

Harper returned to Ottawa from Vietman early Monday and was absent from question period.

Jason Kenney, who is the prime minister's parliamentary assistant, came to his defence, saying he was proud of Harper's actions, which protected Canadian values.

MPs also said the Conservative government is hurting the country's reputation on the environment by withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol and drawing criticisms from the international community for rejecting its commitments. But Kenney said Environment Minister Rona Ambrose had been honest with the world about the country's ability to meet its Kyoto commitments while the previous Liberal government "had lied to the world'' about it.

Meanwhile, Liberal leadership front-runner Michael Ignatieff said Monday that Harper's approach of preaching human rights to China is not productive and not in Canada's long-term interest.

"It's always very pleasurable to stand up and give speeches defending Canadian principles. But the test of the speeches is whether they deliver the results,'' Ignatieff said Monday in an interview at his Toronto campaign headquarters. ''The test of whether Mr. Harper's approach in this 15 minute meeting will be whether this guy is released or not.''

Ignatieff was referring to the case of Huseyin Celil, 37, a Canadian citizen who was sent from Uzbekistan to a Chinese jail without the federal government's knowledge.

The Chinese have claimed Celil is a murderer and a terrorist.

Speaking in Ottawa, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said Canada has made progress in the case.

" E we have already received a guarantee that they would not pursue the death penalty,'' MacKay told reporters. So already we have made incremental progress in protecting this individual and we are going to continue to take steps to try to gain consular access for him.''

Ottawa Citizen/with a file from Mike Blanchfield