For many years, a lot of smart people have been warning our federal government about drawing too close to China. Canada is a trading nation, and an open society, and of course we must engage with the world, even those nations that disagree with us on fundamental issues. But Canada must still have its eyes wide open to the true nature of the regimes we’re dealing with. The Canadians who’ve been sounding that alarm regarding the unscrupulousness of China’s communist regime all these years look even wiser this week in light of Beijing’s petty and vindictive attacks against us, although they’re likely not much in the mood for a victory lap.
China has detained Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor on claims they were endangering national security, a laughable charge Beijing routinely uses as a convenient tool to lock up innocent people. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo correctly called their capture “unlawful” and “unacceptable.” They should not have been detained in the first place. They are very possibly being abused, if not outright tortured. But their arrests, though appalling, may prove useful in one way: they ought to make it impossible for our prime minister, or any future prime ministers, to keep turning a blind eye to the criminal and thuggish nature of Beijing’s rulers. Ignoring the plight of Muslims in concentration camps, and the ongoing persecution of Chinese Christians, all for daring believe in a god other than communism, has proven easy enough for Canadian leaders. Perhaps the wrath being directed at innocent Canadians will make it harder for our politicians to stop ignoring the immoral and dangerous nature of China’s rulers as easily as they’ve ignored those of us who have been warning for years that China is no friend to us.
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