OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau insists his government is doing everything possible to free the two Michaels, the Canadians who, on Thursday, begin a third year of arbitrary detention in Chinese custody.
Conservative MP and foreign affairs critic Michael Chong said the Liberal government has been inconsistent in its approach to China. He noted that last year, Canada’s then ambassador to China, John McCallum, was talking about how beneficial it would be if Meng were released, in direct contrast to the Trudeau government’s stance.
McCallum was eventually fired for his comments, but Chong said that left the post in Beijing vacant for many months as the two men languished in custody. He said the government initially pledged to introduce a new policy on China and then failed to do so. It also has failed to address the question of whether telecom giant Huawei, which is suspected of ties to the Chinese state, will be allowed to participate in Canada’s 5G mobile-data network. Canada’s allies in the Five Eyes intelligence network — the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. — have all banned or restricted the use of Huawei equipment in their 5G infrastructure.
“Frankly speaking, the government’s policy on China is unintelligible,” Chong said. “If we have trouble figuring it out, then how on earth is China or anyone else, including our allies, supposed to figure it out?”
Who is going to stand up to China? This Canadian senator, for one.
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