RETRAINING CHINA'S AMBASSADOR TO CANADA

   Beijing’s ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu, has been away from his Ottawa post since the end of January – attending to what the Chinese embassy described as official business in China.
   Guy Saint-Jacques, who served as Canada’s ambassador to China from 2012 to 2016, said Mr. Cong’s absence “is not normal.” One would expect a foreign envoy to remain in their post except for a periodic visit to headquarters or annual vacation, he said.
   Mr. Saint-Jacques speculated that Mr. Cong has been called back to undergo training in “Xi Jinping Thought,” which would be required schooling for rising Chinese government officials. The political ideology of Mr. Xi, China’s President and the General-Secretary of the Communist Party of China, is required learning for party cadres. It’s been recognized in China’s constitution and this year Beijing’s Ministry of Education announced Xi Jinping Thought would be taught to Chinese students starting at the primary school level.