cover image: A reassessment of Canada's interest in China and options for renewal of Canada's China policy

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A reassessment of Canada's interest in China and options for renewal of Canada's China policy

27 Feb 2009

Canada should also be more proactive in responding to Canadians of Chinese origin, and to Chinese nationals A Reassessment of Canada’s Interests in China and Options for Renewal of Canada’s China Policy temporarily resident in Canada, including ethnic Tibetans, Uyghurs and Mongolians who complain of harassment and intimidation by Chinese security agents and Chinese diplomats in Canada. [...] Therefore, the capacity of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Ottawa to effectively engage Canadians and its ability to present China in a favourable light through effective public diplomacy is sorely lacking compared to Chinese missions to the United States, the UK and other major powers. [...] The Canadian Embassy counterparts at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the International Offices of Ministries have received formation in the English language and a large proportion of them are graduates of Chinese post-secondary foreign language training insti- tutes. [...] As our diplomats typically lack fluency in Chinese, and therefore lack the capacity to establish informal contacts with influential policymakers in the Chinese system, Canada has a high degree of reliance on the “gate keepers” at the Chinese MFA and International Offices of Ministries to gain access to the Chinese Government and Party system. [...] The crux of the matter is that the definition of “human rights, democratic development and good governance” as understood by liberal democratic Canadians is very much as odds with the re-definition of these critical concepts by the Government of China under the leadership of one authoritarian party, the Chinese Communist Party.
human rights china government education politics democracy economy crime gross domestic product international trade canada diplomacy international relations law citizenship ngos taiwan environmental sustainability gdp tibet one china fundamental rights communist party of china forms of government economy of china prc diplomatic rank lai changxing central tibetan administration

Authors

Burton, Charles

Pages
33
Published in
Canada

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