China strikes back at Kenney
‘FRIENDLY REMINDER’
ED MONTON • The Chinese consulate in Calgary has hit back at Jason Kenney after the Alberta premier called for “a reckoning” with China over the COVID- 19 pandemic.
The consulate in Calgary accused Kenney of criticizing China to please U.S. President Donald Trump and said there was a “large body of facts and data” proving China did not downplay or obfuscate the damaging effects of the novel coronavirus.
“If Mr. Premier did not deliberately turn his head away, these facts and evidence are presenting themselves crystal clearly before his eyes,” a statement posted to Twitter said. “If there is a comparison between what he has done during the outbreak with what Wuhan has, he will not look smarter.”
“However,” the statement continued, “we disdain to bring the details up, because attacking Mr. Premier was never one of our goals.”
The statement concluded with a “friendly reminder” to Kenney: “You are based in Edmonton not in Ottawa,” the statement said, adding that many Americans — friendly or not to Trump — have “profitable and unshakable businesses with China.”
China has faced rancour from around the world as governments attempt to control the outbreak that has killed more than 300,000 people and crippled economies. The virus originated in Wuhan, China, and there has been criticism about China’s level of transparency.
“I think the Chinese government played a significant role in the devastating public health and economic damage that is being experienced by the entire world,” Kenney said on Thursday. “And I do not think we should just forget this and walk past it. There must be some kind of a reckoning, there must be some accountability.”
In April, Kenney was also involved in a spat with the Chinese consulate in Calgary and embassy in Ottawa after he tweeted his support for an activist arrested in Hong Kong in a crackdown on pro- democracy protesters. Chinese diplomats demanded “local politicians to abide by the basic norms governing international relations ... and immediately stop interfering in China’s internal affairs.”
Canada’s relationship with China has been increasingly rocky since the detention in December 2018 of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. Holed up in her Vancouver mansion, Wanzhou faces extradition to the United States, where she’s wanted on charges of fraud relating to her company’s alleged violation of trade sanctions against Iran. Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor have been held in China for more than 500 days; both were seized on espionage charges, but their detentions are widely believed to be retaliatory for Meng’s arrest.
The idea of holding China accountable for the pandemic is gaining traction, particularly in the United States, where Republican attorneys general in 14 states have told Trump the United States should form a partnership to sue China for damages caused by the pandemic; COVID-19 has killed more than 86,000 people in the United States.
“This will allow us to share information and resources and ensure that any remedy sought takes into consideration our legal capabilities and the devastating impact the virus has had on our States,” the letter said.
Missouri became the first state to sue China for compensation, with a 47- page lawsuit filed in late April. Eric Schmitt, the attorney general, said that China had clamped down on information about the virus — including arresting whistleblowers — and played down the contagiousness of the virus, CBS News reported.