No need to trash the whole world
DEAR EDITOR:
It was the Liberal Party of Canada that has long cultivated closer ties and trade with China, our second largest trading partner.
It was Pierre Trudeau who was one of the first western leaders to diplomatically recognize China, doing so ahead of Richard Nixon.
During the long tenure of both Trudeau Sr. and Jean Chretien Liberal governments, which encompassed the era of globalization that welcomed China into the World Trade Organization, where China took to international trade like a duck to water and today rivals the Untied States in economic size.
It was the Liberals that maintained faith with China’s one-party dictatorship and believed they could become a reliable trading partner. Which they have.
Trudeau the father, school the son. During the 2016 China state visit Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reached out with referenced to his father’s China visit.
Canada has worked very hard to keep a middle ground with China that extended through all successive Canadian government of both strips.
It was bad luck when Washington forced Justin Trudeau to detain Meng Wanzhou at the Vancouver airport and Canada became a pawn in power-politics between China and America.
The 13-month extradition trial in Vancouver was necessary unfortunate theatre to stall the United States’ request and free the two Michaels.
Canada’s unwillingness to defy the American extradition request really pissed-off the Chinese.
That China made extra effort to reach out within Canada is not so unusual.
In fact, this is to be expected under the circumstances.
From globalization to friend-shoring and the Indo-Pacific initiative to nuclear-powered submarines, Canada is required to participate with our western Pacific allies that have chosen to confront aggressively China’s hegemony.
It is obvious no amount of inquiry in Canada will provide any kind of satisfying answer, as long as United States’ President Joe Biden’s hawks think that to save America they have to trash the world. Jon Peter Christoff, West Kelowna