Canada must stand firm against China
Canada has suddenly found itself wedged between a very large American rock and an unmovable Chinese hard place.
The Chinese are furious that Canadian authorities complied with a request from the U.S. this month by arresting one of China’s most prominent corporate leaders, Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou.
At the same time, the Americans are urging Canada to block Huawei Technologies’ involvement in the next generation of wireless networks in this country.
It seems unfair that Canada has been dragged into an escalating superpower dispute it did not create and cannot win. And how unfortunate it’s happening just as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is trying to strengthen trade ties with China to lessen our dependence on an increasingly unpredictable America.
Even so, Canada’s choices are clear, and it must make them even if they plunge relations with China into a deep freeze.
It’s up to Canada’s courts, not its prime minister, to decide Meng’s fate. It must be this way despite China’s threats of retaliation, which have already resulted in China arresting and detaining former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig.
China’s totalitarian government might not appreciate Canada’s insistence on following the law. Rather than be bound by inconvenient laws, China simply ignores or rewrites them as it pleases.
Yet when the Chinese demand that Trudeau release Meng, they either don’t comprehend or accept that he lacks the constitutional authority to do so. Yes, he’s Canada’s top lawmaker. But like anyone else in this country he must bow to the courts when it comes to administering those laws.
For the Chinese to label Meng’s arrest as lawless is absurd. On the contrary it would violate the law if Trudeau intervened and freed her. Such interference would be even more egregious because it would have been done to please a foreign dictatorship.
Canada has signed an extradition treaty with the
U.S. The Americans want to bring Meng to their country to face serious accusations that she and Huawei violated U.S. trade sanctions on Iran. To repeat once again, only a Canadian court can decide if the Americans will get what they asked for.
Canadians should understand that Trudeau is doing the right thing. Because Meng’s extradition hearing is far from the only thing hindering enhanced Canadian relations with China.
The Canadian Security Intelligence service has cautioned some of Canada’s top universities about the national security threats that accompany their research ties with Huawei.
Meanwhile, the company Meng works for — and which shows it’s tuned in to our culture with its cheerful ads on “Hockey Night in Canada” — wants Canada to use its equipment in new, wireless network infrastructure.
But the U.S., Australia and New Zealand which, like Canada and Britain, belong to the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network, have stopped or limited their telecom firms from working with Huawei to do this.
Their security services have voiced well-founded fears that Huawei’s close ties to China’s government could help it spy on the West. With information gained this way, the Chinese government could launch future cyberattacks or engage in industrial sabotage.
No wonder the U.S. wants Canada and Britain to block Huawai from insinuating itself into their new wireless networks. As Trudeau ponders his decision, it must be clear that if the threats of cyberattacks and sabotage are real, he must protect this country, honour its oldest alliances and say no to Huawai.
A better trade deal with China is worth a lot to Canada. It’s definitely not worth undermining the rule of law or our security.