China’s new ambassador delivers stern message
BEIJING’S NEWEST AMBASSADOR SAYS KEEP OUT OF HONG KONG, DEFENDS CANADIANS’ ARRESTS
China’s new ambassador to Canada said the Trudeau government should avoid weighing in on the ongoing protests in Hong Kong.
The new ambassador, Cong Peiwu, also said the state secrets case against the two Canadians detained for months has no connection to the case of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.
Peiwu outlined the formal charges against Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor during a meeting with reporters Friday.
Kovrig, has been charged with secretly gathering state secrets and intelligence for foreign forces. Spavor has been charged with stealing and illegally providing state secrets to foreign forces.
“The nature is the same. It is endangering Chinese national security,” said Peiwu.
Peiwu arrived in Canada in September and presented his credentials to Gov. Gen. Julie Payette earlier this month.
Wanzhou was arrested on a U.S. extradition request almost a year ago. She has been released on bail while the request makes its way through the courts. She can live at one of two Vancouver-area mansions, but must wear an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet.
Kovrig and Spavor have been kept in detention since their arrest and have had limited consular access. Peiwu contended Wanzhou’s detention was arbitrary and unwarranted and that the two Canadians are receiving due process.
“The Chinese competent authorities have arrested them according to law as they are engaged in suspected activities endangering national security,” he said.
Jeremy Paltiel, a professor at Carleton University and China expert, said the formal charges could mean progress for the two imprisoned Canadians, because it will mean they have access to a lawyer.
He said 99 per cent of cases in China end in conviction, which means this is unlikely to lead to the pair’s return to Canada. He said the two men ultimately won’t be released until there is a diplomatic solution.
“They will be charged. They will be convicted and if they decide they like us, they will be sent home.” China’s former ambassador to Canada, Lu Shaye, left the post in June and was moved to Paris. Lu had made a series of damning remarks before his departure and said that relations between the two countries had reached “rock-bottom.”
In January, Lu penned an explosive op-ed in the Hill Times after Canada recruited its Western allies to join in its calls for the release of the two Canadians.
“The reason why some people are used to arrogantly adopting double standards is due to Western egotism and white supremacy,” Lu wrote. “What they have been doing is not showing respect for the rule of law, but mocking and trampling the rule of law.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Congress has passed legislation that could pave the way for sanctions against some Chinese officials over the protests in Hong Kong. The legislation also calls for the president to encourage other governments to put similar sanctions in place.
Peiwu said the bill is unhelpful.
“The United States is using its domestic law to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, because Hong Kong is part of China, that is very dangerous and it sends the wrong signal.”
Protests have been ongoing in Hong Kong for months, as demonstrators pushed back against a proposed extradition bill with mainland China and, after it was removed, called for greater freedoms generally.
Peiwu described the protesters as rioters and said any outside interference is wrong.
“What they have done is going to embolden those violent criminals and that will do nothing to help restore order,” he said. “We are firmly opposed to any foreign interference.”
While the bill has passed both houses of congress in the U.S., President Donald Trump has not yet signed it into law.
During a press event Friday, he refused to commit to doing so.
He said he supported the protesters, but Chinese President Xi Jinping was “a friend of mine.”
The bill also comes as the U.S. is trying to negotiate a free-trade agreement with China.
“I stand with Hong Kong,” Trump said during a nearly hour-long interview on the morning program Fox & Friends. “I stand with freedom. I stand with all of the things we want to do. But we’re also in the process of making the largest trade deal in history.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked about the U.S. bill during a press event on Wednesday, but was non-committal.
“We are monitoring the situation closely, calling for de-escalation of violence and respect of the rule of law and human rights. We will, of course, look at what our international partners are doing,” said Trudeau.
Paltiel said it’s not surprising that the Chinese aren’t interested in outside opinions on Hong Kong.
He said they tend to see any criticism as outside interference.
He said the new ambassador and the new government can turn relations around.
“The situation has deteriorated as much as it can and China doesn’t want it to deteriorate any further,” he said. “China has enough problems on its plate that it doesn’t need to have fewer friends in the world.”
Next year marks 50 years since Canada and China first established diplomatic relations. He said marking that occasion might be an opportunity to put these issues in the past.