Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau on Saturday likened China’s demeanor to that of a bullying “schoolyard bully” whose attitude will only change if he gets tough.
I’ve seen a lot of rude jerks in my Life, and I know that they can change, but they will only change if you send them a strong and clear signal,” Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau told the country’s public broadcaster CBC on Saturday. In the interview, Garneau referred to the sanctions adopted by several Western countries, including Canada, against China.
The interview was recorded before Beijing announced countermeasures against the U.S. and Canada. Beijing announced sanctions against Gayle Manchin and Tony Perkins, chair and vice chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Canadian federal Rep. Michael Chong, and the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on International Human Rights (FAAE), banning them from entering China, Hong Kong and Macau.
After learning of the news, Chong tweeted that he viewed the sanctions imposed on him by Beijing as a badge of honor. He said, “We have a responsibility to demand that China repay the guilt for their crackdown on Hong Kong, for the genocide committed against the Uighurs, and that we live freely in a democracy, in a country governed by the rule of law, and that we should speak out for those who do not enjoy freedom.”
The European Union, Britain, the United States and Canada on Monday jointly imposed sanctions on former and current Chinese Communist Party officials involved in the crackdown on the Uighurs in Xinjiang. The European and American countries believe that Beijing has intensified its repressive measures against local Muslims in the Xinjiang region in recent years. Beijing authorities immediately announced retaliation against EU as well as British institutions, relevant parliamentarians, and scholars studying Xinjiang issues.
Garneau stressed that Canada reserves the right to take additional sanctions against China if Beijing does not change its posture.
The foreign minister also expressed his appreciation for the efforts of more than two dozen countries that have joined Canada in demanding that Chinese authorities release Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who have been imprisoned by China for more than two years on “espionage” charges.
On Dec. 1, 2018, Canadian police arrested Meng Wanzhou, the financial head of huawei, who was in transit to Vancouver at the request of the United States, and subsequently, Kang Mingkai and Spavor were taken into custody by the Chinese. In Ottawa’s view, China’s arrest of the two Canadian citizens was a purely “arbitrary refusal to detain”.
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