Celebrating 35 Years Of Canada-China Ties

If Canadians and Chinese became friends in 1970, we are now family and business partners. We all have a stake in China's economic success; it is a key source of global prosperity. Our relationship, while no longer as special as it once was, still offers Prime Minister Paul Martin both opportunities and challenges as he meets Hu to discuss deepening our partnerships in diplomacy, trade and investment, energy, tourism, human rights and the environment. As family, Canadians want Hu to know we appreciate China's healthy "Go-Out" openness to the West. As business partners we hope to profit from China's $2 trillion economy and fast growth. If engagement was a preferential option in 1970, it is an essential today. China's awaited decision to designate Canada as a key tourist destination will deepen those ties, as will Beijing's oil-thirst interest in investing in Alberta's rich oil sands. But these very ties that we have forged invite Canadians to speak bluntly about aspects of life in China that trouble us, or offend our sense of human dignity. And as business partners we have a self-interest in lobbying for fair trade practices, including a fairer valuation of China's undervalued currency, a more open market and protection for intellectual property. Martin would be remiss, as well, not to raise China's "democratic deficit." While the 1.3 billion Chinese are freer, richer and happier than at any time in history, they cannot elect their leaders. Beijing encourages village self-government. But the Communist party continues to rule, post-Tiananmen Square, with an authoritarian, coercive grip, and is above the law. The press is heavily controlled. So are the courts. Pro-democracy activists, Christian activists, AIDS activists and lobbyists for workers and the homeless have been harassed and jailed. While modern China aspires, rightly, to greatness, Beijing's lack of political legitimacy holds it back. Successful modern market economies are democracies, with independent judiciaries and strong respect for human rights. Moreover, China's strategic ambitions continue to be a concern, especially in the United States. Beijing's declared military budget of nearly $40 billion is twice what it was five years ago, and may be three times larger than acknowledged. This, at a time when relations with Taiwan and Hong Kong, two drivers of Chinese growth, remain testy. Beijing has threatened Taiwan with war if it asserts independence, and has tried to squelch a push in Hong Kong for universal suffrage. These are concerns Martin, Canada's premiers and business leaders should not hesitate to flag, as they welcome Hu, celebrate our ties and talk business. It would be presumptuous to suggest Canadians know best. But more and more Canadians are Chinese by origin. We have a keen interest in seeing the People's Republic flourish. Democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law have worked well for us. We should urge Hu to embrace them all. http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1125697813389&call_pageid=968256290204

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