Montreal 

In response to China’s human rights violations by Uyghurs in Xinjiang, the Canadian government this week introduced a series of new measures, including prohibiting domestic companies from doing business with companies that involve Uyghur forced labor. At the same time, China’s oppression of Uyghurs and the hostage diplomacy of two Canadians have worsened the Canadian public’s impression of China. Nearly half of the people advocated reducing trade with China.



On Thursday, Uighur human rights activist Rahima Mahmut, who participated in the Canadian China Human Rights Policy Seminar, responded to the news and said that Canada’s approach is welcome, but this is only the first step. She said: "It is very important to clearly impose sanctions on individuals and entities that violate the human rights of Uighurs. The United States has already done so. Why can't Canada and the United Kingdom? We hope the free world can follow suit." On Wednesday, the Chinese Embassy in Canada responded to this on its official website, saying that "this is purely a farce", "strongly condemns" Canada's wrongdoing on the Xinjiang issue, and said that Canada's actions are "suppressing Xinjiang's development." And interfere in China's internal affairs."

Canada is concerned about the human rights of Uyghurs..

The series of measures jointly announced by Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and International Trade Minister Mary Ng include: banning the import of forced labor production products and requiring Canadian companies to ensure that they do not export to China for possible use. Regarding surveillance and infringement of human rights, the government will provide business consultation with Xinjiang-related entities, as well as conduct investigations on forced labor and supply chain risks.

According to a statement from the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reports indicate that a large number of Xinjiang Uyghurs have been transferred to factories across China and forced to work. These actions have affected the global supply chain of various industries. The report also pointed out that Canada is seriously concerned about China’s violations of the human rights of Uighurs and other ethnic minorities, including forced surveillance, mass arbitrary arrests, torture and ill-treatment.

Wu Fengyi said in the statement: "The government is committed to ensuring that Canadian companies uphold Canadian values ​​wherever they operate." Canada has been concerned about the human rights of Uighurs in China for a long time. In November last year, Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rea, publicly appealed that the Chinese government’s treatment of Uyghurs complied with the “genocide” defined by the United Nations, and asked the international community to investigate this.


Regarding human rights issues in China, Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, a former senior Canadian financial and natural resources official, told VOA: “The Canadian government can do more, such as using the Ganeski’s Human Rights Accountability Act." At the end of 2017, Canada passed the Magnissky Human Rights Accountability Act, which sanctions individual officials who violate human rights. Currently, there are about 70 people on Canada’s sanctions list, including Russian and Saudi officials, but no Chinese government officials are included.


However, Shaowei, the general counsel of the Canada-China Trade Promotion Council, said in an interview with Voice of America: “This is a statement that Canada has to make at the political level. The total amount of business in Northwest China and Canada is very small. Therefore, (this measure) will not have a big impact on Canada and China's trade."

"The Canadian economy is not as dependent on China as expected"

In Canada, when it comes to relations with China, the central issue of discussion is how to balance human rights and the economy. In an interview with the Voice of America, Shuvaloy Majumdar, project director of the Macdonald Laurier Institute and senior foreign policy researcher at the Macdonald Laurier Institute, an independent Canadian think tank, first stated that Canada’s foreign trade , More than 80% is trade with the United States, while trade with China only accounts for about 4% of Canada’s total foreign trade. The Canadian economy is not as dependent on China as many policymakers claim. For example, he said that the counterpart is Australia, whose trade with China accounts for 33% of its total trade.

Majudar said: "Australia has many practical concerns that need to be addressed. Their long-term plan for China is to have strategic economic cooperation, diplomatic and calm control, and alliances with Western countries." He believes that Canada should not position itself as a country sandwiched between the United States and China, but should see that many countries in the international community, like Canada, hope to offset China's economic control. But Lawyer Shaowei believes that based on his observations, the two decks of politics and economics seem to be playable separately in the relationship between Canada and China.

He said: "Whether it is the recent Hong Kong issue or the Xinjiang issue, regardless of the degree of public opinion on both sides, the trade between Canada and China has not actually been significantly affected. Especially in 2020, Canada's total foreign trade has dropped significantly. , But the percentage of trade with China has increased. This shows that the two sides’ economies are complementary and there is still demand in both markets.”