When Canada's current election campaign began, on November 28, the China Support Network and the China e-Lobby endorsed the Conservative Party of Canada for that election. After hearing from many friends north of the border that millions of Canadians are only now, with the holidays over, beginning to examine their options, we take the somewhat unusual step of re-running that endorsement (except this time Ottawa is spelled correctly!). It follows below. The News of the Day, with today's Canada file, can be found here.
Over the last few months, this blog has acquired a considerable readership in Canada, and for that we must thank our friends from north of the 49th parallel – the folks at the Western Standard (and their Shotgun blog), the Sun newspaper chain, and, of course, the Friendly Blog Small Dead Animals. Long before that, however, I acquired a deep interest (some would say obsession) in Canadian affairs, particularly its politics, which for years has continued to be far more entertaining than the American version.
Therefore, I understand that as an American my influence will not be very dramatic. This is as it should be, for as much as I admire Canada and its people, it is not my country. Still, it can have a dramatic impact on my country from time to time, and for those of us in the anti-Communist movement (a term I use to distinguish us from "anti-China," which we are not), this is such a time.
Canada may not be aware of it yet, but it is now involved in the most important election campaign since its founding - more important than the free trade election of 1988, more important than the myriad campaigns of the 1960s, more important than any election involving Pierre Trudeau - for this campaign will pit a government very sympathetic to "engagement," i.e. appeasement, with Communist China (the Liberal government of Paul Martin) against what is arguably the most anti-Communist political party in the democratic world (the Conservatives). For anyone who is concerned about the Chinese Communist Party’s abuses of its own people, its harassment and saber-rattling against its democratic neighbors, and its support for some of the world’s most brutal dictators and terrorists, this Canadian election is impossible to ignore. So I hope the Canadian public will forgive us for offering our opinions and advice. That advice is this: the China Support Network and its China e-Lobby division hereby endorse the Conservative Party of Canada in the upcoming election.
In order to explain why we have done this, it would be best to re-examine the recent past. For those of us who cast a worrying eye toward the growing, hostile power that is Communist China, Paul Martin’s brazen, backhanded treatment of human rights in the People’s Republic and his absolute refusal to recognize the danger the Communist regime poses to the security of his own nation has been maddening (fifth and sixth items). Of course, if this sort of thing were the worst of the Liberal government’s sins, it might not be worth discussing (especially in light of similar nonsense spewing out of Washington).
However, the Liberals have also allowed Communist China to get its hands on important pieces of Canada’s greatest asset – its natural resources. For months, Communist China tried to buy out Noranda, the third largest mining company in Canada. Prime Minister Martin made no effort to block the Communist would-be acquisition (but the Conservatives and the New Democrats tried). The Noranda deal fizzled, but Communist-controlled oil firms have been able to acquire chunks of Alberta oil concerns (third item) and a Canadian firm operating in Kazakhstan (third item).
Meanwhile, just this past summer defectors from Communist China in Australia revealed a Communist spy operation in Canada that in part was being used to intimidate Chinese-Canadians into silence. They even had documents detailing Communist espionage against Falun Gong practitioners in Ontario; while former Canadian intelligence official Michel Juneau-Katsuya estimated that Communist Chinese industrial espionage cost Canada $12 billion annually.
Only one party was upset enough about this to bring this up in Parliament: the Conservatives. In fact, the Liberal government would not even entertain eliminating, or even reducing, the $50 million-plus in "foreign aid" Canada handed over to Communist China this year (even the New Democrats joined the Conservatives in calling for the aid to be cancelled).
Finally, earlier this fall, the Conservatives attempted to bring forth a bill that would provide some recognition to Taiwan, where a democracy was built from scratch over the last eighteen years – and in the teeth of the Communist dictatorship just across the Taiwan Straits. In response, Liberal MP Dan McTeague smeared a pro-Taiwan witness unmercifully and, as Paul Wells noted on his Macleans blog, incoherently. While one MP certainly need not represent an entire caucus, when it’s McTeague, the parliamentary secretary to Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew . . .
The reason for this government’s behavior regarding Communist China is not of great concern here. Some have noted personal connections that point to corruption (Western Standard). However, whether perfidy or delusion is behind the policy, the policy itself remains the problem, and it needs to end.
We understand there are several alternatives to the Liberals - after all, they only won 36% of the vote and 44% of the seats in the House of Commons. Additionally, the New Democrats have opposed the $50 million-plus for Communist China, and the Bloc Quebecois are supportive on Taiwan (and Tibet, for that matter). However, only the Conservatives have consistently taken, and refused to abandon, the anti-Communist, pro-democracy position.
In fact, this position is not one dependent solely upon the leader, Stephen Harper. In fact, the leading lights within the Conservative Party on this issue are foreign policy critic Stockwell Day (anyone who still considers him a Neanderthalic throwback should read and re-read his Toronto University speech from this past May, reprinted by the Epoch Times) and international trade critic Helena Guergis (a recently elected Conservative MP from - ahem - Ontario).
So, what would a Conservative government mean for Canada regarding Communist China? For starters, any "foreign aid" to the Communists would come to a quick halt. That’s over $50 million that can be spent by or on Canadians, rather than going to prop up the Communist regime, however unwittingly. Furthermore, based on their record, the Conservatives would do everything they could to bust up the Communist espionage network in Canada. This would do more than simply stop industrial espionage. It would also end the reign of terror the CCP imposes on Chinese-Canadians, and finally grant them the freedoms they are too terrified to enjoy now. Meanwhile, Canadian resources would once again be for Canadians, not Communists. All of these things are possible even with a minority Conservative government.
Moreover, an elected government that supports democracy in China, and refuses to follow the "engagement" line, would send shock waves around the world. The effect on dissidents inside Communist China cannot be estimated. Exile groups would also have new hope.
As an aside, we would also note it might force a certain large neighbor to the south to take note of its own problems with Communist espionage, and act accordingly, ditto on the issue of Communist infiltration into the U.S. economy.
In fact, from down here, one of the most important effects of a Conservative victory would be the impact on the American debate on Communist China. Contrary to popular belief, Washington is no anti-Communist hotbed. "Engagement" has ruled the roost here for nearly two decades. A firmly anti-Communist, pro-democracy government might very well force the America to examine her conscience on this issue, and remove what has become a major blemish in her foreign policy.
Canadians have always prided themselves on what they have done for the world at large, whether it’s the "hard power" sacrifices made in World Wars I and II - both of which saw Canada involved long before the United States - or the "soft power" diplomacy of recent years. I do not intend to wade into the argument of which was (is) more important, for the free world will need more hard and soft power to face the threat of the Chinese Communist Party. However, with a Conservative government in Ottawa, Canadians can quickly restore their place as the conscience of the world. In fact, by forcing the free world to take notice of this threat, Canada might just save the world.
This is why the China Support Network and the China e-Lobby are endorsing the Conservatives in this election. For those of you outside the Conservative base, if you have only one Conservative vote in you, if in your lifetime you intend to vote Conservative only once, let it be this time. Let this be the election in which that vote is cast.
This election really is that important; the eyes of the world are on Canada. Please do not let us down. Please give us hope. Please vote Conservative.
D.J. McGuire: Co-founder of the China e-Lobby and President of the China Support Network
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