Harper, Chinese leader both complain of too lengthy absence

Harper, Chinese leader both complain of too lengthy absence

PM's boyhood dream to visit China

BY DAVID AKIN, CANWEST NEWS SERVICE DECEMBER 3, 2009 1:40 PM


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Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife Laureen pose as they tour the Badaling section of the Great Wall in Beijing December 3, 2009.
Photograph by: Jason Lee, Reuters
BEIJING — China's most popular politician publicly rebuked Prime Minister Stephen Harper for long ignoring China while Harper privately challenged China's top leaders on their human rights record.

But after discussions that Harper described as "frank and respectful," the leaders of both countries issued a joint statement that they say heralds "a significant new era" in relations between China and Canada.

As a tangible sign of renewed goodwill towards Canada, China announced it will open a new consulate in Montreal and it gave Canada approved destination status, something Ottawa had been seeking for more than a decade, that will make it easier for Chinese tourists to visit Canada.

That decision alone could mean more than $100 million annually in new business for Canada's ailing tourism industry and is particularly timely ahead of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

"The public rebuke shows that there's work to do on Canada's part," said NDP Leader Jack Layton. "The new tourist designation and the consulate in Montreal are an important gesture by the Chinese, now it's our turn."

Liberal MP Bob Rae, his party's foreign affairs critic, says a tourism deal is long overdue.

"We've paid a price," Rae told reporters outside the House of Commons. "The fact is we've paid a price for four years of not just living on the margins but actually deliberately disregarding china. This was not benign neglect.

"This was a deliberate decision on (Harper's) part to ignore the relationship and to assert that it had no particular importance for him."

More than 134 countries already have China's approved destination status and are reaping the Chinese tourism windfall because of it. Tourism industry associations estimate that by 2020, there will be more than 100 million international Chinese tourists. Only 159,000 Chinese tourists visited Canada in 2008.

But that decision surprised some observers here who believed that Harper's visit to China — the first by a Canadian prime minister since Paul Martin's in 2005 — would only be a first step towards an agreement on approved destination status.

Martin initialed exactly the same ADS agreement with China during a visit to Beijing in 2005 and also trumpeted it to the media travelling with him, but political problems ensued and it was never implemented. Canada is the last major western nation to be granted ADS.

The Chinese government, through the state-controlled media here, ran articles and editorials as Harper arrived noting with disapproval that, although he was elected in 2006, he had never visited China and was the last G8 leader to do so.

Indeed, that sore spot was Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's starting point for his hour-long meeting with Harper.

"This is your first trip to China and this is the first meeting between the Chinese premier and the Canadian prime minister in almost five years. Five years is too long a time for China-Canada relations and that is why there are comments in the media that your visit is one that should have taken place earlier," said Wen, who is the country's second most powerful politician after President Hu Jintao.

The premier's words were unusually strong for the man who is considered to be the "nice guy" in the Chinese government and is often referred to as Grandfather Wen.

Both the state-owned media in China, as well as independent media in Canada, had criticized Harper for waiting until he was nearly four years into his term before visiting Canada's second-largest trading partner after the United States.

But Harper replied that no Chinese leader has visited Canada in five years, either.

Harper did say he has enjoyed his brief time in China.

"I've been wanting to visit China since I was a small boy," Harper told Hu.

Before his meetings with Hu and Wen, Harper and his wife Laureen visited the Great Wall, an experience he said was "unbelievable."

In separate private talks with both Wen and Hu, Harper pressed the case of Huseyincan Celil, a Uyghur imam of dual Chinese and Canadian citizenship, Canwest News Service has learned.

Celil was arrested in 2006 while visiting Uzbekistan and subsequently deported to China, where he had been convicted in absentia of terrorism and sentenced to life in prison. Canadian officials believe that, not only did he not receive a fair trial but that the Chinese have mistaken him for someone else and that he should be returned to Canada.

No Canadian consular official has yet been able to visit Celil.

"I brought up some of our more general concerns, also our specific cases as well," Harper told reporters after his meetings. "We always make sure that when we bring up these matters — whether they refer to particular cases you're aware of that have been discussed from time to time or whether they are broader questions such as the situation in Tibet, we always bring these up in a way that is frank and is at the same time respectful of Chinese sovereignty."

The joint 14-point statement issued by both countries included a section on human rights.

"Both sides acknowledged that differing histories and national conditions can create some distinct points of view on issues such as human rights," the statement said. "The two sides agreed to increased dialogue and exchanges on human rights, on the basis of equality and mutual respect, to promote and protect human rights consistent with international human rights instruments."

A top issue for China is the repatriation of its "most wanted man," Lai Changxing, who is currently living in Vancouver. Lai became implicated in a smuggling and corruption scandal in the late 1990s, although he maintains he is innocent.

Some of those convicted in China in connection with the same scandal have been executed.

China has promised not to execute Lai if he is deported.

"The government of Canada has been seeking his extradition," Harper said. "I know this has been an irritant in some circles of the Chinese government but, of course, we do have an independent court system and the courts so far have not been accepting of our desire to have him extradited but both we and the government would like to see Mr. Lai extradited and we will keep up our efforts in that regard."

In the joint statement, both countries "reaffirmed their intention to strengthen co-operation on combating transnational crime and repatriating fugitives in accordance with their respective laws."

Harper and Hu also agreed to being a series of meetings between high-level bureaucrats — deputy ministers in Canada — to discuss a broad range of topics including trade and investment, energy and environment, health and governance.

On Friday, Harper will visit the Forbidden City here before flying to Shanghai where he is scheduled to deliver a major speech to a business audience there.

© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service