EDITORIAL: Canada’s Senate blunders on China

Here is the key part of the motion calling China’s mistreatment of its Uighur and other Muslim minorities a genocide that Canada’s Senate defeated by a 33 to 29 vote this week:

“In the opinion of the Senate, the People’s Republic of China has engaged in actions consistent with the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 260, commonly known as the ‘Genocide Convention’, including detention camps and measures intended to prevent births as it pertains to Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims.”

The second part of the defeated motion, moved by Stephen Harper-appointed Sen. Leo Housakos and seconded by Justin Trudeau-appointed Sen. Marilou McPhedran, called for the International Olympic Committee to relocate the 2022 Winter Olympics scheduled in Beijing to protest.

With the 33 senators who defeated this motion handing China’s dictators a propaganda victory, it was hardly surprising that, within hours, China’s government was crowing about it and praising Canada’s Senate.

What were those 33 senators thinking?

Praise from China’s dictators is the opposite of what any politician worth his or her salt should be getting these days, given their crushing of democracy in Hong Kong and unjust incarceration of Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig for 936 days and counting.

By contrast, Conservative MP Michael Chong, who was born in Canada but has familial ties to Hong Kong and China, has been declared persona non grata by China’s dictators for standing up for human rights as they destroy them.

That’s because Chong is on the right side of history.

What were those 33 senators thinking?

Praise from China’s dictators is the opposite of what any politician worth his or her salt should be getting these days, given their crushing of democracy in Hong Kong and unjust incarceration of Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig for 936 days and counting.

By contrast, Conservative MP Michael Chong, who was born in Canada but has familial ties to Hong Kong and China, has been declared persona non grata by China’s dictators for standing up for human rights as they destroy them.

That’s because Chong is on the right side of history.