China’s President Xi Jinping had a brief confrontation with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the G20 summit on November 16, so much remains to be unraveled. To the media details of their conversation from the previous day.
‘Body language is very important in interactions like this,’ says Conservative Senator Leo Usakos I have written on Twitter.
Hosakos was reacting comment According to China expert Charles Burton, as part of the exchange, Xi made “threatening threats to Trudeau” in untranslated Chinese, telling the prime minister, “Otherwise, what will happen?” It’s hard to say,” he said.
The Senator went on to write: [by Burton] And this is not characterized by anything other than that the Prime Minister once again showed his respect for the tyrant. ”
Gloria Fung, president of Canada-Hong Kong Link, said Xi’s comments were a “serious threat” to Canada’s prime minister.
“We need to stand by our principles and show that we have the courage to challenge China and its nefarious activities inside Canada,” she said in an interview.
A short video of the two leaders’ exchange was captured by reporters at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.
“Everything we were talking about was leaked to paper. It’s not appropriate,” Xi told Trudeau through an interpreter.
“That’s not how the conversation was conducted. With sincerity…”
In response, Prime Minister Trudeau spoke of the importance of “free and open” dialogue.
“We believe in free, open and candid dialogue, and that is what we will continue to have. Told.
“Let’s create the conditions first,” Xi replied through an interpreter.
After a short conversation, the two leaders shook hands and went their separate ways.
Xi’s remarks referred to his meeting with Prime Minister Trudeau during the November 15 G20 summit. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed concern over Chinese interference in Canada, as well as media reports of an unofficial Chinese police station operating in Toronto, according to Trudeau’s office.
The prime minister’s office said he and Xi also spoke about North Korea’s missile launches, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the United Nations summit on biodiversity that China will host in Montreal next month.
Former Canadian Ambassador to China David Mulroney Said The November 16 confrontation was a “staged public denunciation of the vassal leaders.”
In Ottawa, Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne said he was “delighted” that the Prime Minister had “standing up for Canada as usual”, adding: “We will not tolerate this kind of interference. ” he said.
He added that Canada should remain vigilant about the issue of election interference.
“I think we need to open our eyes and interact,” he said.
Conservative foreign affairs analyst Michael Chong told reporters that he believed Trudeau attended the summit “unprepared to represent Canada’s interests and values.”
Conservative MP Michael Cooper told the Epoch Times that Prime Minister Trudeau should have voiced Canada’s concerns about Beijing’s interference “long ago.”
CCP interference
A November 7 global news report The Canadian Security Intelligence Agency (CSIS), in a series of briefings and memos launched in January, warned that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could include “secret funding to influence election results.” said he had warned Trudeau and several members of his cabinet of his interference in Canada. ”
According to the report, at least 11 candidates whose party affiliation was not disclosed received CCP campaign funds in the 2019 federal elections.
The Conservative Party has asked the Liberal government to reveal the identities of these 11 candidates. The Tories have been critical of the liberal approach to Canada-China relations, including the Cabinet’s abstention from voting on a House motion recognizing China’s persecution of the Uyghur minority group as genocide. included.
In recent comments on her government’s soon-to-be-launched Indo-Pacific strategy, Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie described China as an “increasingly disruptive global power” with interests and values. ”
She admitted that China was guilty of human rights abuses, but also said Canada had trade ties with China and believed in “diplomacy.”
“We have $100 billion in trade with China,” Jolie said. “We will challenge China when we need to, and we will work with China when we need to. .”
Cooper, citing an expert who said Canada “is more subject to Chinese Communist Party interference than any other G7 nation,” added that he didn’t think it was a coincidence.
“This is the result of the premier’s weakness and failure to take seriously the threat posed by the Chinese Communist regime.”
Andrew Chen, Peter Wilson, Limin Zhou, NTD, and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
follow
Isaac Teo is a Toronto-based reporter for the Epoch Times.