Harper on the Snub
Prime Minister Harper was officially snubbed by the Chinese when Hu Jintao declined a private meeting. Harper has responded by telling Canadian reporters that his government will not back down on its stance on 'human rights' in order to improve the Canada-China relationship. This noble position is going to do nothing except compromise the small amount of influence Canada once held with the Chinese. If Harper is going to take such a principled stand he needs to define what he means by human rights, and he needs to let China know what he expects. Not that he'll get any response from them but then at least everybody would know what he's on about.
As it stands the treatment of the China relationship has been bungled and confusing. Different departments have been saying different things. The Conservatives need to unify their message. And if they want Canada to have access to China they need to unify that message in a way that keeps dialogue open. The pushing of 'human rights' needs to be measured and well defined. Western human rights weren't built in a day. Many Asian countries argue that Western individualistic values are not applicable to their societies. While this is debatable, it deserves to be treated as a valid concern when criticizing China's treatment of its citizens.
Link: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/11/15/harper-snub.html