Canadian-Asian Affairs

Canada issued a formal condemnation of the imprisonment of democracy activists in Burma. While the language is forthwith and strongly worded, Burma has repeatedly demonstrated its disregard for such protestations.

Quote: “Canada condemns the detention of the leaders of the 88 Generation Students Group, including, among others, Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi and Kyaw Min Yuu, known as Jimmy. Their arrest is yet another example of the Burmese authorities’ continued disregard for freedom and democracy. Canada calls for their immediate and unconditional release.

“Canada urges Burma to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of Burma. We further call upon the Burmese authorities to release Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners, and to engage in a genuine dialogue with members of the democratic opposition ”

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The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada premiered the Beta version of their new database today. It is a searchable database (by country of origin and industry) listing various Asian companies doing business in Canada. I've played around a bit, and it is interesting but not quite perfect yet. For instance searching by 'China' and 'Energy' gives Husky Energy in the results, while searching by 'China' and 'Oil and Gas' provides no results. That said, it is as mentioned a Beta version. Hopefully the kinks will be worked out, because this looks like it could be a really useful tool.

Link: http://www.asiapacificbusiness.ca/asiancompany/index.cfm

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Two news stories popped onto the radar today. One is an editorial from Embassy, which argues that Canada still has time to change its stance towards China. It advocates a balanced approach between business 'rights' and human rights. While the thought is nice, it might do little beyond hampering Canada's business prospects in China. Harper can crow all he likes about being an 'energy superpower' but as of yet Canada has very little clout even with energy hungry giants like China.

Trade Minister David Emerson claims that Ottawa has not given up on the China relationship. Apparently how best to pursue Canadian objectives in China is as of yet undecided. Any observer could have told reporters that. Emerson is pointing out the obvious. What he should be doing is talking about how he and his compatriots are going to work on the relationship, and figure out a policy. On a positive note, he mentioned that he and Peter McKay are likely to make a China trip in early 2007.

Links: http://www.embassymag.ca/html/index.php?display=story&full_path=/2006/november/1/china/
http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-10-27T231559Z_01_N27283489_RTRIDST_0_CANADA-CHINA-COL.XML&archived=False

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According to the Globe and Mail, Ottawa is considering abandoning the annual human-rights dialogue that takes place between Canada and China. Critics claim the dialogue is used by China as a way to divert attention from its human rights issues. The Chinese claim to be dealing with the problem by having a conference with a purportedly upstanding international citizen: Canada.

The talks have been running since 1997 and have accomplished very little except photo-ops and a few newspaper stories. That said, Chinese press has suggested there will be serious repercussions if Canada drops the talks. A better plan would be to continue with the talks but insist on doing some serious talking and try to limit the positive spin China can use the conference for.

Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20061027.CHINA27/TPStory/TPInternational/Asia/

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The sixth annual Asia Pacific Summit started yesterday in Vancouver. It is one of the premiere Asian oriented events in Canada. The Asia Pacific Foundation sponsors the event on an annual basis and bring together politicians, bureaucrats, scholars, and business people to debate issues of interest.

Link: http://www.cnw.ca/fr/releases/archive/October2006/24/c3415.html

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The Epoch Times, a Falun Gong mouthpiece, has a feature length piece on the state of Canada's China relationship. It is overly positive about the 'principled stand' that Harper's conservatives have had. The author's main argument is that no matter what, human rights concerns musn't be overwhelmed by trade concerns. This is a reasonable stance, but balance needs to be attained. China will not listen to a country that has human rights concerns if that country has nothing to offer the Chinese. To attain any influence trade and engagement with the Chinese are necessary.

Link: http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-10-12/46974.html

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Continuing his West coast tour, Prime Minister Harper gave a speech featuring the plans for improvement of West coast port infrastructure. Vancouver is getting an upgrade to handle increased Asian trade. Meanwhile Highways and Railways are slated for expansion. The article claims container receiving is expected to increase from a current 2 million containers/year to 7 million by 2020.

Link: http://english.people.com.cn/200610/12/eng20061012_311038.html

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Increasing development in Asia is being fingered as the source of a significant proportion of pollution in North America. I've linked to a CP article specifically addressing atmospheric mercury pollution. It is estimated that about 20% of Canada's atmospheric mercury is coming from Asian countries. China alone accounts for about one quarter of the world's mercury output.

The issue of pollution from developing countries is a touchy one. The West pushes for improved pollution controls in the developing countries. The developing countries respond by pointing to the West's lacklustre pollution control record in the past, and claim that it is unfair to ask them to struggle under more stringent and difficult restrictions.

Link: http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/National/2006/09/08/1813767-sun.html

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International Cooperation Minister Josee Verner has announced another $20 million in funding for Indonesian development and reconstruction after a series of natural disasters. The money is split between efforts to assist the victims of the May 27th earthquake, the residents of Aceh which was hit by the 2004 Tsunami, and to contain the spread of bird flu.

Link: http://www.forbes.com/work/feeds/afx/2006/06/19/afx2825991.html

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Rights and Democracy, an arm's length foundation funded by the Canadian government, is holding their annual conference this month in Toronto. This year's theme is: Strengthening Democracy in Asia: New Networks and Partnerships for Human Rights and the Rule of Law. This is the precis from their website:

A cross-cultural dialogue to address some of the challenges for democracy in the Asia Pacific, help develop the effective implementation of human rights through national and regional mechanisms, and identify new opportunities for partnerships between Canadian and Asian organizations promoting human rights and democratic development.

Interested parties may follow the link below.

http://www.dd-rd.ca/site/what_we_do/index.php?subsection=documents&lang=en&id=1742&page=1

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