Canadian-Asian Affairs

I wrote a letter to Peter MacKay quite some time ago regarding the Celil case. Today, a few months after my letter, I received this response:

On behalf of the Honourable Peter G. MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs, I am responding to your email of July 22, 2006, co-addressed to Ms. Alexa McDonough, Member of Parliament, in which you express concerns regarding the detention of Mr. Huseyincan Celil. I regret the delay in replying to you.

I wish to assure you that officials at Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada are very aware of Mr. Celil's case and have been working tirelessly toward a resolution. Officials are actively continuing their diplomatic efforts and are in regular communication with Mr. Celil's family.

The Consular Affairs Bureau is mandated by the Privacy Act, which prohibits the disclosure of personal information by a government department or agency unless the consent of the individual who is the subject of the information has been obtained. Any personal information cannot be disclosed to unauthorized parties without the explicit written consent of the individual concerned.

As you can appreciate, the Canadian government has a legal obligation to safeguard the privacy of Canadian citizens. We would like to stress, however, that the Government of Canada is pursuing this matter very seriously.

Thank you for writing and taking the time to express your concerns.

Sincerely yours,

Janice Hayes
Director
Ministerial Correspondence Division

From what I understand DFA has been quite vocal with the Chinese about their concern for Celil. It's a difficult case as the Chinese refuse to recognize his Canadian citizenship. I do not envy the officers charged with pursuing his case on behalf of DFA.

Posted by Ryan at 03:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Michael Fortier is considering renaming a government building in BC which has been named after former Conservative MP Howard Green. The honouring of Green has angered Japanese and Chinese Canadians due to some of the rather racist remarks on record that have been attributed to him. Mr. Green has been quoted saying: "Orientals should be excluded from Canada" in 1939. He had more explicit things to say about the Japanese following the war.

One would guess given Canada's love of compromise that a solution will be found quickly. Fortier holds a rather unsteady position in Cabinet as it is. He of all people will want to minimize controversy.

Link: http://www.canada.com/topics/news/politics/story.html?id=d49df77d-2ff7-4774-8d9f-e14663504639&k=76640

Posted by Ryan at 10:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The government has cut the first cheques to surviving head tax payers and/or their spouses. The cheques are for $20 000. There has been some controversy over the decision not to pay other surviving descendents of people who paid but have since died.

Link: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2006/10/20/head-tax.html

Posted by Ryan at 09:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Lai Changxing, one of China's most wanted men, has won the right for a judicial review of his deportation order. He suspects, understandably, that China will ignore its promises to stay the death penalty if he is deported to China. He knows too much about too many high ranking officials to be safe in China. One must suspect that were he locked up in a Chinese jail he wouldn't last very long.

I was under the impression that the Chinese were ready to drop this issue. No one wins if they bring him back to China. He loses, whoever he uncovers as co-conspirators will lose and the government will lose face by uncovering so much of the rampant corruption.

Link: http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-10-18T214328Z_01_N18252830_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-CRIME-CANADA-CHINA-COL.XML&archived=False

Posted by Ryan at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Prime Minister Harper was in Vancouver yesterday. I've linked to the text of his speech. He's still milking the official head tax apology. It's not a bad speech, but he managed to make it sound pretty awful. He's certainly not a rabble-rousing soap box politician.

This sort of stuff gets a good deal of coverage in the Chinese langauge media. They love it when world leaders talk about how great the Chinese are.

Link: http://www.news.gc.ca/cfmx/view/en/index.jsp?articleid=245639

Posted by Ryan at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Embassy, a paper aimed at diplomats and foreign policy buffs, has an article claiming that Canada's international branding efforts are lagging behind other countries, and we are thus not attaining the level of international enrolement in educational institutes that we could be.

The article goes on to extrapolate on Canada's lack of cohesiveness in its branding. Public Diplomacy as DFA is referring to any sort of culture or image campaigns is important. The article is an interesting read if you get the chance.

Link: http://www.embassymag.ca/html/index.php?display=story&full_path=/2006/october/4/branding/

Posted by Ryan at 11:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There are unconfirmed reports that Huseyin Celil has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by the Chinese authorities. Celil's sister claims police officers in Xinjiang have made the sentence public. That said, neither the Canadian nor the Chinese government has confirmed the reports.

Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060911.CELIL11/TPStory/National

Posted by Ryan at 06:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I've linked to a story from the people's daily. It will give a good idea of the official Chinese take on the Canadian government's relationship with the Dalai Lama.

Have a read, and enjoy the thinly veiled threats disguised as quotes from Chinese academics.

Link: http://english.people.com.cn/200609/09/eng20060909_301160.html

Posted by Ryan at 09:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Dalai Lama is on a visit to Vancouver, his first Canadian visit since he was granted honourary Canadian citizenship. The amount of attention he is receiving from Canadian politicians is guaranteed to vex Chinese authorities.

Link: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=3c9cc3b8-6e43-4628-a122-cdc00b06b160&k=13399

Posted by Ryan at 07:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Federal Liberal party is accusing the Conservatives of doing too little to maintain and improve relations with the PRC. Specifically they are lambasting the lack of movement towards attaining approved destination status (ADS). The Liberals began negotiations with the PRC in 1999 in hopes of achieving ADS which would presumably lead to an increase in tourists from China. While Canada was one of the first countries to pursue ADS we haven't been able to move the negotiations to an agreement. Many other countries have achieved ADS and noted modest but appreciable increases in tourism from the mainland.

The Liberals have a point when they argue that the Conservatives have apparently ignored China since coming to power. There have been no state visits of importance, and an tangible souring of relations over things like the Lai Changxing case, the Huseyincan Celil case, and Tibetan policy. It appears the two parties have differing approaches to the China question.

The Liberals hoped engaging China and reaping all the benefits that engagement had to offer was the best course of action. They argued that Canada could capitalize on that engagment and use it to influence the powers that be in China. The Conservatives seem rather more hesitant to deal like buddies with what many believe to be a corrupt and in ways morally reprehensible regime.

I suspect, regardless of how the Canadian authorities engage with the Chinese, any influence we gain will be minor indeed. The decision as to how best to deal with China is dependent upon what kind of benefits Canada wishes to extract from the relationship, and what degree of hesitation our opinion of the CCP demands.

Link: http://www.liberal.ca/news_e.aspx?type=news&id=11832

Posted by Ryan at 05:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

China's representative in Canada has suggested that the bestowal of honorary citizenship upon the Dalai Lama will have a negative impact on Chinese-Canadian relations. While he was careful to talk around any specific threats, he claimed the relationship will be hurt.

The department of foreign affairs countered by saying they do not support the Tibetan government in exile and are committed to building a strong relationship with the PRC.

It is doubtful there will be any immediately discernable negative reaction on the part of the Chiense, beyond their rhetoric. That said, moves such as this will certainly not improve the relationship between the two countries and will make things like securing the release of Husenyin Celil or other political prisoners more difficult. Balancing the desire for influential soft power with the desire for the moral upper hand and independence is a delicate endeavour indeed.

Link: http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?article=China+to+Canada%3A+Dalai+Lama+award+could+hurt+ties&id=13372

Posted by Ryan at 01:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Amnesty International claims to have information suggesting Huseyin Celil will be executed by the PRC. The Chinese Foreign Ministry refuses to recognize Celil's Canadian citizenship, and has offered little to no public information about his well being.

There seems to have been very little progress made in this case over the past few months. It would be prudent to assume Amnesty International's information about Celil's impending execution is correct and do all that is possible to secure his freedom.

Link: http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20060809/canadian_china_execution_060809/20060809?hub=TorontoHome

Posted by Ryan at 12:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

About a week ago I posted a short note about China's under-20 soccer team being denied entry to Canada. They had planned on attending a tournament hosted by the Vancouver Whitecaps soccer team. This week I was contacted by Bob Mackin Jr. a Vancouver based reporter. He offered an interesting follow up to the story. The following are his comments:

The Whitecaps appealed to the federal immigration minister and the problem was smoothed out. Or so they thought.

A Chinese national team did make it into Canada, but it wasn't the under-20s -- who hope to play in Canada in the 2007 U-20 World Cup and will eventually be the Chinese U-23 Olympic team in 2008. The Chinese team that did play
Cardiff City FC (and lost 5-0) was actually the under-17 team. I told Vancouver Whitecaps officials who claim they are as surprised as I am.

There has been no official communication made from the China Football Association or Vancouver Whitecaps regarding this matter. I interviewed the captain of the Chinese team after Friday's game and confirmed it's an
under-17 team. I'm trying to get more information about why the U-20 team didn't make it over.

I'm not willing to speculate as to why the under-17 team ended up where the under-20 team was expected to be, but if anyone else has useful speculation or information as to how the 'mix-up' came about please leave a comment. I would be interested to read more about it.

I have contacted the Chinese Football Association. If they shed any light on the matter I will share it here.

Update: You can read Bob Mackin's story on Slam Sports here: http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Canada/2006/07/24/1699786-sun.html

Posted by Ryan at 02:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A dozen people angered by China's lack of disclosure about what it has done with Canadian citizen Huseyincan Celil held a protest in Toronto on Thursday. It's good to see the main stream media is still picking up on this story, but it is unfortunate that only a dozen people went to the protest. I fear for Mr. Celil's life. Even if he is not to be put to death by the government in China he will certainly not be living a very enjoyable existence right now. Hopefully diplomatic channels can provide him some assistance.

If you want to help Mr. Celil out write a letter to your MP or Peter McKay the Minister of Foriegn Affairs insisting they do more to help him. I'm sure they're doing a lot of work behind the scenes but it will help for them to know that the public is aware of the situation and monitoring the government's progress.

Link: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2006/07/21/uzbek-celil-protest.html

Posted by Ryan at 12:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Rogers is sponsoring a Chinese Lantern Festival at Ontario Place in Toronto. While the lanterns sound impressive, and I'm sure it's quite a show the tickets are a bit on the steep side. If you want your fix of "Chinese culture" you've got to shell out anywhere from $20 to $49. Unless you're under four, in which case you can enjoy massive CN tower shaped lanterns for absolutely nothing.

Link: http://chineselanternfestival.ca/e/home.html

Posted by Ryan at 12:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

China's under 20 soccer team which was meant to participate in a Vancouver tournament has been denied entry to the country. There is still a chance they will be granted entrace before the tournament begins on July 19th. I haven' t been able to dig up the reasons given for the denial of entry.

Link: http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0600soccer/0200news/tm_objectid=17397941&method=full&siteid=50082&headline=bluebirds-facing-china-crisis-name_page.html

Posted by Ryan at 12:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ottawa is pressing China to release information about what it has done with Uigyr activist and Canadian citizen Huseyincan Celil. Celil was recently extradited from Uzbekistan to China where he may face charges, imprisonment, and execution.

I suspect a good deal of diplomacy is going on in the background in attempts to assure Celil's safety. I also suspect China will be less than responsive until they perceive progress being made towards securing fugitive Lai Changxing, who is currently being held in Vancouver.

http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-06-28T215700Z_01_N28286630_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-CHINA-COL.XML&archived=False

Posted by Ryan at 01:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Huseyincan Celil a Canadian citizen who lives in Burlington with his wife and some of his Children has been extradited from Uzbekistan to China. The Chinese apparently want Mr. Celil in relation to his political activism in support of the Uigyr population. The Chinese also claim Mr. Celil is wanted in connection with the murder of government officials in the year 2000, but his family and supporters claim he was in Turkey under the auspieces of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees at the time.

It is unclear exactly why Celil was in Uzbekistan, but some media outlets are reporting he was trying to get his three children who remain in China out of the country. One wonders if the Chinese motivation for detaining Celil has anything to do with their desire to ensure the extradition of Lai Changxing. They have been quite vocal in their campaign to get him sent from Vancouver, where he is being held under suveillance by Canadian authorities, to China where he will face a corruption trial. Certainly holding Mr. Celil gives the Chinese something more to bargain with.

Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060627.CELIL27/TPStory/TPInternational/Asia/

Posted by Ryan at 08:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have been listening to and reading reports in the Chinese language media about Canada's official apology to the Chinese-Canadian population. Most of the reports are laudatory and support both the wording and the methodology of the amends. A few have mentioned discontent within a minority of the Chinese community who felt that only offering compensation to surviving head tax payers and their widows was not thorough enough. That said, most have also pointed out that offering direct compensation to others would become a very complex task, and there is an understanding that it will be impossible to fully please all members of the community.

It is good to know that this issue, which has been a long standing bone of contention for some within the Chinese community, can now be largely laid to rest. Hopefully the newly announced funding for various "historical recognition programs" will ensure that the government's prior short-sighted policies aren't forgotten while also promoting tolerant and progressive immigration law.

Posted by Ryan at 07:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The House of Commons has unanimously decided to offer the Dalai Lama honorary Canadian citizenship. It is an act meant to show a certain level of solidarity with his position while not having to forthwrightly declare that Canada supports a free Tibet. Indeed support for a free Tibet may not be the actual case. Rather support for religious freedom and the message of peaceful living that the Dalai Lama represents is likely what garners him much of the support he receives. Prior recipients of honorary citizenship include Nelson Mandela and Raoul Wallenberg.

Apparently the Dalai Lama is scheduled to make another visit to Canada in September. I'm sure the 'Buddah Tour 2006' will play to sold out crowds wherever he decides to speak.

Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1681462.cms

Posted by Ryan at 07:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A group of 10 Koreans in the process of being smuggled into the US were caught by the RCMP in BC. It is suspected the six females of the group were unknowingly being led into lives of forced prostitution in the Western US. The individuals were offered temporary visitors' permits to allow them to stay in Canada, but they all decided to return home to Korea.

Don't be surprised to see references to news like this story and other border news brought up by American politicians who wish to have tighter border control. It seems in many ways as if Canada is in a no-win situation. When arrests are made in Canada it is pointed out that there are illegal immigrants or terrorits who wish to cross the border from Canada. When no arrests are made it is argued that Canadian security is lacking.

Link: http://www.cbc.ca/bc/story/bc_smuggling20060619.html

Posted by Ryan at 05:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Canada and a host of other countries have decided to recognize World Refugee Day by acepting a number of refugess from Myanmar. The refugees have spent years living in camps in neighbouring Thailand. Most of the refugees are of the Karen ethnic group, whose members have been been repeatedly persecuted over the past fifty years.

Hopefully the new immigrants will find a safe and welcoming environment in Canada. A strong and organized diaspora could help to advance democratic reform in Myanmar.

Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060620.wrefugees0620/BNStory/Front

Posted by Ryan at 09:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A train carrying Chinese Canadians and their descendants who were subjected to the unfair Head Tax and subsequent Exclusion Policy of the first half of the 20th century is headed to Ottawa. Once there the Chinese Canadian community is expecting an apology from Prime Minster Harper as well as some form of redress.

The Chinese community is not of one mind when it comes to what sort of redress should be offered. Some want cash payments in 2006 equivalent dollars. This would be extraordinarily expensive, and also set a precedent the government does not wish to have set. Others want a simple acknowledgment of the particularly trying predicament they were put in by the Canadian government after having contributed so much to the development of the country. A middle of the road solution involving some sort of heritage funding is to be expected.

Actions like these sorts of apologies are not purely domestic matters. They get a good deal of coverage in international Chinese press, and thus contribute to the global image Canada wishes to foster.

Link: http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=8cf25574-3d00-4f9a-9187-656945b85903&k=10125

Posted by Ryan at 12:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Air Canada announced today that it will increase service to China by offering direct Toronto to Shanghai flights and increasing Toronto to Beijing service. It is interesting to note in the release regarding the new routes that apart from the domestic ones the new direct services are between Canada-US and Canada-China points. This speaks to the growing Pacific orientation of the Canadian economy.

Link: http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/Business/2006/06/17/1637442-sun.html

Posted by Ryan at 02:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan has orderd Falun Gong to stop their on-going protest in front of the city's Chinese Consulate. It is, if I am not mistaken, currently the world's longest continuously running protest having started by at least 2001.

Sullivan claims the group is contravening bylaws, while civil rights activists say they shouldn't be silenced. One wonders whether or not this has anything to do with the recent negotiations to finally get China to add Canada to its approved tourist destination list. Certainly the Chinese have been unhappy about the protest and called for its stop on numerous occasions. This could possibly be seen as a conciliatory and co-operative action, saying to the PRC "look, we're on your side, now send us your tourists." Alternately Sullivan and others could just be tired of the Falun Gong activists on the street by the consulate, and indeed concerned about enforcing bylaws.

Link: http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/06/09/vancouver-falun-gong-protest.html

Posted by Ryan at 03:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Monte Solberg, Canada's Federal Citizenship and Immigration Minister, is being pulled over hot coals by the media for a slip up yesterday. When speaking about his department's increased focus on language training (a good thing) Solberg suggested the training was increasingly necessary as more immigrants are originating from Asian countries (a bad thing). Solberg claims being unfamiliar with the Latin alphabet makes learning English or French more difficult for Asians.

While his reasoning is unsound (it doesn't take overly long to learn 26 characters, especially for those who have already trained their ability by committing thousands of characters to memory) his conclusions are likely truthful, at least to a degree. On average students with European mother tongues can pick up English slightly faster than Asians. The reasons are likely multiple, but include greater grammatical and sound differences between Asian languages and English.

Nonetheless Solberg should know better than to make ANY generalizations about race. It's simply taboo in Canada. Our chequered racial-relations history has left us with an understandably wary public. That said, more funding for language training is undoubtedly a good thing. Immigration is essential to Canada, and the more well integrated immigrants become the more we are able to share in the benefits they offer our society, and the more they themselves will be able to enjoy life in Canada.

Link: http://www.canada.com/topics/news/politics/story.html?id=9fffc5ee-da5a-4b34-8972-8f6dde84a22b&k=30275

Posted by Ryan at 03:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

BC Cabinet Minister Colin Hansen is trying to speed up China's granting of Approved Destination Status (APS) to Canada. Talks started long ago, but have yet to come to fruition. Once the status is granted tourism from Mainland Chinese is sure to rise at least moderately over the course of the first 5 to 10 years.

There are concerns that APS will lead to increased refugee claims, and possibly more illegal immigrants using Canada as a staging ground to enter the USA. Nonetheless the status is likely to be granted sooner rather than later. It would be very surprising if Chinese tourists weren't flocking to Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics.

Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060513.BCHANSEN13/TPStory/National

Posted by Ryan at 02:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

China has reaffirmed the promise they made to the Chretien government in 2001 not to execute Lai Changxing if he is extradited. Lai was one of the most successful smugglers in recent Chinese history. His success was ensured by bribing officials of all levels. China wants to bring him home and punish him as part of their crackdown on corruption and crime. Meanwhile Lai claims he was just doing business the way it is done by most in present day China.

Link: http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-05-31T195028Z_01_N31414568_RTRIDST_0_CANADA-CRIME-CANADA-CHINA-COL.XML

Posted by Ryan at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The National featured a report yesterday on former Yale architecture professor Paul Chiasson's claim that some indistinct ruins in central Cape Breton are remnants of an ancient Chinese settlement. Chiasson originally made headlines last summer with the claims. The CBC was reporting again, as their camera crews were led to the heretofore secret site. It looks, to the untrained eye, like a rather old and unremarkable arrangement of stones.

As their hypotheses are rather complimentary, Chiasson has teamed up with Gavin Menzies author of 1421: The Year China Discoverd the World to promote his idea. Anyone interested in these theories should not only read Chiasson and Menzie's work, but some of the multitudinous refutations by scholars from around the world. Menzies plays fast and loose with his facts, and it seems that Chiasson's claims while remaining marginally within the realms of possibility are likely incorrect. It's much more probable that the ruins are remnants of a farm dating from the 18th-19th century.

Posted by Ryan at 09:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Halifax, Nova Scotia will play host to a wedding on June 10th between Sakyong Jamgon Mipham the leader of the international Shambala Buddhist movement, and Tseyang Palmo a Tibetan "Princess."

Nova Scotia has a thriving buddhist population, with the Shambala movement and its followers making up a significant portion of that. Considering the size of Nova Scotia's Asian population relative to other areas of Canada like Ontario and Vancouver, the success it has had in luring international religious organizations of Asian origin is impressive. Not only is it home to the Shambala headquarters as well as other Buddhist organizations, but Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's organization announced last year they would build a huge "meditation palace" in Nova Scotia.

http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/Metro/504301.html

Posted by Ryan at 12:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

While the Chinese diaspora has existed, in one way or another, for many hundreds of years it has undergone a process of re-organization over the past four decades. Revolutions in communications, travel, and international activity have led to increasing ease of association within the overseas Chinese community. This has resulted in increased transnational activity within the Chinese diaspora, which in some ways has subverted traditional national borders and identities. Our answers to the questions of how best to handle this transformation and what it means to the future of immigrant societies such as Canada will help determine our national identity in years to come.

Continue reading "The Re-Organization of the Chinese Diaspora: Changing Identities" »

Posted by Ryan at 03:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)