Travel Broadens The Mind
And Prime Minister Stephen Harper is continuing to enjoy quite the mind-broadening experience. Now he's in China, visiting Canada's second-largest trading partner, after the United States. Used to be Japan had that position vis-a-vis trade with Canada. Still, this country imports far more from China than the reverse, and it would be nice to turn that situation around.
Former Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien has chirped triumphantly one too many times about how he opened Canada up to trade with China. The man was an opportunist in fact, paving the way for his own post-government opportunities to do business on behalf of his powerful and wealthy son-in-law, and just incidentally feathering his personal nest as well by contacts he'd assiduously groomed as prime minister.
Funny thing that, berating and upbraiding Stephen Harper for not having slid in on his coattails, encouraging Canadian business enterprises to accompany him on his trade trips, and losing the momentum Mr. Chretien had manoeuvred skilfully into existence. Despite that reality demonstrates no such thing; the reverse is actually true; China benefited, not Canada, from increased trade.
More amusing yet, Canadian tourism has longed for coveted tourism status with China. To be awarded 'approved destination status' by the Chinese government. A status that continued to be withheld from Canada, even though it was magnanimously granted to countries like the U.S. and Australia - and my goodness, Syria, Bulgaria, Jamaica.
If Mr. Chretien was in such good graces with China's ruling elite how is it he never managed to pull that one off? Mr. Harper did, without surrendering his moral stance on human rights commitments. It was Mr. Harper who met with the Dalai Lama, infuriating Beijing, and who refused to kowtow to an administration for whom human rights is someone else's afterthought.
Mr. Harper accepted an official chiding from China, indignant that they had not previously received a visit in six years from Canada's 'new' prime minister, and Mr. Harper returned the compliment, retorting that nor had China visited Canada in five years. And now that diplomatic recriminations over nation-to-nation neglect were dispensed with, the show goes on.
This approved destination status represents an opportunity for Canada to anticipate greater numbers of Chinese tourists, and at the same time we join a growing list of luminary-countries such as Burma, Cuba, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Oh dear.
Trusting that the company we keep won't reflect deleteriously upon us.
Former Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien has chirped triumphantly one too many times about how he opened Canada up to trade with China. The man was an opportunist in fact, paving the way for his own post-government opportunities to do business on behalf of his powerful and wealthy son-in-law, and just incidentally feathering his personal nest as well by contacts he'd assiduously groomed as prime minister.
Funny thing that, berating and upbraiding Stephen Harper for not having slid in on his coattails, encouraging Canadian business enterprises to accompany him on his trade trips, and losing the momentum Mr. Chretien had manoeuvred skilfully into existence. Despite that reality demonstrates no such thing; the reverse is actually true; China benefited, not Canada, from increased trade.
More amusing yet, Canadian tourism has longed for coveted tourism status with China. To be awarded 'approved destination status' by the Chinese government. A status that continued to be withheld from Canada, even though it was magnanimously granted to countries like the U.S. and Australia - and my goodness, Syria, Bulgaria, Jamaica.
If Mr. Chretien was in such good graces with China's ruling elite how is it he never managed to pull that one off? Mr. Harper did, without surrendering his moral stance on human rights commitments. It was Mr. Harper who met with the Dalai Lama, infuriating Beijing, and who refused to kowtow to an administration for whom human rights is someone else's afterthought.
Mr. Harper accepted an official chiding from China, indignant that they had not previously received a visit in six years from Canada's 'new' prime minister, and Mr. Harper returned the compliment, retorting that nor had China visited Canada in five years. And now that diplomatic recriminations over nation-to-nation neglect were dispensed with, the show goes on.
This approved destination status represents an opportunity for Canada to anticipate greater numbers of Chinese tourists, and at the same time we join a growing list of luminary-countries such as Burma, Cuba, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Oh dear.
Trusting that the company we keep won't reflect deleteriously upon us.
Labels: Canada, Government of Canada, Inconvenient Politics
posted by Pieface | 6:43 PM
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