The Rigour of Twitter Diplomacy

"I'm disappointed that there hasn't been more on this [official, emphatic reaction from the government of Canada in response to Beijing's human rights abuses in cracking down on journalists exploring the Chinese Communist Party's secrecy during the initial stages of the emerging novel coronavirus]."

"China does not respect other countries that are weak. And so to sit back quietly, meekly, is not an approach that will win us respect in Beijing."

Margaret McCuaig Johnston, formerly member, Canada-China Joint Committee on Science and Technology, former senior official, Department of Finance

"[The statement by Ottawa is] indicative of the extent to which the Chinese regime has been able to suppress any Canadian government standing for the rules-based international order."

Charles Burton, China expert, Macdonald-Laurier Institute, Ottawa

"We really need to build on the expression of concern in that tweet and make it very clear how seriously we take this case."

"Zhang Zhan's case is one that Canada needs to rise to with real seriousness and urgency."

"What we have seen from Canada is absolutely not enough."

Alex Neve, former chair, Canadian Coalition of Human Rights in China

The former lawyer, citizen-journalist, 37, Zhang Zhan was detained in May  YouTube/Screenshot

Canada cannot depend on China to act within the boundaries of international law, but China can depend on Canada not to make too great a fuss in the international community over Beijing's human rights abuses. Despite that Canada prides itself on its rigorous support of human rights. Just not prepared to rock the boat where China is concerned. Trade and investment dependency can do that to the pride and dignity and principles of a country, leaving its government to look fairly sanctimonious about a subject reputedly dear to its heart.

 

China makes itself indispensable to weaker countries of the world, those just emerging from third world status with struggling economies, hoping time will give them their just due. And there is China, willing and eager to make gigantic investments in these countries from Europe to Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, to North America. Growing its indispensable presence as a progress-enabler, an investor in infrastructure, an investor and trade 'partner', a reliable partner in extracting natural resources as it steadily monopolizes ores and agriculture, fossil fuel and minerals.

Beijing brooks no criticism, and Canada's current government is anxious to avoid raising the CPC's irascible hackles. Though Beijing has punished Canada through abducting its citizens, trashing its trade, darkening its reputation with slander, and holding it in contempt, Canada hesitates to criticize directly and to counter-threaten consequences for unprincipled and bullying behaviour toward it by China. Instead, like a vulnerable child that tells a bully that his father or big brother will soon arrive to protect the quivering, quavering child, Canada has appealed to its fellow democracies to close ranks and pressure Beijing on Canada's behalf.

But those collegial governments are busy criticizing Beijing themselves with few holds barred, for its human rights violations. Demonstrating that principles are not forsaken for fear of irritating an influential, powerful bully into reactive consequences. With the arrest of yet another Chinese citizen- journalist whose unforgivable sin against her country's interests was to chronicle the government's response to the pandemic, foreign diplomats have expressed their nations' outrage at China's blatant suppression of facts and hounding of messengers of the news.

The young Chinese journalist, Zhang Zhan was sentenced on December 28 to four years in prison for the unspeakable crime of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble"; no laughing matter despite the feeble nature of a crime so serious the vendor must be shut away in a prison cell for years. The United States, United Kingdom and European Union lost no time in loudly issuing explicitly official statements of condemnation for the silencing of yet another journalist who in her resolve to discover the truth and disseminate it will pay dearly for her choice of action.

She already is, having gone on a hunger strike to protest her government's method of ridding itself of 'trouble-makers'. She is being force-fed against her wishes, the result of which she is in declining health, at age 37; a "citizen journalist" who among others, set out to record the coronavirus initial outbreak in Wuhan, helping to shine a spotlight on the Communist Party of China's draconian lockdown and efforts to conceal the immediacy of a serious threat to global health.

According to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the mockery of a trial had "shown once again it {China) will do whatever it takes to silence those who question the Party's official line, even regarding crucial public health information". The EU called for Ms.Zhang's immediate release, and the British foreign office spoke of Ms.Zhang and 12 Hong Kong activists as  having been "tried in secret, raising further serious questions about access to legal counsel in Mainland China."

And Canada? Its foreign affairs department sent out a tweet as an official response: "Canada is very concerned following the 4-year sentence of citizen=journalist Zhang Zhan. We call for her immediate release and that of others who report on the COVID-19 pandemic in China, including Fang Bin, Chen Mi and Cai Wei." The backstory is, of course, Canada's inability to launch a counter-response to China's abduction of two Canadians on spurious charges of endangering China as espionage agents.

Where Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor -- two innocent men who just happened to be vulnerable to being scooped up in retribution for Canada having honoured an extradition request by the  United States by detaining Meng Wanzhou, the CFO of Huawei Communications. which elicited a string of derogatory slanders from Beijing and the arbitrary arrest of the two Canadians, along with trade punishment -- are victimized, held incomminocado, their futures uncertain, their present a hell. 

Canada's natural resource sector has been treated for years as a handy bank-deposit venue enabling China to extend its worldwide grasp of resources to feed its growth as a compelling trade Goliath with aspirations to overtaking the United States as the world's super-power and largest trading depot. The situation of the last two years emphasizes Canada's growing dependence for its economic growth on China for trade and foreign direct investment. Precisely Beijing's long-range plan globally.

Zhang Zhan was jailed by Chinese authorities over her coverage of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan. (AFP)