Calls mount for diplomatic boycott

Canada must not send dignitaries for Games over human rights concerns, legislators say

As other nations inch closer to official diplomatic boycotts of the Beijing Olympics, a growing number of MPs are pressuring the Canadian government to make its own decision.

Conservative Foreign Affairs Critic Michael Chong says he’s felt momentum building in recent weeks.

“We’re calling on the Trudeau government to work with democratic allies to diplomatically boycott the Games,” Chong said.

“We think, at this juncture, that’s the most effective way to signal to the Beijing leadership that their bellicose behaviour and violations of international law cannot be allowed to stand.”

Such a boycott could take several forms. Canadian dignitaries could decline to attend any part of the Games, Chong said, or they could simply boycott the opening and closing ceremonies, among other possibilities.

This week, British Leader of the House of Commons, Jacob ReesMogg, said no tickets for ministers to attend the Winter Games had been booked. The United States is expected to announce a diplomatic boycott of the Games, which start Feb. 4. Australia is also mulling a boycott.

Talk of the potential boycotts has come in the face of the Chinese Communist Party’s human rights record, the detention of Canada’s “two Michaels,” the regime’s aggression toward democratic countries and growing accusations of a genocide of the Uyghur people in its western Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Calls surfaced again this month amid concern over the whereabouts and safety of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, after she accused a former high-level CCP official of sexual assault.

Chong said such boycotts can effectively send a definitive message to China’s government.

But, he said, “time is of the essence.” If Canada doesn’t act soon and Beijing decides to cancel the opening ceremonies or impose other restrictions on the Games due to COVID-19, the effect of a boycott could be “blunted,” he said.

“Too often Canada has been late in joining other democracies in putting in place multilateral action,” he said.

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa has been in discussions with “like-minded” partners on the issue and said there would likely be more developments on how Canada will handle it.

On Friday, Global Affairs Canada echoed the same comments in a statement saying it was disturbed by reports of human rights violations in China and is discussing the matter with “our closest partners.”

Liberal MP John McKay said he isn’t optimistic Canada would hold a boycott outside of a co-ordinated effort with its allies, and he said he doesn’t know if there’s any drive in the Liberal caucus or government to implement a boycott.

“If it were up to me, it would be,” McKay said. “I don’t know how any self-respecting country carries on a relationship with the government of Beijing, where they kidnap your citizens and treat your prime minister like dirt.”

Chong pointed to the House of Commons passing a motion in February to recognize human rights violations, which include mass internment and allegations of torture, against Uyghur people as a genocide. Cabinet ministers abstained from voting.

The same month, 13 MPs from all parties signed a letter demanding the Olympics be moved.

New Democrat foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson signed the letter. “I think it’s very problematic that we are having an Olympics in China at this time,” McPherson told the Star. “I’m very supportive of a diplomatic boycott.”

She stressed China has sanctioned Canadian officials for taking outspoken positions on Beijing’s human rights record, including Chong.

Canada needs to be cognizant of diplomatic relations with the country’s government considering such measures, she said.

Meanwhile, the human rights critic for the Bloc Québécois, Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, who attended the recent World Uyghur Congress assembly in Prague, said Canada should have already staked out a position.

“It’s the minimum we can do,” Brunelle-Duceppe said. “I don’t understand why there’s no position right now from Canada. Everybody knows it’s insane to send diplomatic people to Beijing for the Olympics.”

He said the government should be going even further and wants the Games postponed for a year so an independent international observation mission of China’s actions in Xinjiang can be conducted, which was a course of action put forth at the World Uyghur Congress assembly. Brunelle-Duceppe said he intends to table a motion in Parliament calling for such a delay.

A number of bills have been proposed in recent weeks regarding the situation in Xinjiang, including one from Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos aiming to ban imports from the region over concerns about products being made from forced Uyghur labour.