China Warns Canada to Stay Out

China warns Canada to stay out of its domestic affairs, after Canadian Parliament declared China’s abuses against the Uighur minority constituted genocide. (Wikimedia Commons)

Diplomatic tensions continue to simmer between Canada and China, as Beijing has slammed Ottawa for its “blatant interference” in internal affairs on October 22. 

China’s threat comes after a committee within the Canadian Parliament formally declared that China’s abuses against the Uighur minority in the Xinjiang province constituted genocide and that they recommended sanctions against all Chinese officials involved. The committee concluded that “… the Government of China’s actions are a clear attempt to eradicate Uighur culture and religion.” It included detailed findings of the government’s actions to eradicate the culture and religion of the ethnic minority through mass detention, forced labor, constant surveillance, and forced sterilization of Uighur women and girls. 

In response, Zhao Lijian, spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, claimed that the committee's reports “were full of lies and disinformation.” He further argued that the release reflected ignorance, prejudice, and a disregard for Chinese political stability. Instead, Zhao depicted the concentration camps as “vocational training and education centers” dedicated to the elimination of “ the root cause of terrorism and extremism.” He left his press conference with a final warning to Canada to halt its intervention into China’s domestic affairs to protect Sino-Canadian relations, which have already experienced much turmoil this year. 

Just last week, the Chinese ambassador to Canada warned the country against granting political asylum to pro-democracy protesters fleeing Hong Kong. She accused Canada of emboldening “violent criminals” and offered a thinly veiled threat regarding the status of 300,000 Canadians living in Hong Kong. 

Moreover, in June of this year, several Canadian senators urged the government to impose sanctions on Chinese officials for detaining Uighur Muslims, suppressing democratic rights in Hong Kong, arbitrarily arresting Canadian citizens, and carrying out other human rights abuses. Their letter called Beijing the “biggest threat to mankind and a danger to international security,” a description China did not take lightly. 

Currently, the Canadian federal government has yet to determine whether or not to impose sanctions on top Chinese officials amidst the background of quickly fraying Sino-Canadian diplomatic relations.