China snubs Canada?
Apparently China is "snubbing" Canada. The first thing that pops to mind is who exactly isn't snubbing Canada and why we should care considering everybody snubs us -- for every conceivably good reason.
This time, though, the reason is bizarre: human rights.
Yes, apparently Stephen Harper is too tough on human rights to meet with his Chinese "counterpart" (as if they are close to equal in any sense) Hu Jintao. When exactly Harper has stood up for the rights of anyone is somewhat beyond me.
Actually, he wants to talk about the case of Huseyin Celil, a Uighur-Canadian who was arrested in China. The Chinese government refuses to recognize his Canadian citizenship.
In other words, it's not a human rights case at all. It's a consular case. The government is fronting "to care" because, technically, it has to. Another blow for the "universality" of human rights -- this cosmopolitan moral order of ours.
I first heard about this when I was in Turpan, on a payphone speaking to my mother; in a dusty street. I was outside some kind of strange hardware store and had with me bags of various fruit.
The plight of these people is important, but while we negotiate (or in this case, fail to even talk to someone about) his rights, lets perhaps bring up the widespread repression the people in that region (Xinjiang) suffer.
This time, though, the reason is bizarre: human rights.
Yes, apparently Stephen Harper is too tough on human rights to meet with his Chinese "counterpart" (as if they are close to equal in any sense) Hu Jintao. When exactly Harper has stood up for the rights of anyone is somewhat beyond me.
Actually, he wants to talk about the case of Huseyin Celil, a Uighur-Canadian who was arrested in China. The Chinese government refuses to recognize his Canadian citizenship.
In other words, it's not a human rights case at all. It's a consular case. The government is fronting "to care" because, technically, it has to. Another blow for the "universality" of human rights -- this cosmopolitan moral order of ours.
I first heard about this when I was in Turpan, on a payphone speaking to my mother; in a dusty street. I was outside some kind of strange hardware store and had with me bags of various fruit.
The plight of these people is important, but while we negotiate (or in this case, fail to even talk to someone about) his rights, lets perhaps bring up the widespread repression the people in that region (Xinjiang) suffer.
posted by iain.e.marlow at 11:45 AM
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