Lorne Gunter: Justin Trudeau’s an Appeaser of China, Plain and Simple

The nut doesn't fall far from the tree. His father was a great admirer of the ChiComs.

From the National Post

By Lorne Gunter

How else to explain his government’s invitation to the Chinese military to come watch Canadian troops do winter training?

There used to be a term for a person who believes capitulation is the best way to negotiate with a bullying foreign government: Appeaser.

It’s time to revive that term and apply it to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his dealings with the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Trudeau is an appeaser. How else to explain his government’s invitation to the Chinese military to come watch Canadian troops do winter training?

Or his strenuous efforts to deflect blame for the pandemic away from the CPC?

Remember, Trudeau deliberately refused to impose a ban on travellers from China in the pandemic’s early weeks, allowing thousands of visitors from Wuhan just because he was more concerned with appearing “woke” on racism than preventing the spread of COVID.

Then there was his decision to delay purchasing COVID vaccines for several months while his government backed a Chinese version.

All of this while the Chinese government held two Canadians – Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor – on trumped up espionage charges.

The two Michaels aren’t even permitted regular visits with Canadian diplomatic staff.

Of course, all of this is connected to Canada’s arrest of Chinese technology executive Meng Wanzhou at the request of the Americans while she was transiting through Vancouver two years ago.

Part of the reason Canada has suffered so many retaliations for the Meng arrest is the Trump administration’s failure to put behind-the-scenes pressure on Beijing.

The RCMP arrested Meng at the request of the U.S. Justice Department. Typically, when that happens the Americans pressure the Chinese not to take out their anger on Canada.

But U.S. President Donald Trump was engaged in a battle with China over trade. Because he wanted to use Meng as a bargaining chip, his administration refused to put pressure on the CCP government to release the two Canadians.

Yet this mostly is Trudeau’s fault, not Trump’s.

No matter what insult or indignity the Chinese heap on Canada, Trudeau just ups his appeasement level.

Chinese Communist leaders must sit around over tea and laugh at how they can so easily manipulate Canada’s P.M. like a puppet.

Ban Canadian exports of canola and Trudeau does nothing. Ban Canadian pork and beef and Trudeau issues some new invitation to Beijing or scolds Canadians yet again not to disparage the CCP.

Trudeau and his Health Minister, Patty Hajdu, still refuse to acknowledge how the CCP’s coverup of what was going on inside China in the pandemic’s early days greatly contributed to the international spread of the coronavirus.

Now comes the Pepper Wok, a Greater Toronto Area restaurant run by supporters of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement.

In the past two weeks, the unassuming eatery has been subjected to online attacks (including one-star reviews designed to scare away customers), vandalism and a campaign of phone threats – including promises to turn the owners in to Chinese authorities so it will be hard for them to get visas to visit family in Hong Kong.

In other similar incidents around North America and Western Europe, ex-patriate Chinese have also been urged to shut up lest their families back in China suffer.

Australian and Indian media have recently reported, too, that a Chinese data company and the Chinese government are maintaining a database on 2.4 million Indians, Canadians, Australians, Americans and Europeans – especially politicians and opinion makers – designed to track their online activity and, essentially, identify ways in which they might be pressured/blackmailed into spreading CCP propaganda.

Increasingly, Chinese citizens and Chinese ex-pats around the world are complaining of Chinese government surveillance and coercion – at universities, corporations and throughout governments.

Among our closest intelligence allies, Canada is the only country not to ban Meng’s Huawei from helping build our 5G cellphone network.

Appeaser.