China accuses Canada of hypocrisy for criticizing Beijing’s human rights record, citing issues faced by indigenous peoples.
This setback comes after Ottawa imposed sanctions on eight Chinese officials, accusing them of committing “serious human rights violations” against ethnic and religious minorities, and expressed its concern about democracy in Hong Kong.
Ottawa issued a statement last month citing reports of arbitrary and violent detention of Uyghur people, as well as repression toward Tibetans and Falun Gong practitioners.
Global Affairs Canada also says it “regrets” that authorities are issuing international bounties to Hong Kong democracy activists and former lawmakers from the territory, including Canadians.
Beijing says these allegations are baseless, and has imposed sanctions on groups and activists in Canada who defend minorities in China, and has banned citizens from certain interactions with these activists.
Since then, Chinese state media has repeatedly criticized Canada for its treatment of indigenous peoples, claiming Ottawa is hypocritical.
“Canada is not in a position to lecture others about human rights,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press conference on Dec. 11, according to an official translation.
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“Even today, Indigenous people in Canada continue to face systemic racial discrimination and unfair treatment. Instead of dealing with this, Canada has chosen to vilify and discredit other nations.
Mao added that “China has made tremendous progress in the field of human rights” that “no one can deny without bias.”
“The whole thing is an ugly and hypocritical political ploy carried out by some Canadian political figures under the pretext of human rights, to serve an unspeakable agenda and please the United States,” she added a day later.
China’s embassy in Ottawa has been amplifying these messages on social media, including a political cartoon from state-run media outlet CGTN showing a beaver with a torn up house telling a panda with a clean house that it has some cracks.
“Canada turns a blind eye to the systemic racism and unfair treatment faced by Indigenous people, yet fabricates accusations and distorts the progress China has made on human rights,” the cartoon caption reads. Its continued political manipulation of human rights issues is nothing more than a hypocritical farce of double standards.
In a repeated assessment of human rights issues in Canada, the United Nations noted the progress that has been made on Indigenous rights and housing, while urging greater efforts.
The November 2023 assessment asked Canadian governments to stop human rights abuses by Canadian mining companies abroad and the overrepresentation of minorities in prisons and child care. It also asked Canada to better respect the rights of indigenous peoples to free, prior and informed consent.
The same body’s assessment of China in January 2024 noted that the country had improved its policies on women and children, but urged the government to “ensure formal accountability for all detainees, give them access to their families and hold them in officially recognized places of detention.” “.
It urged China to “respect the rights to freedom of religion or belief, opinion, expression, peaceful assembly and culture, including the right of Tibetans, Uyghurs and other minorities” and said anti-terrorism laws “do not comply with international human rights law and standards.” “, including in Hong Kong.
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