Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty says he is convinced that China is making strides toward democracy and freedom, but he suffered some awkward moments yesterday when he struggled to think of any signs of progress.
Mr. McGuinty, leading a 10-day trade mission to China, insisted that he had no doubt that the Communist regime is moving toward political openness. But when a reporter asked him to give evidence, he was stumped.
After a long pause, he said he had heard "a lot of anecdotes" from China experts about "how things have changed in recent years."
Asked for an example of these changes, he paused again and drew a blank. "Nothing comes to mind immediately," he said finally. "But if I'm going to see you over the course of the next few days, I'll remember something for you."
A few hours later, he was able to provide an example. He asked his press secretary to phone the reporter to say that the recent establishment of a civil-rights centre at Tsinghua University in Beijing, where he spoke to students yesterday, was an example of progress.
Despite the Premier's optimism, many human-rights groups are concerned that China is sliding backward on human-rights issues. In recent months, the government has launched a crackdown on reformers, has tightened the reins on the Internet, arrested civil-rights activists, clamped down on non-governmental groups and has fired independent-minded journalists. Democratic reforms have been stalled for years, and Beijing has explicitly rejected Western-style elections.
Before arriving in China, Mr. McGuinty had promised that he would raise the human-rights issue. But in his sole meeting with a senior Chinese government official yesterday -- a vice-minister of commerce -- he chose to avoid the subject. Instead he raised it later in the day, when he spoke to a small group of law professors and students at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
"Human rights and the rule of law are inextricably and fundamentally linked," he said in his speech. "I believe that we, in Ontario, can contribute to promoting respect for human rights in China by promoting respect for the rule of law."
More than 200 delegations from China have visited Ontario in the past two years, and many of the Chinese visitors have "become better aware of Canadian values," he said. Some of the delegations have studied Ontario's education and training systems for police and prosecutors, while others have examined jails and legal-aid centres, he noted.
Mr. McGuinty said the rule of law is equally essential in China's business sector, where counterfeiters are violating intellectual-property laws by churning out fraudulent products such as fake Ontario ice wine. He gave the students a brief lecture on how Ontario ice wine is created from frozen grapes.
"Ontario ice wine is an exceptional product," he told the students. "The counterfeit version is not. Consistent with an emphasis on the 'rule of law,' it's important that authorities here enforce your country's new laws when a violation arises. . . . We are determined to ensure that the law protects this product."
Only a dozen students and a few professors attended his speech, which was held in a small conference room on the fifth floor of a law-school building.
Speaking to reporters later, Mr. McGuinty said the issue of fraudulent Ontario ice wine is symbolically important for Ontario businesses.
"Every time there's news of ice wine or some other intellectual property being abrogated here, it makes it more difficult for small- and medium-sized businesses, in particular, to launch a foray into China," he said.
He also argued that Canada's current policy of "constructive engagement" with China is better than isolating the country.
"As more and more Chinese develop ties with the rest of the world as a result of ever-growing trade linkages -- with that will grow a better understanding of how the rest of the world works and a desire to improve their system of government," he said.
"There is no doubt in my mind that we cannot help but have influence with commercial activities and with my opportunities to speak with the [Chinese]leadership, and even with little things like my conversation with the students and faculty."
In his meeting yesterday with Ma Xiuhong, the vice-minister of commerce, Mr. McGuinty asked her to tackle the problem of fake ice wine. He also urged her government to reach agreement with Canada on a treaty to protect foreign investors and a deal to allow Chinese tour groups to visit Canada.
Both agreements have been stuck in protracted negotiations for many years.
Geoffrey York