Niigaan Sinclair is Anishinaabe and a columnist with The Winnipeg Free Press.
| Every once in a while, history is laid bare in a moment.
| That happened Friday as Omaha elder and Vietnam veteran Nathan Phillips attempted to defuse a conflict between students from Kentucky’s Covington Catholic High School attending an anti-abortion rally in Washington and African-American members of the Black Hebrew Israelites, there to speak about their religion and the ongoing mistreatment of their people.
|  | | | More stories below advertisement | | | The showdown between Canada and China over the arrest of Meng Wanzhou has mostly been discussed in Canada in terms of the relationship of between the two countries. That makes sense, of course. The affair raises important domestic questions.
| But the arrest of Ms. Meng in December and China’s subsequent reaction need also to be understood in the context of the Chinese government’s ambitions in the wider world. In many ways, this is not about Canada, or not only about Canada. It’s about Beijing’s determination to tilt the international order in its favour.
| | | | | Michael Kovrig (left) and Michael Spavor, the two Canadians detained in China, are shown in these 2018 images taken from video. | A good letter drawn up by intelligent world citizens who treasure peace and harmonious relations amongst all countries. That is until the last until the last sentence: "We therefore respectfully ask you to free these two Canadian citizens." They should not have asked. Those that love peace should never defer to tyranny and those that are in the wrong. - moon howler
| An open question to the academics who signed this letter: How did you not see this one year ago, when China was casting itself at Davos as the saviour of free trade? Or a few months ago, when Canada was still allowing Huawei to be used? Like the economists who failed to see the Great Recession coming, how did all of these scholars and statesmen miss the aggression and disregard of international law by China? Why was there no outrage when internet traffic was found to be intentionally routed through China by Chinese equipment installed in Canada? And where was the mainstream media in denouncing more strongly the Chinese takeover of the oceans by building islands first, then military posts in the South China Sea? Where were our governments when China threatened Taiwan?
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