Ms. Wong, go ahead.
Evidence of meeting #10 for Canada-China Relations in the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was wong.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #10 for Canada-China Relations in the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was wong.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Noon
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Geoff Regan
That's quite all right, thank you. I think Ms. Wong is frozen for a moment. Should we go to Mr. Wong, Mr. Chiu? Is that okay?
Noon
Director, Youth Engagement and Policy Initiatives, Alliance Canada Hong Kong
Maybe I'll say some brief lines responding to Mr. Chiu, and I'll move on to my colleague Cherie to give more details.
I think first the committee would like to pay attention to how 300,000 Canadians are living, residing and working in Hong Kong right now, which is already a very substantial link currently between Canada and Hong Kong. Another important link that I think most Canadians have neglected is a historical link, because Canadians helped Hong Kong in the Second World War in defending Hong Kong's land, and Hong Kongers have been thanking Canadians every year.
I think I would like to draw the committee's attention to these particular two levels of links, and I will direct it to my colleague Cherie to elaborate more.
Noon
Executive Director, Alliance Canada Hong Kong
Absolutely, there are going to be questions on why Hong Kong is related to Canada, and I think, for us, it's our core values. When we talk about China, we cannot look away from Hong Kong, and it's not only Hong Kong; it is also Mongolia. It is also Tibet. It is also East Turkestan and the human rights atrocities. There's a crisis happening in these territories. Each of them is a little different from the others, but the common link is that it is the Chinese Communist Party that is orchestrating the humanitarian crisis. As this committee examines how Canada must move on with our relationship with China, I think human rights definitely are at the top of our minds.
Second, trade is something that is on a lot of your minds as you talk about China. It is important to remember we are complicit in exporting dual-use technologies that are being used for human rights violations. We are buying products of slave labour from Uighur camps and from Uighur prisoners.
Therefore, as this committee moves on to study the greater relationship between China and Hong Kong and Canada, you have to consider how China has completely disrespected international law and order. The Sino-British Joint Declaration is an international agreement, and the Chinese have just tossed that aside, not only in 2019 but also in 2003 and 2014.
12:05 p.m.
Conservative
12:05 p.m.
President and Coordinator of a cross-Canada platform for 16 organizations concerned about Hong Kong , Canada-Hong Kong Link
I think there are a few reasons that Hong Kong really matters to all Canadians.
Number one is that Hong Kong is the largest Canadian city outside of Canada. There are 300,000 Canadians living there. If we count those people who went back to Hong Kong without claiming non-resident status, the total number exceeds 500,000, based on my conversation with the Canadian consulate representative in Hong Kong.
Number two is that Hong Kong people and Canadians share common values. People in Hong Kong are struggling to preserve the rule of law, freedom, human rights and democracy, which are all values that Canadians, as well as global villages, treasure. Therefore, Hong Kong people are actually at the forefront of fighting against the Chinese authoritarian regime, which is a major threat to global democracy, so—
12:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Geoff Regan
Thank you, Ms. Fung. I'm sorry to interrupt you. Thank you very much, Mr. Chiu.
Mr. Oliphant, you have five minutes.
12:05 p.m.
Liberal
Rob Oliphant Liberal Don Valley West, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all the witnesses for joining us today. It's nice to see you again, Ms. Wong and Mr. Wong, and it's nice to meet you, Ms. Fung and Ms. Calverley.
I have two basic questions that I want to ask.
Nothing you have said today was news to me. I have been following the issue closely since I was in Hong Kong over a year ago when the extradition debate was ongoing. I visited the LegCo and heard about it. I also met with a number of activists. When the security legislation came in, I was not totally shocked, but I was surprised at the rapidity of it.
What I'd like to hear from each of you first is what you think has changed vis-à-vis China's understanding of Hong Kong and its tightening.... It started before the extradition changes, continued rapidly, and then with the demonstrations, we got the national security legislation.
What has happened in China that has taken a 50-year horizon on Hong Kong and shortened it to the diminishment of the Hong Kong that we know today? I would like you to help me understand that.
We could maybe begin with Ms. Wong, and then Ms. Fung, Mr. Wong and Ms. Calverley.
12:05 p.m.
Executive Director, Alliance Canada Hong Kong
Thank you. I think it's important to understand that the deterioration of Hong Kong's one country, two systems concept started the moment that Hong Kong was handed over to China. It wasn't something new, but it was something slow. Through time—in 2014—we saw the violent crackdown on the revolution and we saw the tightening of political freedoms. Since 2014, that has accelerated.
In 2019, when the extradition movement broke out, I think the government—the central government and the Hong Kong government—realized that Hong Kong people were committed to a democratic Hong Kong. That is a very dangerous idea, because Hong Kong was the window to China for many years. The massive grassroots democratic movement is a threat to the Chinese Communist Party's rule as a whole, so the violent and swift crackdown on Hong Kong was not shocking but in fact expected. That is how they can assert control.
With this new national security law, there is extradition written into it, so while the extradition treaty was scrapped at the beginning of the movement, it has kind of made a full turn and we are going to extradite people. There are also—
12:05 p.m.
Executive Director, Alliance Canada Hong Kong
Sorry. There is also the fact on the global affairs—
12:10 p.m.
Liberal
Rob Oliphant Liberal Don Valley West, ON
—because I want everyone to get in. I only have five minutes.
If we could have brief comments from the others, I have a second question that I'd like to ask.
12:10 p.m.
President and Coordinator of a cross-Canada platform for 16 organizations concerned about Hong Kong , Canada-Hong Kong Link
I think a lot of people misunderstand the situation in China. I worked in China for five years, from 1984 to 1989, managing the World Bank and also European soft loan projects there. If we understand the Chinese thoroughly, we see there are quite a lot of risks that they are facing, such as the dropping of the GDP and the unrest in different parts of China.
Over the last couple of years, the courageous resistance movement in Hong Kong has posed a threat to the sustainability and stability of Communist rule. They don't want the resistance movement to have a rippling effect in the rest of China, so—
12:10 p.m.
Liberal
12:10 p.m.
Co-founder and Trustee, Hong Kong Watch
For China, this is a master plan to incorporate Hong Kong into the greater bay area.
You may have heard of red capital. A lot of businesses and financial companies are now under Chinese capital. China heavily relies on Hong Kong, and that is why Hong Kong matters. Over 73% of IPOs that are raising money, especially in the U.S., need Hong Kong. I think the Communist Party thinks they can have full control of Hong Kong and use Hong Kong as the financial centre for China to raise money, but then they forget the Hong Kong Policy Act is due now—
12:10 p.m.
Liberal
12:10 p.m.
Liberal
