I can't presume to be inside the mind of authoritarian General Secretary Xi Jinping, but clearly Taiwan was in the minds of the Chinese leaders in 1984. The whole idea of one country, two systems was so that Taiwan would be convinced that this was the solution to the reunification with the mainland. That's because Deng Xiaoping thought that in 50 years the mainland would catch up and be more open and reformed. However, since 2013 those hopes have been very sadly dashed by what Xi Jinping has done.
But enough of that. I think Taiwan has very clearly looked at Hong Kong and said, “One country, two systems—not for us.” I think that's exacerbating the cross-strait tensions, because now it's very clear. The President of Taiwan has said clearly that they are not going to come back. They said that they can't declare independence. Well, they don't need to declare independence. It's already a country. Although geopolitics is not my area—I'm just a human rights lawyer—I think Canada should consider strengthening international support and recognition of ways to have diplomatic engagement with Taiwan that gives strength to Taiwan.
It's not just Taiwan; we saw it in the region of the South China Sea. Japan is kind of nervous. Everyone's nervous in the region. Getting away with not following the rule of law, trashing your own international obligations and ignoring international standards, not just in human rights law but under the international maritime law, under treaty law and under all of this, poses a danger to not only the 300,000 Canadians but really the 7.4 million people living in Hong Kong and in the region.
It is very important to hold the line on Hong Kong. We are the front line to defend the region.