It's going to sound a little repetitive, but I think it is critical for all of the nations that are like-minded with Canada—the U.S., the U.K., Australia—to speak, and not just by taking action together in the UN but speaking individually, more clearly and directly with China, and publicly, so that other nations can see it, so that the Chinese people can see and hear it, and so that Tibetans can see and hear it.
Yes, I agree with Maya that there is a stronger approach in general now. I feel there is no other option at this point, and governments are far more willing to say something about transnational repression because it applies right at home, so it's really clear. However, I think we shouldn't shy away from the idea of talking about democracy, genocide potential, crimes again humanity and all of these things in really public, pressuring, painful ways. I think one of the biggest successes that the PRC has had over these past two to three decades is driving all of that conversation into the dark and out of the spotlight.
I see in so many ways that in Canada these discussions are happening, and it's excellent. They are much more public. However, from our leadership, the highest officials in the Canadian government—the Prime Minister, the foreign minister—we need to see really clear and strong language on all of this—human rights, Tibet, the Uyghur genocide—up front and not as a sidebar issue. It has to be core and integrated into the conversation every step along the way, with benchmarks and measures to hold the Chinese government accountable.
One of my colleagues says this best. He says that they are here because they need—