Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
My question is for Mickey Spiegel, but I invite any of the others to join in if they wish.
I want to begin by expressing my own appreciation of Human Rights Watch. I've been the beneficiary of your good work over the years. Indeed, some five years ago, when I drew up what was then a twelve -point grid of human rights violations, it was largely anchored in the excellent information I had received from Human Rights Watch.
I want to say that I share both your critique and recommendations regarding the Canada-China human rights dialogue. What I would like to do at this point is invite you to enlarge on your remarks regarding what might be a Canadian human rights foreign policy regarding China as a whole. In other words, having you here and having the opportunity to draw upon your expertise, I would like to invite you to include some references and matters that you already inferentially referred to, the whole relationship of private diplomacy versus public advocacy, the relationship between trade and human rights, and modes and means of engagement.
For example, Prime Minister Harper was critiqued recently—in my view incorrectly—by some who felt that he had compromised our trade and investment relationships with China by bringing up human rights issues, or even, specifically, one particular case. So the question, specifically, is this. Do you have any principles and guidelines regarding Canadian human rights foreign policy regarding China as a whole, as you shared with us regarding the Canada-China human rights dialogue?