I want to add a few words.
Regarding the situation in China, we admit that people enjoy greater personal and economic liberties than before. People have benefited from economic growth in the past 20 to 30 years. But without the protection of political rights, which is totally controlled by the Chinese government so far, the small amount of liberty they are enjoying can be taken away at any time if the authorities determine so. It is happening everywhere in China, especially in the economic field. Without the protection of political rights, you can easily lose your house without recourse to having your grievances redressed.
Over the years, people overseas and the international community have developed the wrong impression that the Chinese people, ordinary people, may not demand democracy, freedom, and human rights. People have the wrong impression that with economic development, people may just forget about human rights.
That's wrong. That's totally wrong. I always challenge people with those views to do an imaginary experiment. Take a document, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to China, and talk to the people you meet on the street, asking them whether they need or want the rights described in the document. I don't think you will meet anyone who will say “no”. If you do this experiment, you will see that what I say is right.
China's people really want democracy, freedom, and human rights. They cannot do it because the Chinese government does not want them to do it. They build up the so-called stability-preserving system, taking the general public as enemies and watching them. Whatever you do that the government does not like, that will put you in the situation where you will lose your freedom, lose your job, and incur costs that you cannot bear. That deters many people from coming out to stand up for their rights and interests. We have to realize that.
China's people will not be offended by a strong foreign policy from Canada or the United States towards China. China's people will be offended by the inconsistency and insincerity they see in the policy.
Thank you.