Well, Jean, while China’s size is important, its systematic abuse of its citizens’ human rights is an issue that shouldn’t be ignored. Also, since you think size matters so much, you might have considered that the shear scale of China’s abuse would make bringing it up all the more important. And comparing this with meddling in the affairs of a Saskatchewan premier (who is not similarly abusing his citizens) is apples and pumpkins.Prime Minister Stephen Harper has short-sightedly risked relations with China by failing to attend the Olympic games and going overboard in honouring Tibet's Dalai Lama, former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien said Monday.
Mr. Chrétien said that Canada has to keep in mind that it is too small a global player to hector the Chinese or try to hurt them with boycotts. "It's 1.3-billion people, and I'm telling you that they are moving fast. You think that Canada is very important in the world? I remember when I was going to China ... the press saying: ' Mr. Chrétien, you have to tell the president of China to do this and do that.'
"Oh really?" Mr. Chrétien continued. "You want me to the tell the president of a country of 1.3 billion people you should do this and do that, but I don't dare to say what to do to the premier of Saskatchewan? You have to put things in perspective."
So, Canada is "too small a global player" and "at the bottom of the [influence] ladder" yet the his attendance at the Olympics would "mean so much". You can’t have it both ways, Jean.Speaking to reporters afterward Mr. Chrétien continued his fusillade: "We are at the bottom of the ladder in terms of having any influence with China,"
... were he still prime minister, he "would not have hesitated for a second" to attend an Olympic games that obviously mean so much to Chinese national pride.
He specifically defended his own record as prime minister, saying ... "Some people who say I never mentioned human rights – they are completely wrong."C’mon, Jean, didn’t you just say: "Oh really?" ... "You want me to the tell the president of a country of 1.3 billion people you should do this and do that..."?
Anyway, isn’t it bad form for a former PM to publicly bad-mouth a sitting PM? JC, why don’t you just shut your pie hole!
6 comments:
Hmm, I wonder why he has so much interest in China:
GEOFFREY YORK
From Friday's Globe and Mail
February 6, 2004 at 6:51 AM EDT
Beijing — Less than two months after stepping down as prime minister, Jean Chretien is moving quickly to forge a relationship with China's wealthiest and most powerful business conglomerate.
Making a surprisingly speedy entrance onto the global business stage, Mr. Chretien will arrive in China this weekend with a team of Power Corp. executives to meet some of China's most influential business leaders.
The visit, his first major overseas trip since his retirement, is being kept hush-hush. Neither the Canadian embassy in Beijing nor his law office in Ottawa is revealing any details of the visit, insisting that it is completely "private."
But The Globe and Mail has learned that much of Mr. Chrétien's tour of Beijing and other Chinese cities over the coming week is being organized by state-owned China International Trust and Investment Corp. CITIC is China's biggest and most powerful conglomerate, with a vast range of interests on four continents.
These include financial services, energy, heavy industry, real estate, hotels, airlines and even military exports.
Established in 1979 and accorded the status of a ministry, CITIC began moving into global ventures in the mid-1980s. With assets of about $48-billion (U.S.), it has close links to the commercial interests of the People's Liberation Army and its leadership answers directly to the State Council, China's supreme executive organ.
Mr. Chrétien is expected to hold meetings with CITIC's top executives, who plan to visit Canada this year. Chinese sources say he also has tentative plans to meet next week with top executives of Unicom, one of China's two main cellphone companies.
He'll be accompanied by his son-in-law, André Desmarais, the president of Power Corp., who is a director of CITIC Pacific Ltd., the Hong Kong affiliate of the CITIC group.
The subject of their meetings is unknown. But Power Corp. has extensive business interests in China, including property development in Shanghai's booming Pudong district and a joint venture with Bombardier to manufacture railway cars in the coastal city of Qingdao.
Sources say Mr. Chrétien is expected to arrive in Beijing on Sunday, attend a cocktail reception with the Canada China Business Council that evening, spend two or three additional days in Beijing, then travel on to Shanghai and the northeastern city of Shenyang, near the border with North Korea.
By moving so quickly into the Chinese business world, Mr. Chrétien will be able to capitalize on his extensive political dealings with Chinese leaders over the past decade. As prime minister he visited China six times, led two Team Canada trade and investment missions to the country and met frequently with its top leaders.
Barely three months ago, he toured China for three days on his final Asian trip as prime minister. And he deliberately chose to meet Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao on his final day in office on Dec. 12.
Since his retirement from politics, Mr. Chrétien has lined up a series of business gigs. He is an international-relations adviser to PetroKazakhstan, a Calgary-based oil company that is trying to expand its oil exports to China and other Asian and Middle Eastern countries. And he has joined three separate law firms: Montreal-based Heenan Blaikie, Calgary-based Bennett Jones, and Montreal-based Desjardins Ducharme Stein Monast.
His speedy return to China has provoked some raised eyebrows in the Canadian business community in Beijing. "I think there should be a cooling-off period," said one Canadian businessman in Beijing, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"There has to be a period of decorum if you're civilized. It's interesting that he's back here so quickly. Considering that he was here in October and hosted Wen on his last day in office, he should have waited."
In Ottawa, the prime ministerial ethics counsellor said there are no guidelines that prevent a former prime minister from taking such a trip. Howard Wilson said there is a two-year "cooling-off" period, but the restrictions apply to lobbying Ottawa or taking jobs with firms with whom the former leader had "direct and significant" official dealings in his final year in office.
Mr. Wilson was ethics counsellor to Mr. Chrétien during his 10 years in office.
Barry6176
"Oh really?" Mr. Chrétien continued. "You want me to the tell the president of a country of 1.3 billion people you should do this and do that, but I don't dare to say what to do to the premier of Saskatchewan? You have to put things in perspective."
Well the creep would try to intervene with the government of Saskatchewan on my behalf - to bring justice to a human rights abuse - right here - caused by a government crown corp! Cretin is a jerk. I wonder how long people are going to belive in the Liberal lies.
Of course he won't stand up to China because he too is hedging that Canada must become more like China.
I applaud Mr. Harper for not going to the games and for treating the Tibet issue with the candor and matter of fact approach he has...
"Oh really?" Mr. Chrétien continued. "You want me to the tell the president of a country of 1.3 billion people you should do this and do that, but I don't dare to say what to do to the premier of Saskatchewan? You have to put things in perspective."
Well the creep wouldn't try to intervene with the government of Saskatchewan on MY behalf - to bring justice to a human rights abuse - right here - caused by a government crown corp! Cretin is a jerk. I wonder how long people are going to believe in the Liberal lies.
Of course he won't stand up to China because he too is hedging that Canada must become more like China!
I applaud Mr. Harper for not going to the games and for treating the Tibet issue with the candor and matter of fact approach he has...
I,m wondering why the press gave this ass hole the time of day to spew his typical Liberal garbage.They must be getting awful desperate in the Liberal camp to bring the dead back into action.Give it a rest Chretien you lied enough when you were our supposed leader.Go back to your golf course and fountain and leave the hard work to the Conservatives.And bring the weasle Dion with you,he sure as hell isn,t needed in parliament.
" Mr. Chretien will arrive in China this weekend with a team of Power Corp. executives to meet some of China's most influential business leaders."
And here we have the REAL reason behind why the Liberals need to regain power aided and abetted by the MSM in this country.
Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee, stated: “The first essential characteristic of the Olympics, both ancient as well as modern, is to be a religion. ... It represents, above and outside the Churches, humanity's superior religion.”.
Freedom of religion is a fundamental right.
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