Canadian MPs Plan Visit to Taiwan

Holcomb with Taiwan President Tsai in Taipei

The Governor of Indiana Eric Holcomb has touched down in Taiwan for trade talks and there are fears as to what China will do to retaliate.

In the meantime a group of Canadian Members of Parliament are looking to travel to Taiwan as early as October ostensibly for a Canada-Taiwan "friendship group", and that the Taiwanese government is footing the bill.

The eight MPs are members of both this friendship group and a committee on international trade, so there may be trade talks involved.

Trudeau warns MPs to think of consequences

However, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is concerned about the upcoming trip after seeing what happened following US Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit with China surrounding the island as it conducted live military drills in the water, with some missiles landing in Japanese waters.

"Canada has a long-standing position around China and Taiwan that we will ensure to respect. China's belligerence around this and their position is, of course, as it has been for a while, troubling," he said.

"We will ensure that the parliamentarians making the decision to travel or not will be done with all the reflections of the consequences and the impacts of it."

In other words he wants these MPs to think twice about going to Taiwan.

New Democrat MP and international trade committee member Brian Masse said earlier that Canadians "must support other democracies that have fought for their rights and freedoms."

Randy Hoback, Conservative MP and committee vice-chair, said MPs in the Canada-Taiwan parliamentary "friendship group" used to go to Taiwan about twice a year before Covid-19 restricted travel. He has visited Taiwan before.

Hoback says "friendship group" going to Taiwan

However, Hoback said he will consult Global Affairs Canada before going on the trip now. "There's no intent on my part to antagonise China," he said.

Understandable, but at the same time the United States has already paved the way, so why not keep a stream of visitors coming to Taiwan to show support and get a trade deal on the side? 

Foreign companies are pulling out of China and looking for alternatives, so Taiwan is a possibility, and its products particularly in the agricultural sector are considered high quality. 

Size-wise Taiwan is a dot compared to China, but as Pelosi says, it is one of the few democratic places in Asia and deserves to be supported as much as possible.

Trudeau needs to look at the bigger picture. The more other countries support Taiwan, that's an effective way to keep China in check, otherwise the bullying will continue.

How Will Australia get Cheng Lei Released?

Cheng has been held in China for two years with no news

t's been two years since CGTN Chinese-born Australian anchor Cheng Lei was detained in Beijing with no word on not only her whereabouts, but also her health and wellbeing.

Her two children in Australia drew pictures for her, writing that they missed her. They have not heard from her for two years, which is a lifetime for them.

Cheng is accused of illegally supplying state secrets overseas. Her family maintains she is innocent. 

Cheng's daughter drew a picture for her

In March, a closed-door trial was held where Australian diplomats were barred from attending.

At the time Australia's ambassador to China Graham Fletcher voiced his concerns about the secrecy of the trial and that Canberra would continue to advocate for her rights and interests.

And then in mid-June, a statement from the Chinese embassy in Washington said that Cheng's colleague Haze Fan who was also arrested on charges of "endangering state security" in July 2021, was released on bail back in January. 

Only announcing this six months later suggested that perhaps Fan was being held under house arrest for several months, but also that she was still under investigation. 

The situation with Cheng seems to be similar to Canada and the two Michaels, Kovrig and Spavor detained for more than two years in a bid to get Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou back.

Fan was released on bail back in January

What do the Chinese want with Australia?

As China showed off its military hardware in the skies and sea around the Taiwan Straits following US Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit last week, the Chinese ambassador to France to issue a chilling warning.

In French he explained that once China took over Taiwan, the people would be "re-educated" -- a word that has been used for Uyghurs in Xinjiang, and currently in Hong Kong.

This threat was reiterated again by the Chinese Ambassador to Australia:

"Once Taiwan is reunited, coming back to the motherland, there might be a process for the people in Taiwan to have a correct understanding of China," he said.

What this means for Australia is that China will take Taiwan back by all possible means, including force if necessary, and what is the nation Down Under going to do about it, also keeping in mind Cheng is being detained.

Is she being used as a political pawn to further China's ambitions with Taiwan? Will Australia stand idly by?

Ardent plea by Cheng's daughter for her to return

If it hasn't already, Australia needs to figure out what its position is, and what it's going to do to get Cheng released.

The veiled threat against democracy is not to be ignored or taken lightly. But at the same time due to the Covid-19 pandemic, China is being crippled economically because of its "zero-Covid" strategy that doesn't seem to be working.

 

China Firing Off in Retaliation

At least 11 missiles were fired in the waters around Taiwan

Following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, China brought out its hardware and started conducting live fire drills around the island.

At least 11 missiles landed in the north, south and east of Taiwan. China is lucky it did not land anywhere else. Meanwhile military vehicles were seen in Xiamen carrying lots of missiles.

China having live fire drills for the next few days

It was a show of force to demonstrate China would follow through with its threat that it plans to take Taiwan, what it considers a "renegade province", back sometime in the future. 

What it has really disrupted is shipments coming out of Taiwan -- that are for China. While there are sanctions against such things as citrus fruits, seafood like scallops and mackerel, and sand -- used to make cement.

It did not sanction things like microchips that China needs for technology...

So perhaps Hong Kong will be the beneficiary of a lot of Taiwanese pineapples? Or maybe not since the Hong Kong government has parroted similar condemnations of Pelosi's visit as Beijing.

There was also a record number of cyberattacks on Taiwan, and it is quite obvious where they came from. But it seems the Taiwanese took this all in stride, familiar with these dangerous tactics for years.

Nevertheless, it's worth noting that China is wasting its energy and military might by firing off these missiles and such. It's the equivalent of a child throwing itself on the floor banging its fists and feet. Not a pretty sight. All this firing of missiles really damage the environment more than anything else. Hardly seems like there are any benefits from firing them into the water.

Pelosi is in Japan and met PM Fumio Kishida

But at the same time other nations in the Pacific Rim should look at what China is doing to Taiwan and think, if and when China invades Taiwan, what are we going to do in response?

This is just the dress rehearsal...

Pelosi's Taiwan Trip, HK Media Victory on NSL

Pelosi received a medal of honour from Tsai this morning

As expected the raging threats did not stop US Speaker Nancy Pelosi from arriving in Taiwan, meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen and even receiving a medal of honour for standing firm in safeguarding freedom, democracy and human rights.

PLA have surrounded the island doing live drills

Nevertheless, China is retaliating by holding live military drills surrounding Taiwan, more than it did in 1996. The live-fire drills will apparently continue until Thursday, though it is not clear how much longer Pelosi will be in Taiwan.

And as usual the Taiwanese people are cool as cucumbers, unmoved by the latest fiasco, but for the most part pleased to see such public support for their country.

Meanwhile a very important ruling happened yesterday in Hong Kong with regards to national security law cases.

In a landmark ruling, reporting restrictions regarding the transfer of criminal cases to the High Court must be lifted if the defendant makes such a request.

This came about after lawyer and activist Chow Hang-tung challenged a magistrate's decision to retain reporting restrictions on national security law cases.

Chow was arrested for her part in the June 4 vigil

On Tuesday, High Court Judge Alex Lee said that magistrates had no say in whether to lift reporting restrictions on committal hearings if the accused had applied to do so.

Chow is facing charges of inciting and taking part in illegal assembly of the 2020 June 4 candlelight vigil, and for organising the vigil the following year, as she is the then vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China.

She along with the group's other leaders, Albert Ho Chun-yan, and Lee Cheuk-yan were charged with incitement to subversion under the national security law.

She filed the judicial review in May after Principal Magistrate Peter Law's decision in April to reject her request to lift reporting restrictions.

This ruling is significant in terms of press freedom, but also in helping people understand what happens in the court proceedings for a national security law case. It also gives some transparency and accountability with regards to the judicial system.

High Court Judge Lee allows reporting NSL cases

The government will not be pleased, especially Beijing. But hey -- if they want people to know more about the national security law, watching the cases through reports from the media -- gives people a better idea of what it's all about. 

China Issues Threats Ahead of Pelosi in Taiwan

Pelosi met with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee in first stop

While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not announce she would visit Taiwan during her Asian tour, it looks very likely she will be touching down Tuesday evening, then meet President Tsai Ing-wen in the morning, and afterwards address parliament.

Naturally China is enraged like a tiger pacing in its cage and spewing threats in speeches and social media through its network of diplomats.

Pelosi expected to meet President Tsai 

Beijing has threatened to fire missiles into the Taiwan Strait, send military planes into Taiwan's air defense zone, or stage large-scale naval or air activities that cross traditional lines.

"We would like to tell the United States once again that China is standing by, the Chinese People's Liberation Army will never sit idly by, and China will take resolute response and strong countermeasures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity," said Zhao Lijian, a Foreign Ministry spokesman during a media briefing. "As for what measures, if she dares to go, then let's wait and see."

Well... with Pelosi's visit pretty much confirmed, the ball seems to be in Beijing's court. 

With all the bellicose threats, China has metaphorically painted itself into a corner unless it really does follow through on its words.

There are other reasons to consider why Beijing is so upset over Pelosi's possible visit.

Shanghai completely deserted during lockdown

The domestic situation in China with the zero-Covid policy has irritated and frustrated residents all over the country with the extreme lockdowns, non-stop testing, food shortages and pets beaten and killed if they are infected. 

Shutting down cities like Shanghai for 80 days has cause the country's economy to come to a screeching halt, and tens of thousands of people have lost jobs, while the rich and expats are trying to leave the country. 

There's also an alleged bank scam in Henan province, where account holders were protesting in front of the bank to be able to withdraw money since mid April. It has caused a crisis in confidence in state-owned banks and is still not resolved.

So one can imagine why some sabre rattling against Pelosi would make for a nice distraction from domestic woes.

Henan bank scam led to hundreds protesting

But will the average laobaixing care when they are more concerned about not catching Covid, having enough to eat, or be able to get their money?

Daily necessities are more pressing than geopolitical issues.

On the flip side, the Taiwanese don't seem to care much about the verbal threats from the People's Republic either.

They seem used to these kinds of war of words and are just carrying on with their daily lives, again Covid is more of a priority than Pelosi's visit.

On social media people are suggesting what she should do while in Taipei, including tucking into beef noodles and drinking bubble tea...