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Joe Varner: China doesn't even have to pressure Canada to keep Liberals in line

Direct coercion may not be largest threat from Beijing

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Remarks from Conservative MP Michael Chong on his recent Taiwan visit should not have required saying.

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“Canada is an independent, sovereign country. We do not take direction from foreign governments on where MPs can travel internationally,” stated Chong on May 17, a day prior to his departure.

Joe Varner: China doesn't even have to pressure Canada to keep Liberals in line Back to video

Yet Beijing’s Ambassador’s response — accusing Canadian parliamentarians of sending “a wrong message of support for Taiwan independence” that “gravely contravene(s)” Canada’s One China policy as defined by Beijing — illustrates the growing effort by the Chinese state to define the acceptable boundaries of Canadian political behaviour.

The larger concern is not simply China’s pressure campaign, but whether Ottawa is gradually conditioning itself to avoid actions that may provoke Beijing before pressure even needs to be applied.

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There’s a growing tendency in western democracies to........

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