What values is the prime minister willing to sacrifice?

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The draconian 20 year imprisonment of Hong Kong dissident and newspaper-owner Jimmy Lai, effectively a death sentence, is a reminder that if we are going to get into bed with China we should be aware that we are soiled by association.

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That is not to say that Canada will overnight become an authoritarian regime bent on jailing its dissidents (Freedom Convoy organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber would rightly give a valid, potent and alternative argument on this point.)

But if we are going to trade with China, and Prime Minister Mark Carney seems most insistent that we do, then we had better be conscious of the danger of having to disregard some of our more onerous scruples — fighting on behalf of brave rebels who are willing to speak out against the corrupt despots of the world, for instance.

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Clearly, Carney is in no hurry to start lecturing the Chinese on........

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