Podcast appearances and mentions of Michael Spavor

Der Fall sorgte weltweit für Schlagzeilen: Die Kanadier Michael Kovrig und Michael Spavor wurden im Dezember 2018 in China verhaftet - und saßen mehrere Jahre unter katastrophalen Bedingungen im Gefängnis. Das tragische dabei: Die "two Michaels" waren lediglich Bauernopfer in einem geopolitischen Konflikt. Einen der beiden, Michael Spavor, kenne ich persönlich sehr gut. Der andere, Michael Kovrig, hat nun erstmals in einem längeren Fernsehinterview über seine Erfahrungen berichtet. In dieser Folge des Beijing Briefing erzähle ich dir ganz persönlich, wie ich diesen spektakulären Fall chinesischer Geiseldiplomatie erlebt habe. Kontakt: BeijingBriefing@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Saudações humanos! O cancelamento do festival de comédia pega todo mundo desprevenido, novas sanções contra a Rússia depois da morte de Navalny, o acordo de Michael Spavor com o governo canadense, a piora no estado das Forças Armadas, o desafio das línguas indígenas nos Territórios, Eleanor Collins e muito mais! As controvérsias, desafios e acontecimentos intrigantes nesta edição. Sintonize para análises aprofundadas e informações essenciais de Mar a Mar! Canadá Agora", seu podcast de atualidades do país.

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson: The Hamilton Police Service's Shooting Response Unit has been made permanent. As you heard from Marit Stiles on yesterday's show, the leader of Ontario's new democrats wants Doug Ford's provincial government to remove tolls from the 407 and make it a highway for transport trucks. A carbon fee with your pizza? Goodfellas Wood Oven Pizza chain is planning on pairing the two. You may have seen the story of a gravestone in Peterborough that has been defaced, allegedly by a family member who wished to not have their own name on it. Michael Spavor has reportedly reached a multi-million dollar settlement with the federal government. The Emergencies Act remains unchanged, despite recommendations… where does that leave us, and given our situation in Canada, could we have another convoy? New Leger polling, conducted exclusively for The National Post, found that many Canadians think Canada is broken and are angry with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Canada's military in a recruitment “death spiral”? Defence Minister Bill Blair says that may be the case. Guests: Detective Sergeant Steve Bereziuk of the Hamilton Police Service, oversees the Shooting Response Team Dr. Ian Lee, Associate Professor with the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University Moshe Lander, Senior Economics Lecturer with Concordia University Steve Joordens, Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto Charles Burton, Senior Fellow with the Centre for Advancing Canada's Interests Abroad at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute Phil Gurski, President of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting, former CSIS analyst Andrew Enns, Executive Vice-President, Central Canada, for Leger Dr. Jack Cunningham, Ph.D., Program Coordinator at the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History, in Trinity College and the Munk School, University of Toronto Scott Radley, host of the Scott Radley show and columnist with the Hamilton Spectator Host – Scott Thompson Content Producer – William Erskine Technical/Podcast Producer – Tom McKay Podcast Co-Producer – Ben Straughan News Anchor – Dave Woodard & Jen McQueen Want to keep up with what happened in Hamilton Today? Subscribe to the podcast! https://megaphone.link/CORU8835115919

THE MEDICAL RECORD:   HOW EFFECTIVE WERE OVER THE COUNTER COVID-19 RAPID TEST KITS? Libby Znaimer is joined by Dr. Malcolm Moore, Medical Oncologist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre,  Dr. Fahad Razak, Canada Research Chair in Healthcare Data and Analytics at the University of Toronto and Dr. Sohail Gandhi, an Ontario based family physician and a past President of the Ontario Medical Association. It's Wednesday time to talk about your health. And there was a huge uptick in Covid cases before the holidays which I am sure is spiking even more after all the Christmas gatherings and the shopping in crowds. Meanwhile, a new report says those ubiquitous home test kits aren't as accurate as we thought and the company behind them fudged some of the results in order to get the multi million dollar contract. And there's a new study on physician burnout - again some of that must be related to the holidays. And two of our panelists were working over Christmas. So did a young emergency doctor who was a guest at our home. She left early to start her overnight shift on the 25th. OTTAWA'S SETTLEMENT FOR THE TWO MICHAELS Libby Znaimer is joined by Bob Richardson, Senior Council, National Public Relations and Phil Gurski, President of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting, and a former senior strategic analyst at CSIS Ottawa is ready to finalize a settlement with the two Michaels who were detained in China for nearly three years. The feds will reportedly provide each of them with around $3 million in compensation though Michael Spavor's lawyer is seeking $10.5 from Ottawa. Our panel weighs in. ONLINE PETITION WANTS TO REVERSE YONGE-DUNDAS NAME CHANGE Libby Znaimer is joined by Daniel Tate and Jonny Pottins--both concerned citizens, taxpayers and co-organizers of an online petition to reverse the name change of Yonge-Dundas Square. Toronto City Council has made the decision to rename Yonge-Dundas square to Sankofa Square--a decision that will cost taxpayers millions. But now there is an online petition written by Jonny Pottins and Dan Tate which is going strong with a target of reaching 100,000 signatures. The petition right now has reached just over 15,000 signatures. Both Dan and Jonny say this isn't just a matter of saving our hard earned money; it is also very much about preserving our history. If you wish to visit the online petition go to change.org/p/stop-the-renaming-of-dundas-in-toronto

In this podcast, Kushal speaks with Daniel Bordman about two separate topics. They start the podcast by talking about two Canadian Michaels. In 2018, Canada apprehended Huawei's top financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, who is also the daughter of the Chinese tech giant's founder, in response to an American warrant claiming fraud. The problem worsened when China arrested two Canadians, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, on spying allegations within days. The Western world rallied with Canada, claiming that the two Michaels' arrests were nothing more than Chinese reprisals. However, a report in Canada's 'Globe and Mail' citing two individuals claims Spavor is now suing Ottawa for multi-million-dollar compensation amid charges that he was "unwittingly" made an espionage agent. They then talk about the controversy surrounding the Hanuman Idol that will be built in Khalistani den Brampton, which has seen countless anti-India and anti-Hindu acts. On social media, the Hanuman statue provoked Hinduphobic insults. Many people grumbled about the statue's "in your face" size, while others urged for an immediate halt to all immigration into Canada. The nearly finished Hanuman statue will be revealed on Hanuman Jayanti in April of next year. Follow Daniel: Twitter: @Ranting4Canada #Brampton #Hanuman #CanadianSpies #China ------------------------------------------------------------ Listen to the podcasts on: SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/kushal-mehra-99891819 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1rVcDV3upgVurMVW1wwoBp Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-c%C4%81rv%C4%81ka-podcast/id1445348369 Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-carvaka-podcast ------------------------------------------------------------ Support The Cārvāka Podcast: Become a Member on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKPx... Become a Member on Fanmo: https://fanmo.in/the_carvaka_podcast Become a Member on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/carvaka UPI: kushalmehra@icici To buy The Carvaka Podcast Exclusive Merch please visit: http://kushalmehra.com/shop ------------------------------------------------------------ Follow Kushal: Twitter: https://twitter.com/kushal_mehra?ref_... Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KushalMehraO... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecarvakap... Koo: https://www.kooapp.com/profile/kushal... Inquiries: https://kushalmehra.com/ Feedback: kushalmehra81@gmail.com Want to create live streams like this? Check out StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5690506426187776

30 novembre 2023 Selon plusieurs médias, le gouvernement fédéral doit annoncer aujourd'hui qu'il accorde, sans appel d'offres, un contrat de plusieurs milliards $ à l'entreprise américaine Boeing: Ottawa lui achètera 16 avions pour remplacer la flotte d'avions de surveillance de l'Aviation royale canadienne.Google s'est entendue avec Ottawa pour financer les médias canadiensÀ 3 semaines de l'entrée en vigueur de la Loi sur les nouvelles en ligne (C-18), le gouvernement fédéral a annoncé que Google s'est engagée à verser 100 millions $ par an aux médias d'information canadiens. Le montant annuel sera indexé sur l'inflation. Vous souvenez sans doute de la saga des deux Michael, deux canadiens qui sont restés détenus pendant plus de 1000 jours en Chine, de 2018 à 2021.Michael Spavor a récemment allégué que son co-détenu, Michael Kovrig, serait à l'origine de leur détention. Spavor soutient qu'il a donné à Kovrig des informations sur la Corée du Nord, et que Kovrig les a ensuite communiquées à des agences de renseignement. Ces allégations tendraient à valider la version de la Chine, qui sutenait que les deux Michael avait été emprisonnés pour cause d'espionnage.Mais dans une déclaration transmise cette semaine à plusieurs médias, Kovrig a nié ces allégations. À l'Assemblée nationale à Québec, les députés ont adopté une motion soutenue par plusieurs partis pour dénoncer de récents propos de la Commission canadienne des droits de la personne. Aux États-Unis, le ministère de la justice accuse un citoyen indien d'avoir participé à un complot dirigé par un employé du gouvernement indien en vue d'assassiner, à New York, un citoyen américain et leader sikh. La 28e Conférence des Nations unies sur les changements climatiques (Cop 28) commence aujourd'hui à Dubaï, aux Émirats arabes unis. Elle se tient jusqu'au 12 décembre.Si le sujet vous intéresse, vous trouverez sur notre site un article sur la situation et les enjeux actuels, et le lexique spécifique aux Cop, ces rencontres annuelles qui ont lieu depuis 1995. à lire àujourd'hui à: https://infobref.com/ouverture-cop28-2023-11/ La pénurie de main-d'œuvre fait perdre plus de 8 milliards $ aux PMELe prix des chalets de ski a poursuivi sa croissanceLa Banque du Canada commence à dessiner les contours d'un futur dollar numériqueLa Caisse de dépôt investit dans Solotech, une entreprise de Montréal spécialisée dans la location, vente et exploitation d'équipements audiovisuels, d'éclairage et de télécommunications pour des évènements et des centres de divertissement. --- Détails sur ces nouvelles et autres nouvelles: https://infobref.com S'abonner aux infolettres gratuites d'InfoBref: https://infobref.com/infolettres Écouter le balado d'InfoBref et voir comment s'y abonner sur les principales plateformes de balado: https://infobref.com/audio Commentaires et suggestions à l'animateur Patrick Pierra, et information sur la commandite de ce balado: editeur@infobref.com Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig – known as the two Michaels – were both detained by Chinese authorities on December 10, 2018. That was the start of their 1,020-day imprisonment, in which Beijing accused the men of procuring and sharing Chinese state secrets.Now, two years after their release, one of the Michaels alleges that he was only detained because of information he provided to the other Michael, that was in turn passed onto the Canadian government.Globe and Mail Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife broke the story with colleague Steven Chase. Robert explains the allegations, what the Canadian government is saying now and what this means in the claims of hostage diplomacy between Canada and China.Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

Host Alex Pierson speaks with Michel Juneau Katsuya, a former chief of Asia-Pacific for CSIS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seg 1: The legacy of The Really Terrible Orchestra of Triangles The Really Terrible Orchestra of the Triangle, inspired by a similar concept from England's Portsmouth Sinfonia, is an orchestra where musicians of varying skill levels come together to play music without the pressure of perfection.  Guest: Dr. Robert Petters, Conductor of The Really Terrible Orchestra of Triangles Seg 2: Scott's Thoughts Has Black Friday gone out of fashion with less that impressive sales and discounts? Guest: Scott Shantz, Contributor for Mornings with Simi Seg 3: View from Victoria:  It was a happy event, with much to celebrate, including David Eby's anniversary as premier. The Vancouver Sun's Vaughn Palmer is here with his take on the day's headlines. Seg 4: How screening for synthetic drugs can prevent toxic drug overdoses A collaboration between UBC and the BC Provincial Toxicology Centre aimed to refine the identification process of emerging "designer drugs." Guest: Dr. Michael Skinnider, Study Lead and Assistant Professor of Integrated Genomics at Princeton University Seg 5: What's causing the feud between the Two Michaels? Michael Spavor is accusing his fellow Canadian detainee, Michael Kovrig, of unwittingly contributing to their detention by inadvertently passing information to Canadian authorities and allied intelligence services.  Guest: Robert Fife, Ottawa Bureau Chief for The Globe and Mail Seg 6: What are this year's Black Friday retail trends? The sales period has evolved, now spanning from October through December, a critical phase for retail success. This extended period significantly impacts the fiscal success of many retailers, though not universally beneficial. Guest: David Ian Gray, Founder and Strategist at Retail Advisory DIG360 Seg 7: What is the NDP expecting from the Fall Economic Statement? The Federal Liberals are preparing to unveil their Fall Fiscal Update, as so many Canadians continue to struggle with affordability. Scott Shantz spoke to the leader of the Federal NDP Jagmeet Singh about what his party hopes to see announced. Guest: Jagmeet Singh, Leader of the Federal New Democratic Party Seg 8: How far are people willing to go for fame? Tyler Funk, a Burnaby filmmaker, explores the allure and perils of seeking online fame in his documentary "Anything For Fame." Guest: Tyler Funk, Director of “Anything for Fame” on Paramount+ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Spavor is accusing his fellow Canadian detainee, Michael Kovrig, of unwittingly contributing to their detention by inadvertently passing information to Canadian authorities and allied intelligence services.  Guest: Robert Fife, Ottawa Bureau Chief for The Globe and Mail Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Toronto-area MP Han Dong is denying allegations that he worked against the release of ‘the two Michaels' in 2021. His denial comes in the wake of a story from Global News that alleges Dong advised a senior Chinese diplomat in Toronto to delay the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, two Canadians being held in Chinese detention. Meanwhile, calls for a public inquiry into foreign election interference grow louder. Today, CBC's chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton brings us up to speed on the latest escalation in allegations of Chinese government interference in Canadian affairs. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Trudeau Loses Dong Canadian Liberal MP Han Dong has resigned from his party after new allegations he recommended the Chinese Communists keep two Canadians imprisoned to help Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's election campaign. The now-former Liberal Party MP has been accused of advising a Chinese diplomat to delay the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, known in Canada as the “Two Michaels,” who were in Chinese custody for over two years in what was seen by many as retribution for the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2023/03/23/trudeau-loses-dong-mp-embroiled-in-china-interference-scandal-resigns-from-liberals/ Justin Trudeau: ‘Non-Diverse' AI Engineers May Develop ‘Evil' Algorithms During a... View Article

This week in Canadian and Nova Scotian law stories involves a range of issues from the Mass Casualty Commission to treason allegations, a DUI Charter breach analyzed by the Supreme Court, and problems with the reaction to the knife incident this week at the C.P. Allen high school in Bedford. The Mass Casualty Commission may be trolling us. Their final report is being released next Thursday, and yet they are still releasing 'new' material, and being coy about how long their final report will be. A report on what should have been a major area of analysis of the MCC, cross border gun smuggling, was released yesterday - and the report was dated July 23, 2020. Also, the Commissioners are telling us that their final report will be between 2000-3000 pages. They may know the actual number by this time, but for some reason are still giving a very wide range. The NS Department of Justice has released it's business plan, as part of the Provincial budget. There is no mention of the MCC in the list of priority areas, or of police reform. The National Citizens Inquiry, which is a privately funded initiative looking into the government handling of the pandemic, was in Truro last week. This inquiry has been flying under the radar, though has big ambitions. Hopefully, a credible final report will emerge from the process. Liberal MP Han Dong has resigned from caucus after allegations emerged that he was undermining efforts to free Canadian hostages Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. Journalist Stephen Mahar wondered on twitter whether this could be considered Treason under our Criminal Code, and I examine that question. The Supreme Court of Canada rendered a decision this week on an impaired driving case. They ruled that, despite the accused being arbitrarily detained, the evidence against him should be admitted, and a conviction entered. In their Year in Review, the Supreme Court highlighted their independence from government, and included as their featured decision the Bissonette mosque shooter case where they determined the accused could not have consecutive periods of parole ineligibility. Finally, I look at this week's knife incident that shut down the C.P. Allen High School in Bedford. The Teacher's Union seems to be hinting they need more money for hallway supervision, and the Crown has (prematurely, and problematically) announced that they will be seeking an adult sentence for the 15-year old accused.

The Hamilton Today Podcast with Scott Thompson This Saturday, March 25th, Colin Linden will be performing songs off of his most recent album, bLOW. You can catch the show at The Mule Spinner – inside The Cotton Factory. Late on Wednesday afternoon, Global News Reporter Sam Cooper broke with a report that two separate, anonymous national security sources allege that in February of 2021, Liberal MP Han Dong of Don Valley North – who is at the centre of Chinese influence allegations – privately advised Han Tao, China's consul general in Toronto, that Beijing should hold off freeing Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. Sam Cooper joins Scott to talk about this. Scott also covers how this story has impacts in several different realms. With the allegations from the two anonymous sources now casting greater suspicion on Canada's government – potentially beyond even the ruling party – we look at what this means for “the teflon Prime Minister” Justin Trudeau. In the middle of all the excitement stirred up around the story of Liberal MP Han Dong, U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to Canada begins today. Guests: Colin Linden, singer, guitarist, songwriter and record producer, member of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings Sam Cooper, National Investigative Journalist, Global News Elissa Freeman, PR and Pop Culture Expert Jeffrey Dvorkin, Senior Fellow at Massey College, Former Director of Journalism at the University of Toronto-Scarborough and Author of Trusting the News in a Digital Age Christian Leuprecht, Professor at both the Royal Military College of Canada and Queen's University, and a Fellow at the Macdonald Laurier Institute Henry Jacek. Professor of Political Science, McMaster University Elliot Tepper, Emeritus Professor of Political Science with Carleton University Scott Radley, Host of the Scott Radley Show and Columnist with the Hamilton Spectator Host – Scott Thompson Content Producer – William Erskine Technical/Podcast Producer - Ben Straughan News Anchor – David Woodard, Jennifer McQueen Want to keep up with what happened in Hamilton Today? Subscribe to the podcast! https://megaphone.link/CORU8835115919

L’avocat criminaliste, Me Alexandre Bergevin, défend son client Me Emile-Haim Benamor, propriétaire de l’immeuble incendié dans le Vieux-Montréal jeudi dernier. Système de santé: Québec souhaite revoir le financement des opérations dans les hôpitaux pour réduire les listes d’attentes. Après avoir supposément conseillé un haut diplomate chinois de retarder la libération de Michael Kovrig et Michael Spavor, le député libéral Han Dong quitte le caucus libéral. Malgré des bris mécaniques prolongés de machinerie au Centre de tri de Lachine, Société VIA affirme ne pas envoyer de verre au dépotoir depuis leur arrivée à titre d’exploitant. En comité parlementaire sur les violences dans le hockey junior, Danièle Sauvageau a admis sa déception face à l’inaction de la Ligue canadienne de hockey. Voir https://www.cogecomedia.com/vie-privee/fr/ pour notre politique de vie privée

Canada là nhà đầu tư nước ngoài lớn thứ 14 tại Việt Nam tính đến tháng 11/2021 với 231 dự án trị giá 4,81 tỷ đô la. Việt Nam là đối tác thương mại hàng đầu của Canada trong khối ASEAN. Từ vài năm gần đây, Canada hướng đến Việt Nam như một nhân tố năng động giữ vai trò quan trọng trong chiến lược Ấn Độ-Thái Bình Dương đang từng bước được Ottawa định hình. Hà Nội cũng có thêm được ủng hộ từ một nước phương Tây để đối phó với những đòi hỏi chủ quyền quá đáng của Trung Quốc ở Biển Đông. Có thể nói năm 2018 đánh dấu bước ngoặt trong chính sách về Ấn Độ-Thái Bình Dương của Canada. Từ né tránh đề cập những tranh chấp ở Biển Đông, chính phủ của thủ tướng Trudeau đã chỉ trích đích danh Trung Quốc và thường xuyên điều chiến hạm đi qua những vùng biển mà Bắc Kinh đơn phương đòi hết chủ quyền để “cho thấy sự ủng hộ của Canada đối với các đối tác và đồng minh thân cận nhất của chúng ta, về an ninh và trật tự quốc tế dựa trên luật pháp” (1). Ngoại trưởng Canada Mélanie Joly được chính phủ ủy nhiệm “phát triển và thực hiện một chiến lược Ấn Độ-Thái Bình Dương toàn diện mới nhằm tăng cường quan hệ đối tác về ngoại giao, kinh tế và quốc phòng”. Tuy nhiên, được nghiên cứu từ khoảng hai năm nay nhưng rất ít thông tin về chiến lược này được tiết lộ, theo trang Radio-Canada ngày 29/01/2022. Giới chuyên gia sốt ruột cảnh báo : “Nếu không có chiến lược Ấn Độ-Thái Bình Dương, Canada sẽ không tham gia vào quá trình thảo các điều luật. Điều đó có nghĩa là Canada có thể bị thiệt vì những điều luật do các nước khác đề ra”. (2) Canada đang tăng tốc để bù lại thời gian bỏ lỡ trong việc định hình chiến lược Ấn Độ-Thái Bình Dương, nơi được cho sẽ chiếm đến hơn một nửa GDP toàn cầu vào năm 2040. Trong chiến lược này, Việt Nam được đánh giá là một nhân tố năng động. Điều này giải thích cho hàng loạt sự kiện gặp gỡ, hợp tác song phương từ quốc phòng đến thương mại giữa Việt Nam và Canada trong những năm 2020 và 2021, theo nhận định của giáo sư Eric Mottet, đại học Công Giáo Lille (Pháp) khi trả lời RFI Tiếng Việt.     RFI : Từ vài năm nay gần đây, Canada đã thay đổi hoàn toàn lập trường về những tuyên bố đòi chủ quyền của Trung Quốc ở Biển Đông và ngày càng tỏ ra quan tâm hơn đến khu vực này. Đâu là những lý do giải thích cho sự thay đổi của Ottawa ? G.S. Eric Mottet : Đúng là Hải Quân Hoàng Gia Canada ngày càng hiện diện thường xuyên hơn ở eo biển Đài Loan và Biển Đông. Rõ ràng là sự hiện diện này ngày càng nhiều hơn so với trước đây, vì phải nói rằng Hải Quân Canada tương đối vắng bóng trong khu vực trong những năm qua. Việc này được giải thích phần nào qua việc chính quyền Ottawa đang suy nghĩ đến một chiến lược Ấn Độ-Thái Bình Dương nên quan sát xem Hoa Kỳ, Liên Hiệp Châu Âu, Nhật Bản, Úc, Ấn Độ làm gì về mặt an ninh trong khu vực này. Canada cân nhắc xem chiến lược của họ ở Thái Bình Dương sẽ ra sao và đi đến kết luận là cần hiện diện quân sự, kể cả lực lượng hải quân, tại các vùng biển ở Ấn Độ-Thái Bình Dương. Điều này cũng giúp Canada thoát khỏi thế kẹt trong xung đột với Trung Quốc, kéo dài nặng nề suốt 3 năm. Canada hy vọng bằng cách nào đó lấy lại thế bình thường trong quan hệ với Trung Quốc. Và để đi đến sự bình thường hóa này, chính quyền Ottawa cho rằng phải hiện diện thường xuyên hơn về mặt hàng hải ở Ấn Độ-Thái Bình Dương, và đặc biệt là ở Biển Đông. RFI : Ông nói là mối quan hệ giữa Trung Quốc và Canada rất căng thẳng trong những năm qua. Nhưng liệu sự hiện diện thường xuyên hơn ở Ấn Độ-Thái Bình Dương, đặc biệt là ở Biển Đông, có làm gia tăng thêm căng thẳng ? G.S. Eric Mottet : Không vì Canada đã củng cố lập trường của họ. Trong suốt 3 năm, các sự kiện liên quan đến Hoa Vi và hai công dân Michael Spavor và Kovrig bị giam giữ ở Trung Quốc đã khiến quan hệ song phương trở nên phức tạp. Trong thời gian dài, Canada đã không biết phải làm thế nào với vấn đề này. Hiện giờ, cả hai ông Michael đã về nước, mối quan hệ song phương dịu đi một chút. Nhưng ngược lại, Canada vẫn khá bất bình về cách Trung Quốc xử lý tình hình đó, nên phải tỏ ra cứng rắn hơn, hung hăng hơn một chút và thể hiện rằng Canada là một nước có thể sẽ hiện diện ở Ấn Độ-Thái Bình Dương, sẽ triển khai một chiến lược đối với khu vực này. Vì thế Canada sẽ hoạt động nhiều hơn ở Ấn Độ-Thái Bình Dương trong tương lai. RFI : Hà Nội có thể đóng vai trò như thế nào trong chiến lược Ấn Độ-Thái Bình Dương của Canada ? G.S. Eric Mottet : Tôi nghĩ là chiến lược của Hà Nội, nhìn một cách rộng hơn, nằm trong chiến lược của khối ASEAN. Đối với tất cả các bên đang nghiên cứu đến chiến lược Ấn Độ-Thái Bình Dương, dù là Hoa Kỳ, Liên Hiệp Châu Âu, Nhật Bản, Úc hay Ấn Độ, đều coi ASEAN là nhân tố trọng tâm trong chiến lược Ấn Độ-Thái Bình Dương của họ. Việt Nam là một thành viên có vai trò lớn trong ASEAN về mặt kinh tế, chính trị và ngoại giao, nên dĩ nhiên các nước trên cũng phải dựa vào Việt Nam. Trong khuôn khổ chiến lược Ấn Độ-Thái Bình Dương của Ottawa, mối quan hệ giữa Việt Nam và Canada sẽ dựa trên các thỏa thuận đã có, như Hiệp định Đối tác Toàn diện và Tiến bộ xuyên Thái Bình Dương (CPTPP) giúp đơn giản hóa trao đổi kinh tế giữa hai nước. Ngoài ra, cũng có thể thấy là Việt Nam sẽ trở thành một điểm tựa chiến lược ở vùng Ấn Độ-Thái Bình Dương cho Canada. Mối quan hệ song phương này còn dựa vào cộng đồng người Việt sinh sống ở Canada, cũng như việc Việt Nam là một đất nước đang trỗi dậy mà hiện cả thế giới đang hướng tới. Ở vùng Ấn Độ-Thái Bình Dương có hai nước rất được chú ý đến là Indonesia và Việt Nam. Các bên hướng đến khu vực này đều chú ý đến Việt Nam, một quốc gia sẽ nằm hoàn toàn trong chiến lược Ấn Độ-Thái Bình Dương của Canada. RFI : Ngày 07/07/2021, Tham vấn Quốc phòng Việt Nam-Canada đã diễn ra ở Hà Nội. Sau đó, Canada đã mở Văn phòng thường trực Tùy viên Quốc phòng ở Hà Nội. Việt Nam sẽ có được những lợi ích gì khi tăng cường quan hệ với Canada về quốc phòng và kinh tế, trong đó phải kể đến việc Hiệp định CPTPP có hiệu lực từ đầu năm 2022 mà cả Việt Nam và Canada cùng tham gia ? G.S. Eric Mottet : Về mặt an ninh, có được sự ủng hộ của Ottawa trong tranh chấp chủ quyền với Trung Quốc ở Biển Đông là điều rất tích cực đối với Việt Nam vì Canada là một nhân tố có trọng lượng, là một nước phương Tây cũng nằm trong vùng Ấn Độ-Thái Bình Dương dù ban đầu Canada ít thể hiện về vấn đề này nhưng giờ thì tỏ rõ hơn. Ngoài ra, đúng là chúng ta thấy Canada đã tăng cường quan hệ đối tác với các nước và thể chế cấp vùng ở Biển Đông. Bộ trưởng Quốc Phòng Canada đã đến dự Hội thảo Quốc tế về Biển Đông tại Hà Nội tháng 11/2020. Ông cũng tham gia nhiều diễn đàn quốc phòng với các nước ASEAN. Hiện giờ, Canada có một tùy viên quân sự ở Việt Nam và một ở Malaysia. Có thể thấy là Việt Nam được Canada nhắm đến là nơi phải thành lập văn phòng tùy viên quân sự và cùng nghiên cứu để ra được một thỏa thuận cụ thể hóa nghị định thư về kế hoạch an ninh (được hai bộ trưởng Quốc Phòng ký năm 2019). Ngoài ra, Hải Quân Canada cũng đã ghé thăm cảng Cam Ranh, miền trung Việt Nam vào tháng 06/2021. Đây là sự kiện đầu tiên kể từ nhiều năm qua. Nhìn chung, có thể thấy là Việt Nam và Canada xích lại gần nhau nhiều hơn về mặt an ninh. Còn về lĩnh vực thương mại, đừng quên rằng Việt Nam là đối tác thương mại chính của Canada trong khối ASEAN. Chính quyền Ottawa cũng thể hiện mong muốn từng bước ưu tiên Việt Nam là đối tác kinh tế và thương mại quan trọng, kể cả thông qua việc nhập khẩu nông sản, thực phẩm hoặc hợp tác về các vấn đề liên quan đến giáo dục, công nghệ, thông tin và truyền thông… Có thể thấy là cả hai nước đang gia tăng quan hệ kinh tế song phương. Tôi muốn nhắc lại lần nữa rằng Canada coi Việt Nam là một nước trong ASEAN, trong vùng Ấn Độ-Thái Bình Dương, cần phải dựa vào trong tương lai, vừa về mặt an ninh, vừa về thương mại và kinh tế. RFI : Có thể thấy là Canada vẫn một mình tiến hành các hoạt động vì tự do lưu thông hàng hải ở Biển Đông hoặc đưa ra nhiều tuyên bố chống lại các hành động đơn phương gây thêm căng thẳng ở trong vùng. Tại sao Canada không tham gia tuần tra chung với Mỹ trong khuôn khổ FONOP ? G.S. Eric Mottet : Đúng là Canada không tham gia các chiến dịch vì tự do lưu thông hàng hải FONOP của Mỹ. Khi biết một chút về chính sách đối ngoại của Canada, chúng ta biết là đối với Ottawa, điều quan trọng là phải duy trì được chính sách, gọi là “lành mạnh” đối với chính sách của Mỹ. Họ sẽ không sao chép hay tham gia một cách triệt để vào mọi sáng kiến, kể cả về an ninh, của Hoa Kỳ. Ottawa chọn con đường riêng, độc lập với Washington, nên không tham gia các chiến dịch của Mỹ. Nhưng hiện tại, ở Ottawa đang diễn ra một cuộc tranh luận về việc tại sao Canada không tham gia và tại sao Canada nên tham giam vào chiến dịch FONOP do Hoa Kỳ chỉ huy ở Biển Đông. Hiện giờ, Ottawa vẫn chưa có câu trả lời chính thức nhưng dường như chính quyền Ottawa không muốn gây bất đồng. Thực ra là giữa Canada và Hoa Kỳ vẫn tồn tại bất đồng về ngả lưu thông ở phía tây bắc : Washington coi đó là tuyến đường hàng hải quốc tế, trong khi Ottawa khẳng định tuyến đường đó thuộc chủ quyền của họ. Và vì đã có một số tranh chấp hàng hải, Canada không muốn tham gia và tạo thêm tiền lệ với Mỹ. Tiếp theo, tôi cho rằng mối quan hệ giữa Ottawa và Bắc Kinh vẫn còn nhiều khúc mắc, có thể vì thế mà Canada không muốn đối đầu thêm với Trung Quốc vì cần nhắc lại là quan hệ song phương vẫn rất xấu và không được cải thiện nhiều cho lắm. Theo tôi, Canada không muốn “đổ thêm dầu vào lửa” trong mối quan hệ vốn đã rất phức tạp và vẫn chưa thấy lối thoát. Ngoài ra, cũng cần phải biết là 70% người dân Canada ác cảm về Trung Quốc. Tôi nghĩ là Ottawa không muốn làm trầm trọng thêm quan điểm này trong dân chúng. RFI Tiếng Việt xin trân thành cảm ơn giáo sư Eric Mottet, trường đại học Công Giáo Lille tại Pháp.  ***** (1) Theo tài liệu của chính phủ Canada liên quan đến chuyến hải hành năm 2020 của chiến hạm NCSM Ottawa ở Biển Đông được trang The Diplomat trích ngày 12/06/2021. (2) L'Indo-Pacifique et le grand rattrapage d'Ottawa, Radio-Canada, 29/01/2022.

When China seized the 'two Michaels' (Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig) in December 2018 it was clearly a retaliation for Canada's arrest, at the behest of the US, of the CFO of Huawei.  Canadians were incensed at this violation of law and blamed China for it.   A new book on this affair, entitled appropriately 'The Two Michaels', is out and Borealis has a chat with one of the authors, Canadian Press journalist Mike Blanchfield.Mike Blanchfield is the international affairs writer for The Canadian Press based in Ottawa. Blanchfield has been a journalist on Parliament Hill since 1998. His reporting has taken him across the world, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  He worked at the Ottawa Citizen for 22 years to 2009, and covered courts and police for eight years. He has graduated Carleton University twice, with his B.J. (hons) in 1987 and his M.J. in 2015.Phil Gurski is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting Ltd. and Programme Director for the Security, Economics and Technology (SET) hub at the University of Ottawa's Professional Development Institute (PDI). He worked as a senior strategic analyst at CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) from 2001-2015, specializing in violent Islamist-inspired homegrown terrorism and radicalisation.►Check Phil's latest book ''The Peaceable Kingdom'' - https://borealisthreatandrisk.com/the-peaceable-kingdom/►Website - https://borealisthreatandrisk.com/►Twitter - https://twitter.com/borealissaves►LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-gurski-8942468/►Email - borealisrisk@gmail.com

Characterised by trade disputes, the detention of its citizens, human rights violations, and growing diplomatic quarrels, tensions between Canada and China have reached an historic high. As both countries begin to emerge from the diplomatic conflict involving the arrest of Huawei's CFO Meng Wanzhou by Canada, at the request of the United States, and the subsequent detainment of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor by China for over a thousand days, in what the Canadian government deemed “hostage diplomacy,” many are wondering where this bilateral relationship will go next. An October 2021 Nanos poll conducted after the release of the two Michaels found that “Canadians were over three times more likely to say that relations between the Canadian government and the Chinese government should be unfriendly rather than friendly.” Despite this, trade between Canada and China continues to grow. Amidst this backdrop, we sit down with two renowned experts on the matter - Professor Paul Evans at the University of British Columbia, and Professor Gordon Holden of the China Institute at the University of Alberta - to discuss the past, present and future of Canada-China relations. How have generations of political leaders and bureaucrats shaped Canada's relationship with China? What strategies were used? And importantly, how have recent events altered Canada's approach to China, and is a new strategy necessary? Guests: Professor Paul Evans - University of British Columbia, HSBC Chair in Asian Research Professor Gordon Houlden - University of Alberta, Director Emeritus of the China Institute Producers: Connor Fraser - Senior Producer Tom Chan - Junior Producer Faria Amin - Executive Producer

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As we head into winter, more focus is returning to tests and rapid tests, and the part they play in keeping the spread of COVID-19 in line. What do you need to do to protect yourself from the modern-day car thieves? When Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor returned to Canada, it would appear that the Chinese government released them under the impression that they're "on bail". Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly has clarified this but what exactly does "on bail" really mean in this context? Small businesses of all stripes are facing a labour shortage. What sort of safety concerns should we have for our 2022 Olympic athletes, and which precautions should be – and will be – taken in Beijing? And the latest edition of Canada's Food Price Report estimates that nearly $1,000 will be added onto the annual grocery bill of the average family of four in 2022. Guests: Thomas Tenkate, Professor at the School of Occupational & Public Health with Ryerson University Lorraine Sommerfeld, Auto Writer with Post Media, Motherlode column in the Hamilton Spec and Host of the Lemon Aid Car Show on RogersTV Charles Burton, Senior Fellow with the Centre for Advancing Canada's Interests Abroad at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute Corinne Pohlmann, senior VP of national affairs with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business Phil Gurski, President of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting, Director of the University of Ottawa's Security program, and former CSIS analyst Maria Corradini, Associate Professor and Arrell Chair in Food Quality with the University of Guelph. Co-author of the Food Price Report 2022 Scott Radley, Drake's biggest fan, Host of The Scott Radley Show, Columnist with the Hamilton Spectator Diana Weeks, anchor with Global News Radio 900 CHML Ted Michaels, anchor with Global News Radio 900 CHML, host of the Health & Wellness Show, super recycler William P. Erskine, producer with Global News Radio 900 CHML   Host - Scott Thompson Content/Technical/Podcast Producer - William P. Erskine Podcast Co-Producer - Ben Straughan News Anchors - Diana Weeks and Ted Michaels Want to keep up with what happened in Hamilton Today? Subscribe to the podcast! https://omny.fm/shows/scott-thompson-show See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Bill Kelly Show Podcast: Dominic Barton, a strong advocate for increased trade with China during his term as ambassador, is stepping down amidst growing pressure from the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden for Ottawa to take a tougher stance with Beijing, foreign policy and national security experts said. Barton, who was appointed by the Trudeau government in September 2019, announced his resignation Monday, citing his success “working to secure the release” of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor as the fulfillment of a priority mission handed to him by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. ALSO: Canada should join diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics says O'Toole GUEST: Dr. Lori Turnbull, Director of the School of Public Administration with Dalhousie University - Are the new Canadian travel restrictions clear? Do travelers know what is expected of them? Are airports concerned with the impact of Omicron during the busy travel season? We saw what happened with the land border - no one knew what to do. ALSO: Most Canadians support strong travel restrictions amid Omicron COVID-19 variant: Poll GUEST: Daniel-Robert Gooch, President of the Canadian Airports Council - The federal government will hand over thousands of previously undisclosed residential school documents to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. In an interview, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said the government has come to the conclusion that continuing to withhold the documents is a breach of Ottawa's “moral duty” to survivors of the schools. GUEST: Dr. Dawn Lavell-Harvard, Director at the First Peoples House of Learning at Trent University - Merck Canada announced on Monday that it is partnering with Thermo Fisher Scientific to manufacture its COVID-19 antiviral drug in Canada for global distribution in a deal Ottawa hopes will help jump-start the country's position as a biomanufacturing centre and better secure its supply chain for future public health emergencies. The existing Thermo Fisher facility in Whitby, Ont. will produce doses of molnupiravir, an investigational drug developed in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, for distribution in Canada, the U.K., the European Union, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, pending approvals in those respective regions. The drug is awaiting approval by Health Canada. GUEST: Marvin Ryder, Professor with the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

La première tempête de neige de la saison s'abat depuis hier soir sur l'est du pays. L'ambassadeur du Canada en Chine, qui a largement contribué à faire libérer de prison Michael Spavor et Michael Kovrig, part avec le sentiment du devoir accompli. | Mathieu Belhumeur (journaliste-présentateur)

“She basically bought her way out of the U.S. criminal justice system, even though she admitted to committing all the egregious conduct in the indictment,” says Kash Patel. Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou was recently given a deferred prosecution agreement and allowed to return to China. And almost immediately after, the “two Michaels” imprisoned in China—Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor—were released on bail for “medical reasons.” And lesser-known are two American siblings—blocked from leaving China since 2018—who were also recently allowed to return to the United States. In this episode of Kash's Corner, we discuss what many are describing as “hostage diplomacy.” What exactly was Huawei doing in Iran in the first place, and how is Huawei part of the Chinese Communist Party's broader ambitions to control key infrastructure nodes around the globe?

Episode Notes:Today's guest is Joanna Chiu, a long-time journalist covering China from both inside and outside the country, co-founder and chair of the editorial collective 'NüVoices 女性之音', and the author of the new book "China Unbound." She now covers Canada-China issues for the Toronto Star. Joanna, welcome to the podcast.4:20 on Huawei, Meng Wanzhou and the two Michaels - when the whole Huawei, Meng Wanzhou saga was unfolding, I got so many questions from not just Canadian journalists, but media around the world about what was going on. I think it's surprising to us because we've been in the China-watching bubble, but more broadly, what happened was very shocking for a lot of people all over the world23:20 people like me and my family aren't fully accepted as Canadians or as Australians or as Americans, it's always like a hyphen, like Chinese-Canadian, Chinese-American. That just plays into what Beijing wants. When people of Chinese descent are taken as political prisoners or get calls from Chinese police saying, "Stop supporting Hong Kong on social media or stop doing this," these people get less attention. They're not taken seriously when they try to report what's happening because unfortunately a lot of people in the West have accepted the CCP's myth that we're still essentially Chinese36:20 on Canada-China relations - in Canada, the mood after the Michaels returned and the Meng case was resolved is that they really want to go back to business as usual. To not have any kind of plan in place on how to prevent Canadian hostages from being taken in the future. The Prime Ministers office really steering this even though other parts of government was like, "We need some sort of plan, we need some sort of update to foreign policy in general." There's very little political will.Links: China Unbound on Amazon. Joanna Chiu’s websiteNüVoices 女性之音Transcript:Bill:Hi everyone, today's guest is Joanna Chiu, a long-time journalist covering China from both inside and outside the country, co-founder and chair of the editorial collective 'NüVoices', and the author of the new book "China Unbound." She now covers Canada-China issues for the Toronto Star. Joanna, welcome to the podcast.Joanna:Thank you Bill, thanks for having me on your new podcast, very exciting.Bill:Thanks, yeah you are the second guest, and so I'm really happy to have this opportunity to speak with you. Before we dig into your book, could you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you ended up where you are and doing what you do?Joanna:Okay. I guess my bio is that my family is one of the many who left Hong Kong after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests because my parents were worried about what would happen going forward. So growing up in Canada, I felt that China was actually part of my whole family story because what happened led to my family uprooting themselves. So I was always really interested in China and studied Chinese history and wanted to return to be a reporter to chronicle what was happening in the country, which I was so fascinated by.Joanna:So I started reporting on the ground in Hong Kong in 2012, covering all the things that happened there including the Occupy to pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. I moved to Beijing in 2014 and that's where I started covering basically everything in the whole country for European media outlets, including German, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, and AFP (Agence France-Presse). And I guess my career was a bit unique in that I also free-lanced for several stints. So I got to kind of get a sense of what many different jurisdictions and countries wanted to know about China in my time there writing for all sorts of outlets.Bill:Interesting and so I was there until 2015 and I think we overlapped for just about a year. When did you actually leave China to go back to Canada?Joanna:Yeah, I left China in late 2018. I wanted to stay for longer because even seven years on the ground I felt I barely got to scratch the surface of all the things that I could write about in China. Especially because I had such a broad remit where I was a front-line reporter for all of these major events but also could do basically any feature story I wanted. So it was just totally open and I could have stayed there for decades, but I had to go back to Canada. I got asthma from the smog and I think my Canadian lungs just couldn't handle air. I was just like really allergic to Beijing as soon as I landed and I stuck it out for four years. But back in Canada, I felt I would have to move on from my passion and interest in China, but a couple of months after I returned, Meng Wanzhou, a Huawei executive was detained in the Vancouver International Airport. And just over a week later, two Michaels were detained. So definitely I think that was the biggest China story at the time, and it continued to be very impactful around the world.Joanna:So I started covering that and it just led to basically being a reporter for the Toronto Star, focusing on China. And that's what I've been doing since then. I have also been working on my book since early 2019. So not my plan, but definitely the past decade has been very China focused, including my last few years.Bill:It's great, I've always been a fan of your work, and I will say, it's very interesting how many foreign correspondents used to live in China have left the country. Some willingly, some not willingly, but how it turns out how most of them have found jobs covering how China's impacting the world wherever they're now based.Joanna:Mm-hmm (affirmative).Bill:I think that's a good segue into talking about your book because it really is true that the China story is everywhere now. And that's something, I think, you try and capture in "China Unbound." So tell us who you wrote it for, why you wrote it, and what do you hope that the readers take away from it?Joanna:Mm-hmm (affirmative). So when the whole Huawei, Meng Wanzhou saga was unfolding, I got so many questions from not just Canadian journalists, but media around the world about what was going on. I think it's surprising to us because we've been in the China-watching bubble, but more broadly, what happened was very shocking for a lot of people all over the world. They didn't know the context of Beijing's political system and its increasing ... how its authoritarianism translates also into its foreign policy and its stances towards different countries and diaspora groups all over the world. But these things were not just stories I covered, but stories that were close to my life. Because growing up, my father worked for a Chinese-Canadian radio station and people were talking already then about pressure to self-censor, pressure from the Chinese embassy on Canadian media outlets. This was happening in the 90s and people of Chinese descent around the world were trying to have discussions about this, but basically not really getting much traction or broader public attention.Joanna:It did seem ... I will ask you if this is what you felt, but it took two white men from Canada being taken hostage over this high-profile executive's arrest in Canada for a lot of people in the world to be like, "Wait, what's going on? How will Beijing's political system and authoritarianism possibly impact me and my family or my country or my business?" So I wrote this book for basically everyone, targeting the general reader because I really try to be as immediate as possible in my writing. Most of the reporting is eyewitness reporting from myself in collaboration with journalists around the world and looking at how we got to this point. Western countries and China, how we got to this point where it seems like a lot of obstacles that seem insurmountable. All of these tensions, all of these worries.Joanna:I wanted for people to start with this book and then I provided this long reading list at the end so they can continue to be engaging with these issues. Because I feel that we might not have really noticed, but a lot of the narratives around China in the mainstream public have been very very simplified. And that is a disservice to all countries. And especially to the people who end up being targets and whose lives end up being affected by some of these big conflicts going on.Bill:What you said earlier about it really taking two white men, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig to get people's attention. It's interesting because these pressures have existed, as you said talking about your father and his experience, but these pressures on the diaspora have existed for decades. They've certainly intensified, and you have multiple instances of ethnic Chinese who are jailed in China, American, Australian, where it didn't seem to kind of capture the national attention the way that the detention of the two Michaels did. And that's unfortunate, but it does feel like the conversation and awareness now has shifted and so there's a lot more awareness that these kind of pressures are existing across all sorts of communities. You can tell me I'm wrong, but the Chinese government has also shifted its approach, hasn't it? Sort of widened its net in terms of how they pressure?Joanna:Yeah, so in the past, you know the united front, a lot of that work of foreign influence in both intimidation and providing carrots and sticks. Flattering global politicians and global members of the elite among the diaspora have been going on, but the most harsh efforts of influence in the past I think were mostly directed at people of Asian descent. It was only in more recent years where the really harsh tactic, the detentions, have been applied to foreign nationals who are not of Asian descent. It seems like that is a deliberate shift in tactics, would you agree?Bill:No, I would. And I think it's interesting when you look at sort of who they've targeted, especially around the Meng Wanzhou case. Two Canadians were very quickly arrested, a third Canadian who had been convicted of dealing drugs had a re-sentence to death. There's still no word about Schellenberg's fate in the wake of the Meng Wanzhou deal. But I think that one thing that's interesting is they've yet to target Caucasian Americans. And so far, certainly what I was fearing in the Meng Wanzhou incident was that ... someone had told me that they had put together lists who they might target but they held back because part of the messaging is they're at least today not quite ready to go toe-to-toe with the U.S.. But willing to penalize countries and the citizens of the countries that are seen as effectively being U.S. allies or lackeys depending on who you're speaking with. Does that make sense?Joanna:Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yeah, that makes sense. And my book, people have said that because I'm Canadian and I spotlight countries and experiences like Australia, Italy, Greece, Turkey. So so-called middle powers, that middle-power perspective, whereas many books out of the U.S. and China have it from the U.S. perspective.Bill:Right, right.Joanna:And I think that's important context for Americans to understand because in America, it seems like a lot of it is about this almost glorious competition with China where the U.S. has to win. I have been kind of mortified that people commenting on my book have said things like, "We need to read this so that we can win and not let China win." Things like that. But if they had actually read it, they would have probably seen that that's not right. I criticize the Western nations' handling and attitudes towards China as much as I criticize Beijing's actions. So I would also point out that Australian journalists who are white were affecting. Bill Birtles and Michael Smith spent days holed up in their Australian embassies in China. Basically fleeing because they got tipped off that otherwise they might get detained. Related to Australia's more aggressive critical stance towards China as of late.Bill:And also-Joanna:It does seem-Bill:Sorry, was it also related to the detention of Australian Chinese ... Australian journalist Cheng Lei who was originally Chinese then naturalized into Australian citizenship. And she's disappeared into the system in China, right?Joanna:Yeah, so Cheng Lei ... Again, while she's not a global household name like the two Michaels, she is actually detained. Her case ... we know very little about it, but it seems very clear it's related to the political situation between the two countries. And also Bloomberg journal Haze Fan ... and I think actually Haze's case might be as close as China has gotten so far to targeting Americans because even though a Chinese national, she worked for Bloomberg. She was a prominent journalist for Bloomberg. So it's interesting because writing this book, I'm trying to provide this nuance and context for the public but under so much pressure because of global contexts. Things are so tense that it could get worse at any moment and you don't know. You're hearing from your sources about a list that they were preparing of Americans they could possibly target. The stakes are so high.Joanna:Both of us, these are people we know. I don't know if you knew Kovrig, but it's a relief that he's back.Bill:Not well, but I did know a little bit.Joanna:For the more than 1,000 days he was in detention, I was writing this book and that was always on my mind. It's so immediate and it's so urgent for more people to understand what's going on rather than I think fanning the flames or making things worse or not using the opportunities there are to engage more productively with China. But we see the dialogue on China becoming so toxic right now, where it's almost as if there's two camps. The more extreme on both sides seem to get more airtime and interest. And people want those nuggets of talking points on China that really signify this is how we fight back. Rather than the people who are trying to provide a lot more context. It's not as easy as doing this or that to resolve everything or get what you want.Bill:Well with what you said earlier about sort of "we have to win," I have yet to see a clear definition of the theory of victory and what it is. The other thing I'd say, and this will lead into my next question is, we talk about in many ways how toxic the discourse has gotten in the West. It's also incredibly toxic inside China in very worrisome ways. And in many ways, sort of state-supported and state-encouraged ways. One of the questions I want to ask you is how we ... So first question is as you talk about in the book and you've talked about in other places, this whole discussion around Chinese Communist Party influence or interference in other countries ... Whether it's through the United Front or other means or vectors ... How do we differentiate what we should actually, "we" being the countries that are targeted ... How should you differentiate what actually matters that people should be concerned with versus that's the normal thing that a foreign government would do to try and improve other countries' perceptions of that country and advance their interests in those countries.Bill:And related, as this discourse does get more toxic, how do we talk about these things without tipping into racism? In the U.S. certainly, we have a really long and nasty history of anti-Asian and specifically anti-Chinese racism. And there are a lot of reasons to be very worried about going too far where we're back in a very dark place in terms of how people of Asian and Chinese descent are treated in this country. But at the same time, there are real issues and potential threats coming from some of these PRC activities. So how do we talk about that in a way that effectively deals with the problems but also makes sure that people are safe and able to enjoy the rights that they deserve and have?Joanna:Yeah and that's why I try to provide a lot of that history concisely within each chapter of the book because we need to know what happened before to know to be a lot more careful with our language and our actions now. Because definitely it just seems like history is repeating itself during the McCarthy era. Chinese-Americans' loyalties are constantly questioned, they lost their jobs. And now former President Trump has said that he thinks basically all students are possibly Chinese spies. We've seen these prosecutions of certain Chinese national scientist professors in America that were basically pretty embarrassing.Bill:Yes.Joanna:It seemed a lot of the suspicions were unfounded and it was almost like a witch-hunt which is really difficult. When things seemed politicized and politically motivated and you put a blanket suspicion on all these people, it's exactly what happened in the past.Bill:Mm-hmm (affirmative)Joanna:And it's not just America. It was in Canada, Australia, Europe. In Canada, we had internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II. And people know that this is in the background. And even before things got more tense when a lot of the approach among Western countries towards China was that the goal was to expand trade ties and economic ties as much as possible, there was still a lot of racism. Walking down the street, I got called slurs like the c-word in downtown Vancouver multiple times.Bill:Recently?Joanna:Throughout my life living in Canada. In Vancouver, particularly, there was a long-standing stereotype of the crazy rich Asian that was ruining the city with our Maseratis and condo buying.Bill:Wasn't there a reality show that was based on rich Chinese in Vancouver, I think?Joanna:Yeah, there was that and there's a lot of scapegoating against East Asians for lots of problems with COVID-19 and all this with the two Michaels in Huawei. This just really spiked particularly in countries like Canada, U.S., Australia with the large Chinese diaspora in many places. People who weren't even Chinese, like an indigenous woman in Canada, she was punched in the face. Things like that. And its not like we can throw up our hands and be like, "People are just going to be racist, this is just going to happen." I think a lot of people in positions of influence and politicians need to take responsibility for what they've done to stoke this behavior and not condone it. So talking to certain politicians in Canada in the conservative party, they tell me that there's been a shift in strategy to talk about China as the Chinese Communist Party, the communist regime, to deliberately stir up a red scare. In the U.S. definitely, the FBI in an announcement about one of its investigations into a Chinese American scientist said the words "Chinese Communist regime" or "Chinese Communist government" five times.Bill:That was the announcement about the MIT professor, was it Chen Gang, I think?Joanna:Yeah, I think so.Bill:The prosecutor or the FBI folks up in Boston, I believe.Joanna:Right. Yeah, that was the one. And it's just not necessary. You don't need to ... My argument is that the facts about what Beijing is doing are urgent and sobering enough. You don't really need to embellish it with this language of trying to get people scared of this Communist entity. But perhaps it's more to do with domestic politics in each place. Someone explained it to me in the U.S. where pretty much everyone is critical of China. You don't get more attention by just being moderately critical, you have to be really more extreme. It's as if it's like a competition to be as hawkish as possible to get that acclaim and public support.Bill:And as you said, it's unnecessary because as you just said, the facts can speak for themselves in many areas. And it again, it goes back to how do we have rational discussion about what the problems and challenges are without tipping over into something that's really nasty and scary. It's something I struggle with, obviously in my newsletter, I have ... It's funny when you write about China, I have people who think I'm a CCP apologist and people who think I'm way too hawkish. You sort of can't win, it's such a fraught topic that it is something I struggle with. Because you certainly don't want to be in a position where you're stirring things up, but at the same time you can't just throw up your hands and say, "Well we're not going to deal with this because it's too dangerous." I mean, it's too dangerous the other way too, right? But it's really difficult, and the question I have is, do you think the powers in Beijing understand this? Is this something they try to use or leverage?Joanna:Oh yeah, I think so. I think it plays right into what Beijing wants. Because the myth it has been promoting for years is that China is the center of Chinese civilization even if your family has been away from China for generations, you're still Chinese. And since you're still Chinese, your de-facto leader is still the CCP. It's a legitimate power for all Chinese people. Because people like me and my family aren't fully accepted as Canadians or as Australians or as Americans, it's always like a hyphen, like Chinese-Canadian, Chinese-American. That just plays into what Beijing wants. When people of Chinese descent are taken as political prisoners or get calls from Chinese police saying, "Stop supporting Hong Kong on social media or stop doing this," these people get less attention. They're not taken seriously when they try to report what's happening because unfortunately a lot of people in the West have accepted the CCP's myth that we're still essentially Chinese. It's in the law, if there's dual-nationality, they don't accept the second nationality.Joanna:But even more than that, I still worry that ... it's happened to people like me. I actually gave up my Hong Kong citizenship, I'm only Canadian. But just because of my Chinese blood, I'm at greater risk of whatever repercussions. I've definitely been singled out when I was a foreign correspondent in Beijing for writing too much about human rights. And they did not say the same things about other people in my office. So by not listening to people in the diaspora and still treating them as they're still outsiders, we're with this connection to China whether we agree or not, that's really playing into it. And also when there's this racism, Chinese media, Chinese embassies, they've been really up front about condemning this and using it as a way to shore up loyalty among overseas Chinese, especially people who are more recent immigrants to get that support. There's so many of these China Friendship associations around the world. It's tough to understand their impact because it's all basically legal. They are these groups that openly support Beijing's policies all around the world. And they have, in my reporting, taken part in basically trying to make friends with politicians around the world and using those interviews, events, photographs to turn into propaganda to say, "We got support from this politician." There were groups that have offered money for people to vote for certain candidates in other countries' elections.Joanna:So it's complicated because when these groups are alienated, when they still feel that ... On a pragmatic level, it makes better sense for them to have good relations with Beijing. These groups are going to increase and proliferate and it's hard to understand what they're doing because you don't want to villainize it. In a way it's very natural for people, say, with business ties in China to try to hob-nob with Chinese embassies and try to support them. When I do report on some of these activities like the potential vote buying and interfering in elections, people use it as an excuse to say, "Oh, everyone's like that. All recent immigrants are working for the CCP." And that just puts a lot of reporters and researchers in these really tricky situations where you want to report on what's going on, but because discourse just fails to be nuanced enough, people just kind of take it as a reason to be more hostile and to not really open up their minds that there's a diversity of opinions among Chinese people and the Chinese diaspora.Bill:And it's also hard I think because so much of it happens in Mandarin or other Chinese dialects, so most people who don't speak the language have no idea what's going on.Joanna:Mm-hmm (affirmative). But it's been such a rich field of potential reporting for me, going back to Canada. It's really, really resitting. I have been able to read all of these reports. I've been able to translate these posts into English for audiences who found it really interesting. But I would argue that it's not actually that hard because there are so many Chinese speakers all over the world. It's not like it's a niche population, like a small population. In these stories where Steve Bannon and Miles Kwok's like cultish group was protesting outside a Canadian journalist's house accusing him of being a Chinese spy, when he was actually critical of Beijing. There were death threats.Bill:They did that to a bunch of people in America too. They had a whole program of targeting people.Joanna:Yeah, New Jersey.Bill:Yeah.Joanna:Yeah, so in that case. In Texas, with Pastor Bob Fu, he was one of the targets. And the FBI came in, the bomb squad, they put him and his family in a safe house. But in Canada, police monitored it, checked in once in a while. I actually sent them videos, like this looks like a death threat. And I actually ... Me and my colleagues, we translated some of this information and we posted it on YouTube to explain what was going on. But then it took three months later, this going on in Canada ... Two of these protestors just savagely beat one of the target's friends. And the police were responding to questions of why didn't you step in earlier, there were death threats? They admitted that they were slow with the investigation because they didn't have Chinese language resources. And that doesn't make sense really, in Vancouver, when there are so many people of Chinese descent. It's not hard to find someone to look at something and translate it to understand it.Joanna:In the conclusion of my book, one of the points I make is that information in Chinese language is treated like a secret code that can't be cracked. Instead, people like Newt Gingrich and other kind of just make things up. In his book, Newt Gingrich ... I don't quite remember but he just provided nonsensical translations of Chinese words and then extrapolated a whole bunch of theories about China based on that. Which is insulting to all of the people, not just of Chinese descent, but people like you who have taken the time to learn Mandarin and to understand China.Bill:There's a lot of that here in the U.S., I don't know how much it exists in other countries. But certainly the taking stuff out of context or just crappy language skills. And then, like you said, extrapolating something much bigger and darker and nefarious than in many cases it actually is, for sure.Joanna:Yeah. In the U.S. people tell me that they do have Chinese speakers, but lower down in the chain who provide reports and information. But going up the chain, the politicians and the pundits, they pick and choose information to support what they believe already. So these researchers feel like they're not even being heard because politicians are just grabbing what they want anyways. In many cases, people of Chinese descent are worried about even going to China or talking about their family in China because they're not going to get promoted to more influential positions. They're not going to get security clearance because the assumption is that if you have any sort of China ties that you might be compromised. And that's a very prejudicious trend in D.C.Bill:When I moved back to D.C. after ten years, I had no interest in working for the government, but I had a funny conversation with someone who does have security clearance. He says, "Don't even bother to apply, you'll never get a security clearance because you lived in China for too long."Joanna:That's crazy.Bill:That's fine, but there are reasons for governments to be concerned with ties to other foreign governments, but certainly for folks of Chinese descent it's much more pernicious. And it does seem like in many places the assumption is that you're potentially at risk of compromise. One of the problems is how people's families are being leveraged back in China. You see it in the way the persecutions of the Uyghurs and Tibetans. But you see it also in Han Chinese, people who are doing things that are considered controversial or anti-China outside of China. It's a very common tactic, right, to harass, hassle, otherwise make difficult for family members back in China, right?Joanna:Yeah, and that is a major ... There's no solution to that. I tried to spotlight a lot of these voices in the book. I spoke with people like Vicky Xu, the campaign against her has just been ridiculous. People made fake porn of her, thousands of accounts were basically attacking her, doxxing her.Bill:I feel like that story didn't get as much attention as maybe it should have. She was just so brutally targeted by very obviously state-backed campaigns.Joanna:Yeah. Very personal and they started with her family. She's been open about that, how her family and parents have been pressured. But she didn't stop her work, so they went further. They sent thousands of accounts and they made fake pornography about her so that when people search in Chinese, that's what comes up. And trying to completely smear her character. But that story did not get that much attention.Bill:This is because of her work at the ASPI down in Australia, right? Specifically around XinjiangJoanna:Xinjiang, yeah. I think she's one of the main researchers in Australia that focused on Xinjiang. The bigger issues looking at supply chains, looking at forced labor, and where internment camps are. Recently she found a trove of police documents about the repression. And because of her fluent Chinese and her networks, she was able to find this and provide this information. So people like her, I think, Beijing wants the most to silence and has the means and leverage to try to do so. I think she's unique in that she continues to do this work. We're not sure for how long because you have to wonder how long someone can take this.Bill:Right.Joanna:More people that I know of are either operating anonymously, they're really providing subtle advising roles to governments in a very very anonymous manner. Because they're worried about their families. Or they're writing under pseudonyms and they don't get a lot of attention because no one knows who they are. They're worried about ... not even access. I think a lot of researchers worry about being able to go back to China. At different levels, people who are worried about the safety of themselves and their family members.Bill:So just given the trajectory of China under Xi Jinping, is there any reason to think this is going to get better? Or are we sort of more close to the beginning of where this trajectory goes?Joanna:Mm-hmm (affirmative) I think we're kind of at a pivotal point. A lot of it isn't waiting for what Beijing does, but there's a responsibly on Western countries to at least be smarter about China and to have proper expertise in places of governments to try to even have some well thought out policy on these issues. In the U.S. Cabinet, very little China experience. And like we talked about, the people with experience ... They have trouble having influence. And in Canada, the mood after the Michaels returned and the Meng case was resolved is that they really want to go back to business as usual. To not have any kind of plan in place on how to prevent Canadian hostages from being taken in the future. The Prime Ministers office really steering this even though other parts of government was like, "We need some sort of plan, we need some sort of update to foreign policy in general." There's very little political will. I think the amount of criticism in different countries' media doesn't reflect the lack of political will of governments to even put the basic structures in place to understand China better. To be able to translate basic things from Chinese into English to be aware of.Bill:And in Canada, why do you thing that is? Especially given the diversity of Canada and the number of people of Chinese descent in the country. But also what just happened over the last close to three years. Why wouldn't the government have had a bit more of a shift in views of how the relationship in China should go?Joanna:Mm-hmm (affirmative) I think it's related partly to what we were talking about before where politicians are worried about stoking racism, losing support from Canadians of Chinese descent. Partly an election issue, and I think traditionally in Canada, the main government advisors on China have been people in the business world who do have a vested interest in making sure that tensions are as low as possible to facilitate smoother business interactions. But that's also not even the case where if you ... I think the idea in the West has been reformed through trade. Through interactions, economically, China will naturally liberalize, become more democratic. But in recent years, we've seen political tensions move over to economic coercion, economic retaliation. Not just from China but back and forth, with America, Australia, other countries have also did tit-for-tat trade tariffs. Different ways where the political situation can impact the economic relationships. So it's not even necessarily the case that just by focusing on business, everything will be all good. I think a lot of politicians are trying to put their head in the sands about that and not trying to understand the really complex situation unfolding. And Canadians on the whole, surveys show, pretty frustrated about the situation in action and just passiveness that they see from Ottawa.Bill:I guess the Huawei decision will be interesting, whether or not Huawei is allowed into the Canadian 5G network construction. Certainly here in D.C., there's all the factors you talked about and there's a lot of opportunity for lobbyists from various industries and companies to sort of shift Biden administration and Capitol thinking to policies that are more likely to make money dealing with China. And that certainly has an impact on the policies. So just shifting gears quickly because we're almost out of time and this has been a really great conversation. One of the things we were talking about was lifting up and getting more diversity of voices. Can you tell the listeners about NüVoices and what you helped create there? I found that to be a really wonderful and useful project that's been up for a couple years now? Or has it been three years? Time just sort of blended away with the pandemic, right?Joanna:So actually we were founded in 2017.Bill:Oh my gosh, okay.Joanna:In Beijing, so it's almost under five years. It's been like a daily kind of passion project in the community for me. We kind of wanted to create a more open and accepting China space, both in person with events and chapters around the world and also virtually. And it started in reaction with panels and book deals. The people who get platformed on China are often white male experts. No offense to yourself.Bill:People like me. No, no, I get it. I get it.Joanna:You're one of our longtime supporters and our patrons and we've spoken about how this helps to create a better world for your kids, for your daughters. Because we want to remove any excuses that people have for not even having one woman on their panel. Five years ago, people just kept saying to us and our co-founders, "We tried to find a female expert, but we couldn't find one." Or "We couldn't find a woman on this topic." Which is ridiculous because looking around, actually people we know, I see more women than men entering these fields. Definitely being a journalist in China, there's more women than men. And women who can speak Chinese and doing great work. So we created this open-source directory. Now it has more than 600 people all around the world who are women or non-binary on all sorts of topics. And speaking all sorts of languages in all sorts of time zones. I think just that project alone helped to remove those excuses. Any time someone makes an excuse that they couldn't find a woman, someone just has to send that person the link to this directory. No more excuses.Joanna:And on top of that we have a twice monthly podcast which I co-host sometimes and events all around the world. And basically social groups and networks and it's a platform so that people can benefit from this supportive atmosphere. We really try and celebrate diverse voices on China, experts on China. I find that women tend to ... because they're facing so much discrimination, women experts often have to fight harder to provide unique insights and reporting. So the kind of good quality you get just reaching out to any female expert in China, its a pretty good bet on fresh and interesting perspectives. And definitely I found that the case with my book. Because you know I tried to practice what I preach and most of my sources are coming from diverse backgrounds, women and minorities ... I shouldn't even use the word "minorities", people who aren't white basically.Bill:Mm-hmm (affirmative) right.Joanna:In each country, and I think that provides a different layer than people who enjoy positions of more power in those countries, who might not see some of the more uglier sides or the more complicated sides because that's not their experience. They're not getting the five star treatment when they go to China that a lot people in power do.Bill:It's definitely one of the things I enjoy about your book, it does have these different perspectives that are so important as we are all sort of trying to figure out what's going on and start thinking about what we can do. Specifically, NüVoices, I was looking at the directory last week. I think it's like 620 entries or something, I'm certainly planning to mine it for guests for the podcast because it's a really tremendous resource. And I will put a link to it in the show notes when we publish the podcast. Well thank you so much, is there anything else you'd like to add or say to the audience? Other than buy your book, "China Unbound", it's a great book. Please go ahead and go buy it and read it. It's a great book.Joanna:Just asking yourself, being based in the U.S., what are the best avenues for a more productive conversations on China? Instead of going to people who are more simplistic, what are some more resources you'd recommend? Including, of course your newsletter and that community. But who's doing the work to make up more well-informed approaches?Bill:That's a great question, and I'm not actually sure I have a good answer. I'm struggling with that and part of it is maybe that I'm based in D.C. where it is quite ... It's difficult to be in D.C. and to be not hawkish about China if you want to get ahead in certain parts of the government here. And so, I'm not actually sure. I know that there's China Twitter ... I mean Twitter in general is just kind of a cesspool and China Twitter is not a productive or constructive place for discourse about anything. I don't know, I wish I had a better answer for you, I need to think about it more.Joanna:Mm-hmm (affirmative)Bill:Do you have any guesses or any suggestions?Joanna:I was expecting a more simplified reaction to my book, but actually all the events I've been doing so far are conversations with academics and fellow reporters have been really nuanced. And it seems like there's a hunger for people who want to admit there are no simple solutions and to talk about that. But it doesn't' seem like here's a particular space or a think tank that has that approach. It seems-Bill:The think tanks probably are the place. I mean there are other ... The folks at SupChina are trying to do that. I don't know if you've talked to them. Kaiser's got his podcast and they do their conference. I think their conference ... We're recording on the 1st of November so they're I think next week. But in general, I don't know, it's also ... Like anything, it's hard to have a more textured or kind of deeper discussion in these 30 minute chunks or when you're sitting on a panel. It's just putting in the time and having ... Like you're doing, talking to me and you're talking to lots of people for your book. And this is a topic that has probably come up in most of your conversations and it's just something we're going to have to keep talking about. I know over the next few months there are at least two more books that are coming out about China's influence in the world. And so it'll be interesting to see where those goes in terms of how they impact or move the discourse and how those get played. And again, I think it's like I said, me struggling with how do you address these issues that are very real and influence interference without going overboard and over-exaggerating and destroying innocent people's lives. Which I think has already happened and continues to be a big risk.Joanna:I do think simple answers that people need to pay better attention and not just to get a shallow understanding, but to really understand the nitty-gritty and try to untangle complexities. And support the people who are trying to do this work. A lot of their names are in my book. If you don't want to buy it, flip to the back of the notes and you'll get their names and look up those articles. People like Yangyang Cheng, Helen Gao. People who are straddling both worlds, Chinese and Western. Because of those real lived experiences, their perspectives are just naturally very nuanced and insightful, I think. So people are doing this work, its just they're not the ones on CNN and getting book deals because of structures power. So support NüVoices.Bill:Absolutely. Like you said, I'm a supporter of NüVoices, I'm very happy to put a link to that as well. Support you through Patreon, right? We should move you over to Substack, but that's a different discussion. That's my bias. Well look, thank you so much. It's really been a pleasure to speak with you and I hope that many of you listeners will go out and buy the book. It's really a worthwhile read and Joanna really has great reporting, great perspectives. And this book is really important contribution to the conversation we all need to be having about China and the future and China's role in the world. So thank you and hope to talk to you again soon.Joanna:Thank you so much for all of your work, really platforming those more quality, well-informed sources on China. You've run the newsletter for a long time, so I think that makes a big difference as well because you use your expertise to point people to credible, good sources. So I'll also subscribe to your newsletter.Bill:Thank you. Get full access to Sinocism at sinocism.com/subscribe

The detention and recent release of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor have alerted the world to China's hostage diplomacy. American citizen Kai Li from New York has been unjustly detained in China since September 2016. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has stated that his detention is arbitrary and has called on the Chinese government to release Kai Li immediately. Kai Li's family believe that he is being held as a bargaining chip to extract concessions from the United States – this would be hostage diplomacy. We speak to his son, Harrison Li to find out how we can help free his father.We discuss Kai Li's arrest, the conditions of his detention including what the Chinese authorities call ‘residential surveillance at a designated location', Kai Li's numerous health conditions, being held without access to his lawyer, trumped up security charges, a secret trial, forced labour in prison, China's hostage diplomacy as well as what US President Biden, the Senate, House of Representatives, businesses, journalists and the public can do to help bring Kai Li back home to New York.Follow Pod Hostage Diplomacy on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with our work.Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/PodHostageDiplo)

On this week's show: Kirsten Hillman, Canada's ambassador to the U.S., expands on the efforts to free Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson looks ahead to COP26. AFN National Chief RoseAnne Archibald reflects on the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Plus — former top bureaucrat Michael Wernick warns of a “virus of intolerance” in politics and longtime MP Scott Simms bids farewell to the Hill.

In this episode, Bob looks at the safe return of "the two Michaels" (Michael Kovring and Michael Spavor) to Canada after more than 1000 days in Chinese prison, and what that means to Chinese-Canadian political relations. For more from Bob Ramsay, visit ramsayinc.com.

The At Issue panel discusses the government's post-election priorities and how Canada should approach China now that Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor are back home. And in this extended edition, the panellists also talk about Annamie Paul's resignation message.

Jia Wang, interim director, China Institute, University of Alberta

This week on The Sunday Magazine with host Piya Chattopadhyay: • Toronto Star journalist Joanna Chiu talks about the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor and what it means for Canada-China relations • Guy Vanderhaege on his latest historical fiction novel August into Winter • Alberta mayors Naheed Nenshi and Tara Veer dissect provincial politics and the pandemic crisis • An essay from Indigenous writer Clayton Thomas-Müller in the run-up to Canada's first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation • Former MPs Megan Leslie, Jane Philpott and Lisa Raitt reflect on life after politics and women in Parliament Discover more at https://www.cbc.ca/sunday

On this week's show: two former diplomats and an expert on Canada-China relations discuss the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor from prison in China. Plus, CBC reporters on how the major party leaders are faring post-election; strategists dissect the campaigns and what lies ahead for Parliament; and, in a podcast extra, a former provincial PC cabinet member discusses Alberta's political and health crises.

In this episode, Bob looks at Canada's relationship with China, which is fraught with delicate political considerations in the wake of China's jailing of two Canadians, Michael Spavor and Mmichael Kovrig, in retaliation for the house arrest of Huawei executive, Meng Wanzhou. For more from Bob Ramsay, visit ramsayinc.com.

The Mind Killer has moved to Substack! If you're using the Libsyn feed, please redirect it to Substack. All other feeds should be fine. Give us your money there!Wes is on vacation next week, so enjoy this early episode!News discussed:Farmers don't want to reuse GMO seedsCannibal! The MusicalAudacity has a new privacy policyBlue Trump resignedAnti-aging researcher Aubrey de Grey accused of sexual harassment by two colleaguesBipartisan infrastructure bill passed the Senate!Zvi estimates 2-3 weeks until it peaks American Academy of Pediatrics tells FDA to hurry the F upWHO is still telling people covid is spread primarily by droplets and contactNew York tries vaccine passports, proves David rightFrance also tries vaccine passports, sparks massive protestsAround 8,600 people in Germany could have received the saline solution instead of the vaccine cuz of antivax nurse.Australia's FDA is even worse than oursAlso, their lockdown seems inspired by their neighbors to the NorthBiden extended eviction moratorium by 60 days A safe deposit box company in LA was the victim of a $85 million heist… perpetrated by the FBIDemocracy dead in Tunisia?Noah Smith: “China just grabbed a random Canadian dude and threw him in prison as retaliation for Canada arresting a Chinese tech executive.”Michael Spavor was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 11 yearsUK supply chain faces collapseApple is replacing its industry-standard end-to-end encrypted messaging system with an infrastructure for surveillance and censorship, “for the children”Teen suicide rates drop by 15-20% in summer monthsHackers have stolen some $600 million in cryptocurrency from the decentralized finance platform Poly Network, in what it says is the largest theft in the industry's history.Happy News!Comic book creators moving to substack, worrying the big publishing houses (which is a good thing)! New book by Emily Oster! About early school aged kids! The percent of these households that had at least one homeschooled child was 5.4% in spring 2020, 11.1% during fall 2020, and 19.5% by May of 2021.Unvaccinated to pay the full cost of their COVID hospitalizations?Got something to say? Come chat with us on the Bayesian Conspiracy Discord or email us at themindkillerpodcast@gmail.com. Say something smart and we'll mention you on the next show!Follow us!RSS: http://feeds.feedburner.com/themindkillerApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mind-killer/id1507508029Google: https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Iqs7r7t6cdxw465zdulvwikhekmPocket Casts: https://pca.st/03p4rwp3Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-mind-killerIntro/outro music: On Sale by Golden Duck Orchestra This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mindkiller.substack.com/subscribe

Spavor, a Beijing-based businessman who regularly traveled to North Korea, was sentenced after being found guilty of spying and illegally providing state secrets to foreign countries, the Dandong Intermediate People's Court said in a statement Wednesday. The court said Spavor would also be deported, without specifying whether it was before or after he served his prison sentence.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

On today's show, Alberta's Privacy Commissioner is concerned the Telus Health app ignores some privacy laws. We chat with Jill Clayton. Plus, the situation in China just keeps getting worse, after Michael Spavor was sentenced to 11 years in prison for espionage. We hear from the director emeritus of the China Institute at the University of Alberta, Gordon Houlden. And, Alberta Senator Doug Black has announced he is retiring.

The trial is finally over. After much media frenzy, people being denied access, etc. The trial IS over. But, no verdict. What can we expect that to be? And when?  Charles Burton has been following this, he's a Brock University Professor, and two time former Canadian diplomat in China

Justin Trudeau's gun restrictions have had massive implications for Canadian gun owners and firearms businesses, but to the gun control lobby, they are a “dismal” effort that doesn't go far enough. True North's Andrew Lawton warns that the Liberals are going to side with gun alarmists over gun owners every time. Also, the upcoming trials of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor prove Canada's policy of appeasing China has accomplished nothing. Plus filmmakers Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer join to talk about their upcoming feature film My Son Hunter, telling the story of Hunter Biden and the mainstream media who refused to do their jobs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Canadian government's policy of appeasing China has reached a new low, with secret documents showing the Trudeau government pushed back against military officials who wanted to stop training the Chinese People's Liberation Army at a Canadian base. When called on it, all the Trudeau government says is that it wants to repatriate Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who are being detained in China. True North's Andrew Lawton talks about this weak and ineffective approach to China, and also calls out the mainstream media's refusal to credit Rebel for breaking the story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke today on continuing to try and work with China and their allies to try and bring the Canadians back. However, is Canada being too soft on this issue? Richard Kurland joins Lynda to discuss. Guest: Richard Kurland, Immigration Lawyer and Policy Analyst

Chapter 1: China charges Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor with espionage Just a few weeks after Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou lost a critical decision in her extradition case in a Vancouver courtroom, two Canadians in Chinese custody have been charged with espionage.  Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig have been detained in China since December of 2018, and the arrests are widely believed to have been an act of retaliation for Canadian authorities detaining Wanzhou on behalf of American authorities.  Globe and Mail correspondent in Beijing Nathan VanderKlippe joins us for more.  GUEST: Nathan VanderKlippe, Globe and Mail Beijing correspondent.  Chapter 2: Update on the CPC debate with David Akin Conservative leadership candidates faced off yesterday in English. GUEST: David Akin, Global News chief political correspondent. Chapter 3: Construction and technology firms partner to launch Citizen Care Pod  A fantastic Canadian partnership that brought together technology giants and construction partners to create COVID-19 testing pods.  We're joined by the co-founder of Citizen Care Pods, Carl Demarco.  GUEST: Carl Demarco, Citizen Care Pods co-founder.  Chapter 4: Stanley Park access lawsuit Cars are returning to Stanley Park on Monday, but the Board voted last night to designate one of the existing lanes for bicycles.  Yesterday, the Stanley Park Stakeholders told us they were considering legal action against the board because taking cars out of the park will impact their business. We're joined by former BC Attorney General Wally Oppal to talk about his involvement.  GUEST:  Wally Oppal, former AG.  Chapter 5: Reallocating police funding in Victoria The city of Victoria is set to vote on whether to reallocate funding from existing programs like policing to address mental health and addiction issues in the community.   A motion was just approved in committee and council will vote next week on whether to consider funding alternative programs instead.  Councillor Marianne Alto supported this through the committee of the whole, and she joins us now to talk about what this might look like.  GUEST: Marianne Alto, Victoria City Councillor. 

CHAPTER 1

David Lametti speaking today on the first anniversary of the detention of two Canadians by China. Their names are Michael Spavor, and Michael Kovrig.  Now China is hinting at upcoming trials for the two Canadians. The detentions are widely believed to be an attempt to pressure Canada to release Meng Wanzhou, the Chief Financial Officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei. The detentions of Kovrig and Spavor came days after Meng was arrested at YVR, at the request of American authorities who want her on fraud charges.   Guest: Joanna Chiu Bureau Chief of Star Vancouver, and a friend of Michael Kovrig  

The Chinese government is accusing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of being naive in assuming that President Donald Trump did him any favours by raising the case of two imprisoned Canadians with President Xi Jinping. Geng Shuang, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, was reacting today to Trudeau's comment a day earlier in Toronto, where he said he was "confident'' Trump raised the matter with Xi at the G20 summit in Japan this past weekend. In an Oval Office meeting last month with Trudeau, Trump said he would raise the plight of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in his planned meeting with Xi, as a favour to Canada. In December, Canada detained Chinese high-tech scion Meng Wanzhou at the request of the U.S. government, which wants to extradite her to face fraud charges. Kovrig and Spavor were arrested 10 days later and have been charged with violating China's national security, but many view their detentions as retaliation for Meng's arrest.         Trump said before leaving the G20 in Japan that he didn't discuss the Meng case with Xi, raising questions about whether he made good on his White House commitment to Trudeau. Guest: David Akin Chief Political Correspondent, Global News

Chapter 1

After detaining them for nearly three months, China is suddenly alleging that two Canadians -- former diplomat Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor -- were acting together to steal state secrets. They were arrested on December 10th. That was a week after Huawei executive, Meng Wanzhou was arrested here in Vancouver at the request of the United States. She faces charges she misled banks about Huawei's business with Iran. This past Friday, Canada announced it will proceed with the American extradition request for Meng. And yesterday, it was announced Meng is suing the Canadian government, the border agency, and the RCMP, alleging breach a of constitutional rights. Guest: Joanna Chiu Assistant managing editor of StarMetro Vancouver, and friend of Michael Kovrig

Chapter 1

The head of a delegation of Canadian parliamentarians heading to China this weekend says the detainment of two Canadians is not on the agenda for discussion with Chinese officials. Senator Joseph Day was speaking to Global News before boarding a plane to Shanghai this morning. The prime minister and the foreign affairs minister have been calling for the immediate release of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who were detained in December over national security concerns but have not been charged.   Guest: Joanna Chiu Assistant managing editor of StarMetro Vancouver, and friend of Michael Kovrig

The Liberal senator leading the Canadian parliamentary delegation travelling to China says his group will tread carefully in calling for the release of the two detained Canadians in that country.  Senator Joseph Day says his group doesn't want to do anything to harm the welfare of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.   Kovrig and Spavor have each had only one visit by the Canadian ambassador in China since being arrested last month in apparent retaliation for Canada's arrest of high-tech executive Meng Wanzhou (MUNG wan-JOH') at the request of the United States.   Guest: Charles Burton Brock University Professor, and two time former Canadian diplomat in China

Chapter 1

China heeft opnieuw een Canadees opgepakt. De arrestatie van zakenman Michael Spavor komt een paar dagen na die van een Canadese diplomaat. Eerder hield Canada op verzoek van de Verenigde Staten een Chinese topvrouw van Huawei aan. Over deze diplomatieke escalatie is te gast China-expert Henk Schulte Nordholt.