Ugh, CBC's At Issue. On the matter of Chinese genocide, Althia Raj asserts that the government looks weak and indecisive because it's being cautious on calling the Chinese government genocidal. /2 #cdnpoli

2/ If the Chinese decided to inflict ultimate punishment on the two Michaels, what would she then have to say? That the government's diplomacy had failed? In fact, the federal government has to tread very carefully until the matter of Menz Wanzhou is resolved. /3

3/ It easy for the Conservatives to complain about the incarceration of the two Michaels and then demand that the Liberal government put them at risk over a word. Canada needs to seek international cover, as it did with the 57-nation condemnation of hostage diplomacy. /4

4/ And did Shachi Kurl really try to pin decades of Canadian affection for China on the Liberals? I guess she's forgotten all about the Harper government's FIPA deal. And, insofar as First Nations are concerned, the comparison is ludicrous. /5

5/ The federal government is responsible for Canadians and is presumably (in part) in control over what happens to them. Canadian failures have to be acknowledged. Canada is not in control of Chinese failures, though it can point them out in a realpolitik manner. /6

6/ Canada can't legitimately complain about Chinese treatment of its citizens if it isn't prepared to face up to mistreatment of its own. It would be hypocritical to do otherwise.