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Beijing slams Canada, accusing Trudeau's government of 'hypocrisy' and 'weakness' over Xinjiang and Hong Kong remarks
14 Oct, 2020 10:32

China has hit back at Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, after he criticized Beijing's human rights record, detention of Canadian citizens, and use of "coercive diplomacy."

On Wednesday, the spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, Zhao Lijian, said the Canadian government had shown "hypocrisy" and "weakness," as he responded to comments made by Trudeau.

Trudeau fired warning shots at Beijing on Tuesday as he marked the 50th anniversary of Canada's diplomatic ties with China. "We will remain absolutely committed to working with our allies to ensure that China's approach of coercive diplomacy, and its arbitrary detention of two Canadian citizens, alongside citizens of other countries around the world, is not viewed as a successful tactic by them," the prime minister said.

Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor have been detained in China since December 2018 on suspicion of espionage. Their arrests came just days after a Chinese citizen was arrested in Canada.

Trudeau was also critical of China's human rights record, condemning Beijing's treatment of the Uighur population of Xinjiang and sharing his concern for the people of Hong Kong.

In Tuesday's state press conference, Lijian praised the progress achieved by China and Canada over the 50 years of diplomatic relations, but also pleaded with Ottawa to release a Chinese citizen who had been detained in Canada at the request of the US.

Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of telecom giant Huawei, was detained in December 2018 on re-entry to Canada. She was arrested on charges of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud in order to circumvent US sanctions against Iran. Lijian contended that Wanzhou's unlawful detention was the root cause of the current deterioration in Sino-Canadian relations.

On Tuesday, Beijing called on Asian nations to unite against Washington's "old-fashioned cold war mentality" in the latest war of words between Washington and Beijing. The two nations have introduced multiple reciprocal restrictions on each other's diplomats.

Meanwhile, China's spiraling diplomatic dispute with Canberra took a further on turn on Monday, as China reportedly banned Australian coal imports. Beijing has previously accused Australia of mass espionage and the raiding of the homes of Chinese journalists.

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Speaking at a joint press conference with Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Ersin Tatar on 6 October, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the opening of the Varosha embankment. This is a tourist quarter at the southeast coast of Cyprus, which has been closed to the public since 1974 after the occupation of part of Cyprus by Turkish troops and the partition of the island. Varosha is protected by a 1984 UN Security Council resolution.

"I believe that over the past weeks and months we have jointly managed to bring the contradictions between Turkey and Greece onto the path of diplomacy. I am very glad that with the significant help of the Greek prime minister, some time ago we managed to announce the need for direct talks", Maas said at a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens.

© AP/Markus Schreiber
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas

"So we were extremely surprised by what we have seen over the past few days from the Turkish side - both the opening of the Varosha embankment and the fact that the Oruc Reis departed again [for research]", the diplomat said.

Turkey also issued an international Navtex alert late Sunday, according to which the Oruc Reis vessel will conduct research with the Ataman and Cengizhan vessels south of the Greek island of Kastelorizo ​12-22 October.

"All this contradicts the spirit of what we agreed on, that is, in an atmosphere of authority and trust, to try to reduce the tension of the conflict by diplomatic means", Maas he said.

The Greek Foreign Ministry said that the area belongs to the Greek continental shelf and is located just 6.5 nautical miles from the coast of Kastelorizo. The territorial waters of the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea are defined at six nautical miles. Ankara said the vessel operates exclusively on the Turkish continental shelf 15 kilometres off the coast of Turkey and 425 kilometres off the coast of Greece.

Prior to this, seismic surveys of Oruc Reis in the Eastern Mediterranean in an area that Greece considers its exclusive economic zone, led to a sharp deterioration in relations between Athens and Ankara. With the mediation of Germany, an agreement was reached on the resumption of probing contacts with Turkey, interrupted in 2016, and there were plans to hold the 61st round of contacts soon.