China’s foreign minister made headlines in Ottawa this week for all the wrong reasons when he took exception to a question posed by a journalist. But experts say it’s unlikely the Chinese care about the bad press.
“They’ll have to deal with damage control,” former diplomat Colin Robertson told the West Block’s Tom Clark.
“But I’m not sure that they care. There are a number of things that take place that they feel they’re getting bad press (on) from the western media.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion stood next to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, seemingly stunned into silence, as the Chinese politician ripped into a journalist from news website iPolitics. Wang called the question on the jailing of a Canadian, Kevin Garratt, “irresponsible.” The question had not, in fact, even been directed at Wang.
WATCH: China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs blasts Canadian journalist
Current senator and former journalist Jim Munson said he was deeply offended by Wang’s outburst on Canadian soil.
“It was very upsetting,” Munson said.
READ MORE: Trudeau says Canada expressed ‘dissatisfaction’ with China for berating reporter
Both Munson and Robertson said that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau now has a responsibility to address themes of press freedom, the consular immunity of Canadians in China and human rights on his next visit to the country.
“Certainly the first public speech that we make over there would probably have to touch on all those three themes,” said Robertson. “Because you do not want to look like you’re going in to deal with the Chinese on the back foot or from a period of weakness.”
— Watch the full panel discussion above.
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