As Canada’s legitimate community organizations representing hundreds of thousands of Chinese Canadians in greater Montréal, Canada, we oppose Xinjiang-related motion passed by Canada's House of Commons on February 22. This motion was put forward by the opposition Conservative Party of Canada, and it ignored the basic facts.
We believe that some Canadian politicians and political parties use China's Xinjiang issues for their own political gain. Such selfish and narrow-minded behavior violates Canada's free and democratic values, and the cultural tradition of tolerance and openness.
The Xinjiang-related motion was an accusation that could not be proven by facts, and it should not be voted politically in Parliament. If the Conservative Party and other politicians are concerned with this issue, they should seek further understanding of this matter. It is irresponsible to use unproven, distorted, one-sided stories and controversial political assertions to push federal lawmakers to vote without knowing the truth.
There are 338 members in the House of Representatives in the Parliament. 226 votes were cast in favor of the bill, with 2 abstentions. The rest of the members did not participate in the vote, so the bill cannot be called "unanimously passed." Secondly, the bill is not binding and does not represent the position of the Canadian government. Therefore, we also oppose any irresponsible media's wrong and false reports about the bill being passed by the Canadian Parliament unanimously.
As Chinese Canadians, we are concerned about the conduct of some Canadian politicians who continue to use various Chinese issues to instigate conflicts between China and Canada in order to advance their own political interests. Such irresponsible conduct will cause negative views of the entire Chinese and even Asian communities by Canadians who do not understand the truth, and cause significant distress to the lives and work of more than 1.7 million Chinese Canadians.
As we all know, China-Canada relations are currently facing great challenges due to various reasons. Some Canadian politicians have not made constructive efforts to eliminate misunderstandings, alleviate contradictions, and improve China-Canada relations. Instead, they ignore facts and use China’s Xinjiang issue to continue intensifying the conflicts between China and Canada. We are deeply disappointed and concerned about this situation.
We believe that, as the deliberative body of the elected representatives of Canada, the Parliament should focus more on the domestic affairs of Canada’s epidemic, economy, people’s livelihood, environment, and the living conditions of all ethnic groups, rather than using issues in a foreign country to shirk its own responsibility to Canadians, and ignore Canada’s own internal affairs and conflicts.
Finally, we also oppose the calling upon the federal government by the opposition leader of the Conservative Party to push the International Olympic Committee to withdraw the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympics in China.
Dialogue, communication and mutual respect are in line with Canadian values. The Conservative Party leaders try to politicize Olympics, disrespect the Olympic spirit, and interfere with the work of the International Olympic Committee that consists of more than 200 countries. Such conduct is absurd and irresponsible, and it will seriously damage Canada's image on the international stage.
The Montreal Chinese communities are united to make this joint statement, to oppose the Xinjiang-related motion passed by the Parliament and any politically motivated, self-serving action that may damage Canada-China relation or cast a negative view on the Chinese communities in Canada.
2021-03-03
联署单位:
1满地可华人联合总会
Montreal Chinese Community United Center
2蒙特利尔华商会
(La Chambre de Commerce Chinoise de Montréal)
3中国洪门民治党满地可分部
(The Chinese Freemson Society)
4魁北克华人同乡会联合总会
(Alliance of Quebec Chinese Associations)
5全加华人聯会(魁北克區)
(National Congress of Chinese Canadian (Quebec region)
6魁省潮州会馆
(ASSOCIATION CHAO CHOW DE QUEBEC CANADA)
7越华三机构/越华联谊会
(ASSOCIATION DES CHINOIS DU VIETNAM A MONTREAL)
8蒙特利尔中山公园基金会
(Fondation de la Place Sun Yat-Sen de Montreal)
9加拿大华侨历史文化研究会
(Chinese Canadian Historical and cultural Society)
10花都同乡会
(Association Hua Du de Montréal)
11魁北克中山同乡会
(Association Sino Zhong Shan Du Québec)
12魁北克广东同乡会
(Association du Guangdong au Québec)
13魁北克广东商会
(Chambre de commerce du Guangdong au Québec)
14满地可华侨敬老会
(Association Chinoise des anies)
15蒙特利尔华商会青年会
(Association des jeunes La Chambre de Commerce Chinoise de Montréal)
16蒙特利尔华商会艺术团
(Troupe Artistique de La Chambre de Commerce Chinoise de Montréal)
17花都同乡会青年会
(Association des jeunes Hua Du de Montréal)
18加拿大广西同乡会
(Association Des GuangXi Origins Au Canada)
19加拿大广西同乡会南宁分会
(Section de Nanning de l'Association d'origines du Guangxi au Canada)
20加拿大广西同乡会柳州分会
(Section de Liuzhou de l'Association d'origines du Guangxi au Canada)
21加拿大广西同乡会桂林分会
(Section de Guilin de l'Association d'origines du Guangxi au Canada)
22加拿大广西同乡会梧州分会
(Section de Wuzhou de l'Association d'origines du Guangxi au Canada)
23加拿大广西同乡会玉林分会
(Section de Yulin de l'Association d'origines du Guangxi au Canada)
24加拿大湖南商会
(Hunanese Chambers of commerce)
25格瑞斯多元文化协会
(Association Multiculturelle Grace du Québec)
26魁省天津同乡会
(L'association de Tianjin du Québec)
27魁北克天津商会
(L'association des affaires de Tianjin du Québec )
28加拿大蒙特利尔海南同乡会
(Hainanaise Association des Montréal)
29魁北克华裔音乐家协会
(Chinese Musician of Quebec)
30蒙特利尔孔子学校
(École Confucius de Montréal)
31西岛华人文化体育中心
(Centre communautaire chinois de l'ouest de l'île de Montréal )
32湖北同乡会
(La Chambre de Commerce du Hubei au Québec)
33北美文化产业促进会
(La Société de promotion culturelle et industrielle Industrie d’Amérique du Nord)
34加拿大广西同乡联盟会
(Association de Guangxi Unis du Canada)
35加拿大魁北克河南同乡会暨加拿大魁北克河南商会
(Association Citadine Henan du Quebec & Chambre de Commerce de Henan au Canada)
36上海苏浙同乡会
(Association Shanghai Jiangsu Zhejiang de Montreal)
37北美华人信息技术协会
(Chinese Information Technology Association of North America)
38三佳国际教育学院 TAC college
(trois a centre de culture et echange)
39加拿大华人志愿服务中心
( Association des bénévoles chinois au canada )
40福建同乡会
(Association de FuJian du Quebec au Canada)
41乐之声艺术团
(La Troupe Artistique Yuezhisheng)
42满地可余风彩堂
(Yee Fung Toy Society of Montreal)
43谭光裕堂
(Hum Quong Yea Tong Society)
44魁省江门新会同乡会暨商会
(Association Jiangmen Xinhui du Québec)
45台山同乡会
(Hoy Sun Association of Quebec)
46加拿大魁北克云南同乡会
(Association Yunnan du Canada)
47加拿大蒙特利尔多民族文化交流协会
(Association of Multicultural Exchanges in Canada Montreal)
48枫叶学院
(Centre de culture d'ary fengye)
49加拿大中加文化教育交流协会
(Association de la Culture et de l'Éducation de l'Échange Canada-Chine)