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Even bad people, representing bad organizations or bad governments, have the right to freedom of expression. And that goes double for universities, where controversial ideas are meant to be debated. With some polls showing a majority of university students demanding that doubleplusungood opinions be barred from campus, sometimes you have to hold your nose and stand up for repugnant people who want to make their case to a student audience.
That applies even to representatives of the Chinese Communist Party in Canada, despite the atrocities in Xinjiang and its unsurprisingly heavy-handed response to protests against China’s extremely strict, and arguably deadly, COVID lockdown policies. That is the price of freedom. (And it’s not like universities aren’t already well stocked with apologists for Red China, at least as it was until September 9, 1976.)
That said, if a CCP apparatchik wants to speak at a Canadian university, it should be made very clear to him that he’s in Canada. The Chinese ambassador doesn’t quite seem to understand that point, and the University of Ottawa was more than happy to oblige him:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is among several Canadian leaders to criticize the University of Ottawa for banning cameras at an event with the Chinese ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu, at one of its lecture halls on Monday — calling it an obstruction of the freedom of the press.
Thousands of Chinese people have taken to the streets of Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and several other Chinese cities for several days to protest the zero COVID policy over the past week. Meanwhile, the Chinese ambassador to Canada held a conference at the University of Ottawa titled, China and the World: Development, Trade and Governance in the 21st Century.
Journalists from various media were there, when all of a sudden, the university agreed to comply with Cong's demands to prohibit the presence of cameras in the room. A Radio-Canada cameraman was shown the door.
The university proceeded to lower the blinds in order to hide the view of a demonstration in support of Uyghurs, which was being held at the same time outside the building.
That decision did not go over well with the prime minister.
"For me, they made a mistake, banning the cameras," Trudeau said, adding that it's common practice for media to have access to public figures in Canada.
Several other politicians and experts also denounced the university's decision. Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said freedom of the press should have taken precedence over the wishes of the ambassador.
"I find that extremely unfortunate. Our country was built on the principle of freedom. Often, we are happy to see you [journalists], sometimes less so. But you still have your business to be there. And in Canada, freedom of the press is non-negotiable," he said.
I was going to make some snarky comment about how Cong should go home if he doesn’t want to be exposed to protests. Except, that’s not really accurate anymore.
As for my own government, good on Trudeau and Rodriguez for speaking up. The question is, will the Heritage Minister remember his grand commitment to freedom when he’s trying to censor the internet?