Prime Minister Martin On The Move

Canada's Prime Minister Paul Martin is jetting all over the world these days. He recently visited the site of the Indian Ocean trajedy dropping in on our Canadian troops to ensure their clean water project was working and, of course, the photo ops will soon be released. I'm sure Paul will have a compassionate look on his face for all to see.

Hey, its important that Canada get exposure over there too, ya know.
Martin also intends visits to India, China, and Japan. This Asian trip is important as CTV's Steve Chao reports:

To those who once eyed the communist country warily, the carrot of 1.3 billion consumers, the world's largest market, has proven irresistible. France's president Jacques Chirac was just one of several European Union members to visit this fall. He left with billions of euros in deals. This week, Canada will try and do the same. Paul Martin will meet China's president, Hu Jintao in Beijing. In a recent speech in Toronto to a room full of Canadian businessmen with interests in China, Martin described the "tectonic shift beneath the global economic terrain." And he warned that Canada's future economic success is tied directly with how well we tap into this Asian giant. "I hope it's more than words," says a travel agent in Vancouver. Bitterly he points to the fact the U.S. is close to signing a deal with China classifying it as an authorized tourist destination. This means Chinese travelers can go to America with ease and pump the economy with billions of tourist dollars. "Canada was in fact ahead on this," says the agent, "but somehow we dropped the ball." Other Canadian businessmen in China point to a lack of funding to promote Canada's interests. "Look at what the Swiss are doing and spending," an expat says. "We're just not doing enough." Canada's trade with China grew 49 per cent in the first part of 2004 compared to the previous year. That makes China the country's second largest trading partner, next only to the United States. Japan was bumped to third. But most of the exports are in the sectors of raw materials, like copper, zinc, and sulphur. Critics suggest Canada needs to promote more of its "value-added" industries, in fields such as education and technology. "There's a lot riding on Martin," says a former diplomat from the Canadian embassy in Beijing. But gauging the success of the Prime Minister's visit may be difficult. Alongside the PM will be a 200-plus trade delegation. Wary of the criticism thrown at former prime minister Jean Chretien's "Team Canada" missions, embassy officials say they won't be releasing an overall tally on deals made. "It just simply becomes a numbers game," says one embassy spokesperson. Maybe. But other visiting states have had no qualms doing so. Beyond the trade issues During his visit, Martin also plans to raise the spectre of human rights. It will be a tough topic considering the differences on the issue. On the table will undoubtedly be the topic of Chinese bad boy and mobster Lai Changxing. Easily China's most infamous gangster, Lai has been languishing in a Burnaby, B.C. apartment fighting extradition, claiming he's a refugee. The Communist government wants him returned. But Canada has so far refused. The problem is not so much that Canada is interested in keeping him, but it's China's death penalty laws. According to Amnesty International and other activist groups, this Asian nation carries out two-thirds of the world's executions. And Canada, being the good boy-scout nation, won't send someone back to certain death. Canadian immigration officials whisper a deal is in the works where China guarantees they won't kill Lai, but only lock him up. And perhaps throw away the key. Another diplomatic sore point is over the phenomenon of North Koreans jumping into embassies. In September, 45 asylum seekers, dressed up as construction workers, scaled the Canadian embassy wall. Forty-four of them got in. Chinese officials demanded they be handed over. Canada's ambassador to China cited the UN charter on protecting refugees. After a standoff that lasted months, Chinese authorities quietly granted the refugees their wish, allowing many, if not all, to travel to South Korea. This came despite the danger of angering its close ally North Korea. For years now, Canada has resisted demands by the Chinese government to use People's Liberation Army soldiers to guard the embassy and to throw up an extra line of fencing. "We don't want this place to look like an armed camp," said Canada's ambassador Joseph Caron, at the time of the asylum attempt. That extra line of fencing went up at the end of December; perhaps as a concession ahead of the Prime Minister's visit. Despite differences, there are many issues Martin and Hu can agree to work on. First and foremost: health The World Health Organization has come out to suggest that if there is another pandemic, where tens of millions of people die, the bird flu, also known as H5N1, could be the culprit. Coming out of the shared experience of SARS, Canadian and Chinese disease control counterparts are said to be working closely on finding ways to faster detect an outbreak. This year H5N1 killed 32 in Thailand and Vietnam. The virus once infected only birds, and now is found not only in humans, but domestic dogs and cats as well. World health authorities fear it's just a matter of time before the virus learns to easily jump from human-to-human. That is likely to happen first in farms in Asia, where animals and humans interact on a regular basis. In this global village, how well Canada and China learn to cooperate in health emergencies and share information will be crucial in determining how many ultimately die. There are also signs that China may begin seeking Canadian support at the United Nations. China began sending combat peacekeeping troops overseas in 2004. The 125-member force is helping restore order in Haiti. It's a clear indication of the government's intent to become a larger player on the world stage. And according to a diplomat in the Canadian embassy, "China is looking for partners to work multilaterally with them, those that share common views on the world." In other words, countries that may not immediately agree with the U.S., say in areas like Iraq or Taiwan.

In fact, Prime Minister Paul Martin did sign several trade agreements with Chinese officials during a trip designed to build on ties with the country that has become Canada's second-largest two-way trading partner after the United States.
Canadian officials were also expected to raise several human rights violations they would like to see resolved.
But China's human rights record was not mentioned in either of the public statements by Martin or Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Instead, the focus was on trade.
"Throughout most of our lives, we have talked about the day that would come in the far future when China would begin to realize its economic potential and when China would become a global power," Martin said to more than 300 Canadian entrepreneurs visiting as part of a separate trade mission.
"We are here today because we know that day has come. It is here now," Martin added, with Wen at his side.
Wen, the second most powerful leader in China behind President Hu Jintao, whom Martin will meet later, echoed these sentiments.
"I wish to conclude by quoting what was said by Mr. Paul Martin, to the effect that a prosperous, developing, growing and stronger China would present an opportunity to Canada for its own development," Wen said.
A joint statement issued at the end of the day said they "highly value the annual bilateral human rights dialogue held between Canada and China, which contributes to a greater mutual understanding of human rights issues."
But there was no word on whether human rights issues were discussed or what their resolutions may be.

One aspect of trade with China that Paul Martin probably did not think about was China's internal health problems with the Asian Bird Flu. It is hoped that Canadian Import/Export folks give all those chinese checkers games a good scrubbing before they're put on the shelves for us to buy.