Hong Kong: What We Can Do

There is nothing the rest of the world can do, physically, to help Hong Kong, if China is determined to swallow it. Nevertheless, China’s incursion is a blatant violation of treaty obligations; so it seems something must be done. The world must respond in some way.

The UK is talking about giving Hong Kongers a limited right to residency. Canada too can do this. It seems to me this is an instance in which Canada’s vast open spaces ought to be used in the cause of world freedom; this is, unlike Syria or Somalia, a case of legitimate refugees. This is when we should open our doors and ports.

It is largely so that our resources are available to such legitimate refugees that I oppose the current overall high levels of immigration.

I would strongly support letting in genuine Syrian refugees as well: if we let in only Christians, Yasidis, and other religious minorities. But letting in all comers is rather like letting all Germans emigrate to Canada during the Nazi holocaust: some of them will be genuine refugees, but many of the others will simply be importing the ideology that led to the trouble. And may well be committed to destroying Canada as well. The same for Somalia. As a general principle, aside from toxic ideologies, importing people from a land in civil war is likely to import the civil war.

Genuine refugees are a different matter. They are intrinsically unlikely to maintain strong emotional ties to the land they are fleeing; for them there is no going back. They are likely to commit wholeheartedly to Canadian society. They make ideal immigrants.

Hong Kongers bear no responsibility for their own situation. Moreover, since Hong Kong was until so recently run by Britain, they will have a head start in understanding and adapting to Canadian ways.

I suggest the proviso that they not settle in Vancouver or Toronto; perhaps nowhere in BC, Quebec, or Ontario. Other parts of the country need more people, while in Vancouver and Toronto the housing infrastructure cannot meet the demand. We want to fill our wide open spaces, not further crowd our largest cities. Moreover, spread out, they are more likely to assimilate, rather than create a ghetto. We used to understand that ghettos were a problem.

China is threatening retaliation against Britain for suggesting such a freer immigration policy. Yet simply allowing refugees to come barely counts as punishment for China’s illegal act. One simple further action, however, would. It would cost nothing, directly, and risk no military confrontations.

Simply formally recognize Taiwan. 

Democratic countries everywhere should now formally recognize Taiwan. We should do it all at once, so that China would not be able to retaliate, as they are trying to do with Australia, and threatening to do with Britain. NATO could coordinate on this; the EU could coordinate on it. It is, on top of anything else, simply the right thing to do: Taiwan is indeed independent, functionally, and this is only a recognition of facts on the ground.

It might seem trivial, but we Westerners rarely comprehend how important “face” is in China.

We have no obligation to play along.