House committee condemns Chinese sanctions on MP, subcommittee as attempt to 'silence' work

Power Play: Conservative MP sanctioned by China Conservative MP Michael Chong says 'China is very worried' about international criticism after he was sanctioned by the Chinese government.

Ottawa — The House of Commons foreign affairs committee has voted unanimously to formally condemn Chinese sanctions placed on a member of Parliament and a subcommittee of which he is a member.

Parliamentarians said Wednesday that they “stand in solidarity” with Conservative MP Michael Chong, after China announced they have banned the MP from doing business with any Chinese citizen and from entering the country. China also targeted the parliamentary subcommittee on international human rights, which is examining the treatment of the Muslim minority population in the Xinjiang province.

The motion, introduced by the Liberals, states that the sanctions represent “an affront to Canada’s democracy and parliamentary system” and emphasizes that their work must continue to uncover the human rights abuses taking place in the region.

There have been numerous reports from journalists and international human rights advocates exposing instances of state surveillance, mass rape, forced labour, sterilization, and torture at China’s "re-education" camps for Uyghurs.

“We think there should be a united and clear stance taken by parliamentarians and especially by this committee, first and foremost to condemn this action by China,” said Liberal MP Ruby Sahota.

NDP MP Jack Harris proposed the approved amendment “as Parliamentarians, we will continue to actively denounce human rights violations and breaches of international law in keeping with our respect for basic human rights.”

Chong added that he believes the sanctions were an attempt to “silence us.”

“In practical terms, these sanctions will have no impact on me, but they are an attempt to silence us. They’re an attempt to stop us from speaking up on violations of international law in the form of the 1948 Genocide Convention that China is perpetrating in its genocide against the Uyghurs Muslim minority in Xinjiang province,” he said.

In late February, Chong led the Conservative-backed motion to have Parliament formally label China’s treatment of the Uyghurs a genocide. Almost all MPs – including the majority of Liberal MPs who participated – voted in favor of the motion, while Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau abstained and the rest of cabinet was absent.

Conservative MP Garnett Genuis said the sanctions are evidence that the efforts by Chong and those of the subcommittee are working.

“Those criticisms are having an impact and the greater that impact, the more likely we’re going to see a change in behaviour,” he said.

China also placed sanctions on the chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Gayle Manchin and vice-chair Tony Perkins.

Days prior, Canada joined the U.S., EU, and U.K. in levying sanctions against Chinese state officials for the situation in Xinjiang, which a spokesperson for the foreign ministry said was based on “based on rumors and disinformation.”