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FILE- Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai is escorted by Correctional Services officers to get on a prison van before appearing in a court in Hong Kong, Dec. 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)Article contentThe draconian 20 year imprisonment of Hong Kong dissident and newspaper-owner Jimmy Lai, effectively a death sentence, is a reminder that if we are going to get into bed with China we should be aware that we are soiled by association.

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That is not to say that Canada will overnight become an authoritarian regime bent on jailing its dissidents (Freedom Convoy organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber would rightly give a valid, potent and alternative argument on this point.)

Advertisement 1 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() { const template = document.getElementById('oop-ad-template'); if (template && !template.dataset.adInjected) { const clone = template.content.cloneNode(true); template.replaceWith(clone); if (template.parentElement) { template.parentElement.dataset.adInjected = "true"; } } });Article contentBut if we are going to trade with China, and Prime Minister Mark Carney seems most insistent that we do, then we had better be conscious of the danger of having to disregard some of our more onerous scruples — fighting on behalf of brave rebels who are willing to speak out against the corrupt despots of the world, for instance.

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Clearly, Carney is in no hurry to start lecturing the Chinese on their appalling human rights abuses, not with business at stake.

When he returned from his trade mission to Beijing last month, Carney was insistent on telling Canadians that Canada “can thrive in a new system” and that if we were ambitious we could secure enormous investment from new partners.

“And we must be pragmatic,” he said, code for there will be times when we need to hold our noses from the noisome behaviour of our new partners.

Canada’s approach to China had to be “recalibrated,” he said, it had to be narrow, specific and within guardrails as well as rooted in “value-based realism.” Human rights had to be part of broader discussions, preferably with coalition partners, he added.

Whatever all this meant, Carney summed it up perfectly when he said, “We take the world as it is, not as we wish it to be.”

Terry Glavin: Carney-China deal full of Trojan Horses on police and propaganda Michael Higgins: Carney wants 'justice' for the world, but what about for Canadians? Advertisement 1Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.document.addEventListener(`DOMContentLoaded`,function(){let template=document.getElementById(`oop-ad-template`);if(template&&!template.dataset.adInjected){let clone=template.content.cloneNode(!0);template.replaceWith(clone),template.parentElement&&(template.parentElement.dataset.adInjected=`true`)}});Article contentFour days later, Carney was preaching a different story at Davos. In a speech widely interpreted as aimed at U.S. President Donald Trump, the prime minister was demanding the creation of a new world order “that encompasses our values, such as respect for human rights.”

Carney’s approach to China is thus a laissez faire, hands off, “no megaphone” policy. However, to the U.S., once considered an indispensable ally, Carney’s response is to shout very loudly at a world forum for middle powers to band together against the American oppressor.

The danger in such a foreign policy should be obvious. We have decided to implicitly trust a dangerous power that until a few months ago was considered the greatest threat to our democracy and way of life, while abandoning an ally because the current president cannot control his mouth or his temper.

Canada once had a great love for the United States and it would be a pity if we abandoned her to jump into the arms of a new lover who is more likely to devour us than shower us with kisses.

Three judges, handpicked by Beijing, sentenced Lai, a pro-democracy advocate who has been outspoken against Chinese oppression, to 20 years in prison on Monday.

The court in Hong Kong, once a thriving colony under British rule but now living under the repressive regime of China, found him guilty under a controversial “national security law” aimed at curbing protests.

Lai, 78, founded the Apple Daily newspaper which was a constant thorn in Beijing’s side with its repeated calls for free speech and the rule of law to be respected in Hong Kong.

The government of Canada also notes that “human rights violations committed in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are well-documented and continue to raise significant concerns” citing action against Uyghurs, Muslims, Tibetans and Falun Gong practitioners.

And it was less than a year ago that Carney, when asked for the biggest threat facing Canada, replied with one word: China.

So how does Canada respond to something like the jailing of Jimmy Lai now that we have a new pragmatic relationship with China?

On X, Anita Anand, the foreign affairs minister, said she was “disappointed” with the sentencing and called for his release.

Disappointed? It’s disappointing when your elderly mother can’t meet you for lunch, but it’s an absolute tragedy when an elderly man is imprisoned for believing in democracy.

Consider that in December, a month before Carney’s love-in with China, Anand wrote about Lai’s trial saying, “Canada condemns the politically motivated prosecution of Jimmy Lai under the National Security Law in Hong Kong and calls for his immediate release. We continue to express our concerns about deteriorating rights, freedoms and autonomy which are enshrined in Hong Kong’s Basic Law.”

If we must trade with China, we should be under no illusions that there will be a cost — not just abandoning the megaphone but abandoning people such as Jimmy Lai.

In less than two months we have gone from strongly condemning his trial to merely being disappointed at his two decade sentence.

At Davos, Carney said Canada was not “powerless” — “The power of the less powerful starts with honesty.”

Fine, let’s start with honesty: What values is the prime minister willing to sacrifice as part of his devil’s bargain with China?

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