Send Jason Kenney to the Beijing Olympics

a blog about news and politics by steve janke

Send Jason Kenney to the Beijing Olympics

Tuesday, April 08, 2008 at 07:37 AM

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Is Canada going to participate in the Beijing Olympics? I think that's a forgone conclusion. Several people have pointed out that my contribution to the debate has not been all that constructive, and they're right.

So if the Canadian government is going to the Olympics, who should go? I've tried to be constructive, and I think Jason Kenney would be an ideal choice.

I've received a number of emails from people who point out that my agitation for a full boycott of the Olympics is rooted as much in my distaste for the Olympics in general as it is in the particular situation in China. Boycotts won't achieve much:

What is it with this notion that boycotting the Olympics will accomplish anything? It would be at best a hollow gesture that would make NO difference in China's blatant disregard for human rights.

I had friends who were frozen out with the 1980 Russian boycott, and while it was quite effective at destroying their dreams, it didn't do squat about Russian domestic or foreign policy.

They've challenged me to look at the Beijing Olympics in isolation and to consider the right response.

Admittedly, my support for the boycott is not really about Tibet.

So if I put aside my wish to see the Olympics gone, or dramatically reduced in scope and influence, and look at the right response to the Tibet situation, I have to concede that the option of a full boycott is not on the table.

But I won't give up. There has to be a way to make the Chinese understand that the Canadian government is not impressed with their human rights record, and that the Conservatives have no intention of politely ignoring the issue during the Olympics.

The problem with a boycott leaves a vacuum that Chinese authorities could use to fill with their own message.

That in turn suggests we ought to send someone to the Olympics to represent the government and to make sure there is no vacuum for the Chinese propagandists. But we have to be careful. A wrong choice might also hand the Chinese a propaganda victory. For instance, Prime Minister Stephen Harper could show up and demand that the Chinese answer for their actions, but none of that will come through in a photograph with the caption "Canadian Prime Minister makes point to visit Beijing Olympics".

The prime minister is just too high profile.

So who ought to go? I poke around the list of possibilities, and I think I know who I'd send.

Jason Kenney.

Here's why:

Jason Kenney is in cabinet, but not a full minister. He's the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity. In terms of protocol, he's senior enough to go, but not so senior as to give the Chinese anything to brag about.
He is not the minister in charge of sport. Again, sending Helena Guergis would send the wrong message, that being that the Canadian government is seeing the Olympics as a sporting event separate from China's treatment of its citizens.
As Secretary of State for Multiculturalism, his very job description is a poke in the eye of the Chinese. The Han Chinese make up 92% of the population, and much of China's trouble comes with an unwillingness to deal with other ethnic groups in anything resembling a meeting of equals, or to accommodate cultural distinctiveness.
Jason Kenney is personally responsible for many of the actions taken by the Canadian government that have irritated the Chinese:
- He has written to the Chinese about political prisoners.
- He has been Canada's point-of-contact for an organization pushing for the democratization of China.
- He is a member of Parliament's Canada-Tibet committee.
- He was instrumental in having the Canadian government grant the Dalai Lama an honorary citizenship.
- He led the effort to have Canada drop out of the Durban II conference, establishing Canada's credibility for real human rights advocacy.
This is pure speculation, but Jason Kenney doesn't strike me as the sort of guy who would be too concerned about embarrassing his Chinese hosts if a reporter asked Kenney a direct question on human rights. Heck, he might actually enjoy it, if just a little bit.