Accusing the Justin Trudeau government of “double standards” China has slammed Ottawa for the way the Freedom Convoy in Canada was portrayed in comparison with the protests in Hong Kong.
This comes as the trucker protests in Ottawa were quelled using emergency powers what the government termed an “occupation” and “blockade” of the nation’s capital that presented a “threat to democracy.” According to China’s Embassy in Canada, this characterization stood in stark contrast to Ottawa’s support for the unruly protests that swept Hong Kong in March of 2019 and ended several months later.
“In the eyes of some people in Canada, similar protests and demonstrations should be referred to differently in different places. In Hong Kong, they are ‘human rights movement,’ but in Canada they are ‘a threat to democracy.’ Such stark double standard is unacceptable,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in a regular press conference on Tuesday.
The Chinese diplomatic mission noted that Canadian police used violent means to disperse the peaceful protesters that set up base in Ottawa’s downtown core.
Since late January, Canadian truck drivers have been rallying against the government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates, as the truckers were requested to be fully vaccinated for crossing the border into the United States.
After being joined by thousands of pedestrian protesters, the rally then turned into demonstrations against the government’s overall restrictive measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.