Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrived in China to push trade and investment, but the treatment of Chinese Christians was in the spotlight Friday as he met with an official accused of ordering the destruction of churches and crosses.
Harper met with Xia Baolong, the Communist Party secretary for the Zhejiang province who is said to be responsible for the demolition of hundreds of churches and crosses in the region. In many cases, police showed up to tear down the crosses, saying they violated height restrictions.
A newly built mega church was also demolished despite efforts of hundreds of Chinese Christians who formed a human shield to defend their place of worship.
The Christians had hopes that Harper would speak up for them, but it鈥檚 not clear what exactly Harper said to Xia during their meeting.
The Prime Minister鈥檚 Office said Friday that 鈥渉e indicated Canadians would be concerned to know that religious freedoms were being restricted.
鈥淏eyond that, it was a private conversation.鈥�
The PMO said Harper plans to raise China鈥檚 human rights record when he meets President Xi Jinping this weekend.
Critics at home say Harper needs to speak out forcefully in defence of persecuted Chinese Christians.
鈥淭his shouldn鈥檛 be a matter of saying we can鈥檛 do trade and promote human rights there,鈥� NDP鈥檚 foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar said.
But Canadian business executives travelling with Harper urged him to avoid denouncing China鈥檚 human rights record.
Representatives of corporate Canada have urged Harper to mend relations with Chinese leaders. The relationship had soured when Canada restricted further Chinese state ownership of Alberta鈥檚 oilsands. It got even worse after Ottawa publicly rebuked China for hacking into Canadian government computers.
With a report from CTV鈥檚 Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife in China and files from The Canadian Press
