Earlier this year, I was invited by Canada's Couchiching Institute on Public Affairs to speak at its 66th conference held in Geneva Park near Toronto on August 8. The institute is one of Canada's oldest and most well-known think-tanks and the annual conference is billed as a summer camp for the mind.
Since this year has been designated as Canada's year of Asia Pacific, the four-day conference has also chosen the region as its theme. My topic was to be Hong Kong under Chinese rule. Two other speakers were former Executive and Legislative councillor, Sir Jimmy McGregor, and former Canadian Commissioner in Hong Kong, Maurice Copithorne.
I was pleased the institute decided to focus on Hong Kong so soon after the handover. Although there was over-saturation of media coverage on Hong Kong in late June and early July, I have been concerned that once under Chinese rule, attention would fade from the international stage.
My Canada visit confirmed not only interest about Hong Kong, but substantial sympathy and concern about the adverse developments on human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
The conference was attended by about 200 delegates, including diplomats, government officials, academics, business and professional people and representatives from non-government organisations.
On the afternoon before my speech was due to be delivered, the Chinese consulate general in Toronto telephoned Geneva Park to leave a message saying the deputy Consul-General, Li Jianzhong, had decided not to attend the conference because he felt the Chinese government's point of view would not be represented. Further, he did not wish to attend because I was there, lest his presence be taken as endorsement of me.