Canadian Authorities Have Long Connived at Vandalism Targeting Chinese Embassy: Sources

By Global Times

Apr 16, 2021 01:07 PM

Canadian authorities have been conniving at vandalism and provocative actions targeting the compound of the Chinese Embassy in Canada, despite China's repeated solemn representation on this matter, sources close to the issue told the Global Times. 

Since last year, the Chinese Embassy in Canada has been frequently attacked by unidentified people, who vandalized the building, spraying anti-China slogans on the outer walls of the embassy, the sources said. They also revealed that anti-China forces have long been kicking up troubles in front of the embassy, including displaying banners denouncing China and staging protests against China. 

Those incidents have severely damaged China's dignity and image, and thus have propelled the Chinese side's repeated solemn representation to the Canadian side. However, Canada has taken no effective measure to prevent such incidents and even acquiesced those anti-China forces' behaviors. 

Li Haidong, professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times that according to international conventions, such as the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the receiving state is under a special duty to take all appropriate steps to protect the consular premises against any intrusion or damage and to prevent any disturbance of the peace of the consular post or impairment of its dignity.

Frankly speaking, the Chinese public is also holding a grudge against Canada for what they have done, but has never enacted any incident disturbing the Canadian Embassy in China, said Yang Xiyu, a senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies.

Experts noted that under the diplomatic principle of equality, Canada should not count on China to unilaterally guard the Chinese embassy's safety and dignity; any failure on Canada's behalf in doing so is neglecting international laws and terms. Li urged the Canadian side to carry out their duties and take effective measures to protect safety and dignity of Chinese diplomatic personnel, as well as Chinese institutes in the country. 

Yang said spraying threatening words on walls, if severely disturbing others' lives, already constitutes criminal violation, yet Canadian authorities' indulgence of those lawbreakers also sends a wrong signal to its public. 

Yang said such harassment of China embassy has also occurred in other countries, but it is a rare case that Canada turned a blind eye to such behavior which sent the wrong signal. "If those things happened to the US Embassy in Canada, I assume Canada would already have patched out police officers to deal with it."

Last May, the outer walls of the office of the Chinese Consulate General in Calgary, Canada, were defaced with a hateful message saying "China virus." A spokesperson from the Consulate General told Canadian media that the graffiti's message is an "act of hatred" and urged Canadian authorities to investigate the matter. 

Global Times