Canadian government official calls Taiwan a country
An image of Director General, Digital and Creative Marketplace Frameworks at the Department of Canadian Heritage, Amy Awad. Source: LinkedIn
Written by: Aidan Jonah
During Canada's Foreign Interference inquiry, a Canadian government official referred to Taiwan province as a country.
The official is Director General, Digital and Creative Marketplace Frameworks at the Department of Canadian Heritage, Amy Awad, who made this statement while speaking about the department's Digital Citizen Initiative.
Awad’s exact words, coming from the transcription of an interview for the inquiry which occurred in July 2024 (and was referenced on Day 29 - October 7):
“Ms. Awad explained that PCH is considering whether to pursue a national digital media literacy strategy, noting that such a strategy would require the collaboration and buy-in from provinces and territories. She underscored that educating the public about disinformation is a good way to build societal resilience, and referenced Finland and Taiwan as countries that have built a resilient ecosystem.”
"Ms. Awad does not have specific data on whether resilience in countries like Finland and Taiwan to MIDI from foreign state actors translates into a resilience to MIDI more generally or on whether teaching children about disinformation can have a trickle-up informational effect on their parents. However, some of the programs supported by the DCI also target other segments of the population."
Awad is a recent hire to the department, joining in August 2023. But Canada’s shenanigans around Taiwan province, which claims the entirety of China as its territory, began much earlier.
In 2018, when Taiwan province sought inclusion in the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer, Canada supported this bid and indicated its disappointment about the WHA rejection. In 2020, Canada again supported the observer status bid along with the US. In 2023, Canada called for Taiwan province to be allowed to have “meaningful participation in the forums and technical committees of the World Health Organization [WHO].”
The problem with this 2023 bid, is that the world-consensus followed by the WHO/WHA majority, is the one-China principle. That there is only one China in this world, and that the PRC represents it. What this means for the WHO/WHA is that if they have the PRC on the WHO/WHA, they can’t have Taiwan province engage with it. Participation in WHO committees and WHA membership requires one to be a full member of the WHO, which is only possible for an independent nation, which Taiwan province is not.
Even if Canadian policy doesn’t back China regaining control of Taiwan province, Canadian policy around their ‘One-China Principle’ is that they only recognize the PRC as a country, not Taiwan province. So, by advocating for any involvement in the WHO committees by Taiwan province, Canada is rejecting its own ‘One-China policy’, by subtly seeking to promote ‘Taiwan independence’.
And this draws us back to the present day. When The Canada Files contacted Canadian Heritage to ask if Awad’s words fairly represented their view about Taiwan province, they said:
“Ms. Awad's comments that were summarized in the document intended solely to provide examples of places that had built resilience through digital media literacy. Consistent with its One China policy, Canada maintains unofficial but valuable economic, cultural and people to-people ties with Taiwan.”
Canadian Heritage’s statement did not contain a rejection of Awad calling Taiwan a ‘country’, while simultaneously emphasizing Canada’s ‘One-China Policy’.
When The Canada Files contacted China’s embassy in Canada for comment, they said:
“The Taiwan question is purely China's internal affair. It is at the very core of China's core interests and books no interference. The one-China principle is a universal consensus shared by the international community and a basic principle of international relations. It was also the fundamental prerequisite and political foundation for the establishment of China-Canada diplomatic relations. Canada should abide by the political commitment and earnestly respect China's position on the Taiwan Question and prudently and properly handle Taiwan-related issues.”
Aidan Jonah is the Editor-in-Chief of The Canada Files, a socialist, anti-imperialist news outlet founded in 2019. Jonah wrote a report for the 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council, held in September 2021.
Editor’s note: The Canada Files is the country's only news outlet focused on Canadian foreign policy. We've provided critical investigations & hard-hitting analysis on Canadian foreign policy since 2019, and need your support.
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