Video: ‘Totally unacceptable’: China foreign minister lashes out at Canadian reporter for asking about human rights

2 June 2016 

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi lashed out at a Canadian journalist for asking about issues of human rights in his country on Wednesday.

“Your question is full of prejudice against China and arrogance, and I don’t know where that come from. This is totally unacceptable,” Wang said.

Wang was at a joint press conference with Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion in Ottawa. His comments came after a journalist from the online news outlet iPoliticsasked about China’s treatment of human rights advocates, such as the Hong Kong booksellers.

Wang went on to ask the journalist whether she had been to China.

“Do you know that China has lifted more than 600 million people out of poverty? Do you know that China is now the second largest economy in the world from a very low foundation? Do you think that development is possible for China without protection of human rights? Do you know China has written protection of human rights into our constitution?” he said.

See also: Video: Chinese ambassador to UK tells Tibetans their cause is ‘doomed’ and will ‘never succeed’

He asked the journalist not to ask any “irresponsible” questions. “I have to tell you, the people who know best about China’s human rights is not you, but the Chinese people themselves. You don’t have a say but China has,” he added.

Causeway Bay Books. Photo: Kris Cheng/HKFP.

In December last year, Lee Bo, a shareholder of Causeway Bay Books, went missing. Four other members of staff from the shop, which is known for political gossip titles critical of the Chinese government, also disappeared before reappearing on the mainland saying that they had voluntarily returned to China for investigation.

According to a UN statement in February, about 250 “human rights lawyers, legal assistants, and activists” have been detained in China, although some have since been released.

Lovasz-Bennet Mary Richard · 

Wimbledon College of Art

I am delighted that China is showing its true fascist totalitarian nature, they simply hate us and our culture [freedom] here in Canada. Meanwhile the Chinese enjoy acts of extreme cruelty such as their famous genocides such as the wiping out of the Uighurs, Tibetans and Mongolian Cultures while participating in external genocides such as their recent northern African exploits. Kudos for that journalists who angered this Chinese maniac. The world now has this on recorded tape thank God. Their military [generals] are on record openly discussing global dominance and that the west is in their way. This begs the Q, why is Canada bending over backwards and "kissing the boot heels" of these maniacs, our enemies....?

Like · Reply · 7 mins · Edited

Keith Mai

His name is Stephane Dion not Stephanie

Like · Reply · 1 · 1 June 2016 20:37

Tom Grundy

Thank you. Fixed.

Like · Reply · 2 June 2016 00:46

Jonathan Henshaw

The journalist brought the case of Kevin Garratt, a Canadian imprisoned in China on espionage charges, as well.

Like · Reply · 2 · 1 June 2016 20:39

Martin Sinclair · 

Hong Kong

I do hope that journalists present retorted that China completely suppresses the rights of Chinese people to complain about... well, their rights, so it's impossible for anyone to know the full extent of exactly how bad it is, and that's why we're asking, so we can show the world the complicity of your lies...

Like · Reply · 6 · 1 June 2016 21:38

Rob Lake

Perhaps the SCMP's Alex Lo will honour us with another "pot/kettle" rant on how outrageous it is for the evil, foreign Canadians to dare to make comments about (i.e., interfere with) China.

Like · Reply · 12 · 1 June 2016 21:54

Mike Jones

Do you know China has written protection of human rights into our constitution?” Just ask him this, 'why do you have human right's protections in your constitution?'