The torture of the drop

The torture of the gout does not work as we believe.

In this method, called in English Chinese water torture, it is not the fall of the drop of water in itself that torments the victim. When it falls at a steady rate, you can get used to it. It’s when the flow is unpredictable that the victim really suffers.

This torture, Justin Trudeau inflicts it on himself by his management of Chinese interference in the Canadian elections.

The Prime Minister initially trivialized the problem. He is now shoveling it forward by asking his “independent special rapporteur”, David Johnston, to find a solution for him. His report will be tabled at the end of October. By May 23, Mr. Johnston will also be able to propose other mechanisms to shed light, including a public inquiry.

Mr. Trudeau promises to comply with such a recommendation, even if recently he himself deemed it inadequate.

Meanwhile, a parallel investigation is taking place by default in the media. Supported by anonymous sources, the news multiplies in a certain disorder.

Every morning, the Liberals wake up not knowing which revelation will splash which elected.

Of course, an independent investigation can also become a surprise box. But the process is at least framed. The testimonies are more substantial than a media report and the people criticized can give their version of the facts. Han Dong wouldn’t have complained.

Because of his refusal to launch such a mechanism, Mr. Trudeau makes possible absurd stories like that of Mr. Dong, MP for Don Valley North who has just resigned from the Liberal caucus.

In February 2021, Mr. Dong reportedly told the Chinese consul in Toronto over the phone that releasing the two Michaels would help the Conservative Party.

It’s strange. After all, Mr. Trudeau was criticized for being slow to obtain this release. And when the hostages returned home, it was a victory for the Liberal leader. Rumor has it that a translation error explains this misunderstanding.

Others argue that the release of Meng Wanzhou in exchange for the two Michaels was not without risk for liberals. At the time, experts lamented that China won twice: by repatriating the businesswoman and sending a warning to other countries. In short, Canada showed despite itself that for China, the hostage-taking had worked.

Was that what Mr. Dong had in mind? While not plausible, it is not entirely impossible.

Difficult to see clearly. But it is known that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) warned the Liberals in 2019 that Mr. Dong was supported by Chinese agents and that he had since been monitoring the MP. This is precisely why his conversation with the consul was tapped…

We don’t know what the next revelation will be. But everything indicates that there will be others, shelled in this media soap opera which does not run out of steam. Because obviously people with sensitive national security information distrust the government and they are sounding the alarm.

These drip leaks seem to have fallen on Mr. Trudeau’s head.

His arguments for defending himself are bizarre. He accuses those who expose Chinese interference attempts of undermining trust in our democratic institutions. However, if they reveal the threat, it is precisely to better counter it.

His strategy is also curious. After judging that a public inquiry would be harmful, he would accept it if his special rapporteur recommended it.

Finally, the choice of Mr. Johnston is astonishing. True, the former Governor General is competent and honest. He was dean of the law school at the University of Western Ontario, Waterloo, and principal of McGill, and he set the terms of reference for the Oliphant commission into the links between Karlheinz Schreiber and Brian Mulroney. But he is also a family friend of the Trudeaus and a Sinophile who has strengthened relations between Canadian and Chinese universities, despite growing fears of technology theft. If he does not recommend a public inquiry, opposition parties will accuse him of being biased. The Prime Minister could have found someone less vulnerable to attack.

Since the beginning of this affair, every decision of Mr. Trudeau has been vitiated by a great error. He believes that the investigation should focus on Chinese interference attempts. However, even if they become bolder and more aggressive, they have always existed and our intelligence agencies are already working to counter them.

What is at stake is rather the political reaction to this threat. We want to know if the Trudeau government has trivialized or facilitated them.

The Liberals are obviously not China’s allies. Mr. Trudeau suffered the wrath of it. The Middle Kingdom does not put all its eggs in one basket. Beijing is looking for interlocutors in all the parties likely to take power. But according to the various leaks, the fishing has been good for the Liberals since 2015.

That is what needs to be investigated: the federal response to this particular threat.

When it comes to national security and espionage, certain information must remain confidential. I don’t know what exact mechanism would make it possible to shed all the light without divulging our state secrets. But one thing seems clear: the investigation cannot be addressed to Mr. Trudeau. Accountability is to the public.

Failing to be pleasant for the Liberal leader, he will avoid the current ordeal of the gout which is not in the process of ending.