Controversy erupted at the first annual U of T China Conference (UTCC) this weekend as both lecturing scholars and student delegates disagreed over conditions in modern China.
The conference, which took place at the faculty of law on Saturday, featured four panels of academic speakers who discussed the Canada-China trade relationship, international scholarly exchange, modern Chinese culture, and Chinese environmental issues.
But what was meant to be staid and scholarly turned tumultuous when a number of audience members loudly criticized the opinions of some professors and students, and one delegate argued that the substance of the conference did not match its mission statement-which pledged that the conference would be “dedicated to promoting intellectual exchanges in academics, economics, and cultures between China and the international community, notably Canada.”
Although the mission statement encompassed numerous elements of the Chinese-Canadian relationship, the majority of the speakers-including the outgoing chancellor of U of T, the honourable Vivienne Poy, who delivered the keynote speech-concentrated on the best methods of conducting business in China. Two of the three speakers on Chinese culture were solely concerned with business etiquette and the panel on international exchange emphasized management training. Notably absent was a panel addressing the current political situation in China and the nation’s documented human rights abuses, issues that many of the delegates raised during question periods.
“What is the purpose of this conference?” asked fourth-year electrical engineering student Daniel Zou, following a lecture by Dr. Jean-Louis Mutte on the opportunities for Chinese students at the Amiens Picardie Business School in France. “If it is to benefit Canada, then we are no more than a bunch of ambitious business people seeking to profit from China. If it is to benefit China, then we are going against Canadian democratic ideals.” Zou argued that the conference should encompass more analysis of political and legal reforms in China and less discussion of investment in the existing system.
“Many of our speakers hold positions in China and are therefore uncomfortable publicly discussing sensitive political issues,” UTCC executive member Doris Tian explained between sections of the conference when asked about the absence of a human rights panel. Director Bassanio So of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Toronto demonstrated this reticence when he refused to address political issues directed at his panel.
“I am not going to answer the political questions,” he said. “That’s not my job.”
The most heated exchange of the afternoon erupted when numerous delegates took offence to Dr. Helen Xiaoyan Wu’s presentation of translations of satirical rhymes from the Chinese press that mocked government officials and police officers for corruption and debauchery.
When Wu argued for the veracity of the poems’ content, stating that Chinese prostitution was “a social phenomenon” and that she had seen numerous massage parlours during trips to China, many delegates loudly protested.
“She exaggerated Chinese social problems,” stated first-year management student and UTCC executive member Lily Lu. “I have spent a great deal of time in China and I know that our police are not like that. They will try to help others to the best of their ability.” The organizers of the conference intend to repeat the event next year, but they did not say whether the topics addressed would be political as well as economic.
