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Hong Kong and its people have played a rich and vibrant role in Canada

Yet the public response from Canadian officials, faced with the scope and import of the recent surge in protests in Hong Kong, seems disproportionately lacking.

Outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May has raised the issue of Hong Kong and the protests that have erupted over a proposed extradition law, several times with members of senior Chinese leadership in a public manner.

A search for her name and Hong Kong returns over 14 million results, with her pledging to raise the issue with Vice Premier Hu Chunhua and President Xi Jinping.

A spokesperson for May called on free speech and assembly rights in Hong Kong to be respected — and she made a public statement saying that “we have been unequivocal in our views, it is vital that those extradition arrangements are in line with the rights and freedoms that were set down in that … Joint Declaration.” Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, urged the Hong Kong government to “listen to the concerns of its people” and warned of “serious consequences” if China resorted to repression. “The United Kingdom views this situation very, very seriously.” he would add.

Photo by Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/Getty Images

Public searches for Justin Trudeau and Hong Kong return many fewer results, with about 1.8 million results on Google. While he has made strong statements of concern about Canadian citizens detained by mainland China, our prime minister has not made any strong public statements about Hong Kong. In fact, in 2016, when he visited Hong Kong, he reiterated that Canada “will work with whoever gets elected and forms government in foreign jurisdictions” and focused more on trade and the “revitalization” of the relationship between mainland China and Canada.