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There may have been a scenario in which Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion met his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, and came away looking more subservient than he did Wednesday, but it takes some imagining.

Wang could have blown his nose on a Canadian flag and handed it to Dion, for example, or maybe given Dion a wedgie

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As it was, Dion simply looked on and said nothing as Wang berated iPolitics reporter Amanda Connolly for asking a perfectly reasonable question (agreed to with journalists from other media outlets present) about China’s atrocious human rights record — specifically the disappearance of several Hong Kong booksellers, and the arrest and detention of Canadian Kevin Garratt on espionage charges. His wife Judy was also arrested, but later released.

For the record, here is exactly what Connolly asked: “There are no shortage of concerns about China’s treatment of human rights advocates, such as the Hong Kong booksellers, and its detention of the Garratts, not to mention the destabilizing effects of its territorial ambitions in the South China Sea. Given these concerns, why is Canada pursuing closer ties with China, how do you plan to use that relationship to improve human rights and security in the region, and did you specifically raise the case of the Garratts during your talks?”