© cbavancouver.com Photos of Harjit Sajjan at a recent reception celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China are drawing criticism.

Canada’s defence minister has drawn criticism for his recent appearance at a reception in Vancouver during which he stood on stage alongside the Chinese consul-general.

The gala event Sept. 22 at a restaurant in Chinatown was organized by the Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver, an umbrella organization for dozens of business and cultural associations, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

Besides Sajjan, other attendees included Tong Xiaoling, the Chinese consul-general in Vancouver, and her deputies, as well as Bruce Ralston, B.C.’s minister of jobs, trade and technology, and George Chow, the B.C. minister of state for trade.

© Julie David de Lossy via AFP/Getty Images; AP Michael Kovrig, left, and Michael Spavor are two Canadians detained by Chinese authorities.

As pictures from the event circulated on social media over the past week, some observers said it was inappropriate for Canadian politicians to participate in such an event when two Canadians, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, continue to be detained overseas.

“I don’t think our politicians should attend the PRC 70th Anniversary at this moment while PRC retains our Canadians with no reason for over 9 months,” Mabel Tung, chair of the Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement, said in an email.

Tung also said the undermining of human rights — she cited the treatment of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong and the persecution of Uyghur Muslims — were also reasons to stay away from China national day events.

“Canada should, with other leaders of the world, stand up against ever-encroaching authoritarianism from the PRC,” she wrote.

Stephanie Carvin, a professor of international affairs at Carleton University, tweeted that it was “extremely odd” that Sajjan would attend an event celebrating the founding of the Chinese Communist Party “at a time (when) China is holding two Canadians hostage in retaliation for a perceived slight against a state-championed company.” She was referring to the arrest last December of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.

© cbavancouver.com Photos of Harjit Sajjan at a recent reception celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China are drawing criticism.

But Todd Lane, a spokesman for Sajjan, said Monday that Sajjan attended the event in his capacity as a candidate for the Vancouver South riding and didn’t stay long.

“During the event, Mr. Sajjan delivered brief remarks where he spoke of the long-standing focus of the organization on promoting diversity and their efforts to grant Chinese-Canadians the right to vote. Mr. Sajjan took the opportunity to state that the Chinese government needed to address the consular cases of the two arbitrarily detained Canadians. Mr. Sajjan believes in standing up for the rights of Canadians and has done so on numerous occasions. Shortly following the remarks, Mr. Sajjan departed. … Mr. Sajjan did not stay for dinner.”

According to the Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver’s website, nearly 1,000 people attended the gala event. The dinner was preceded by speeches that extolled the growth of China’s urban middle class and called for the restoration of order in Hong Kong.

The benevolent association, a non-profit that has been in existence for over a century, came under scrutiny this summer when it placed large ads in Canadian Chinese-language newspapers denouncing protesters in Hong Kong as “radicals.” The association denied that the ads were intended to promote the Chinese government’s point of view but rather to support “peace in Hong Kong.”

The association did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Fenella Sung, a member of Canadian Friends of Hong Kong, acknowledged Monday it might be unavoidable for some Canadian officials to attend such functions because of Canada’s diplomatic ties with China.

© cbavancouver.com Photos of Harjit Sajjan at a recent reception celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China are drawing criticism.

“Interactions as such are part of the ‘unnecessary evil’ that comes with having formal ties,” she wrote in a statement. “But we can apply a ‘harm reduction’ strategy to actively manage the interaction, and attending their functions doesn’t mean our officials have to do everything on their terms.”

For instance, instead of sending elected officials, lower-ranking civil servants could attend, she suggested.

A spokeswoman for Global Affairs Canada confirmed late Monday that Paul Thoppil, the assistant deputy minister for Asia, attended a Sept. 25 reception sponsored by the Chinese embassy in Ottawa to mark the PRC 70th anniversary.

A few weeks ago, B.C.’s intergovernmental relations secretariat confirmed that Ralston would be attending a 70th-anniversary event sponsored by the Chinese consulate in Vancouver. It cited B.C.’s “strong trade and cultural ties” with China and the fact that China is B.C.’s second-largest trading partner.

Some Canadian politicians, however, have opted to not participate in anniversary events. Toronto Mayor John Tory, who had previously attended an annual Chinese flag-raising ceremony outside City Hall, chose to pass on the event on Monday, his spokesman said.

“The Mayor is hopeful that in the very near future a resolution will be found to a number of issues between Canada and China which are of great concern to him and to all of the people of Toronto who strongly believe in addressing issues at home and abroad respectfully and with due process,” Don Peat said in a statement.

“The only way democracy prevails is by allowing free speech and free expression in our society. While the Chinese consulate is permitted to raise its flag on its national day, people are also free to object to that and to protest it.”

Though not related to the PRC anniversary, a Chinese consulate-sponsored cocktail reception at the annual convention of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities last week also drew protests from some municipal leaders.

Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West led a group of anti-Chinese government protesters into the hotel where they placed two boxes of Tim Hortons doughnuts and pictures of Kovrig and Spavor at the entrance to the reception.

— With files from Postmedia News

• Email: dquan@postmedia.com | Twitter: dougquan