THE CHALLENGE OF CHINA
Protecting Human Rights and Democracy in the Global Institutions of the 21st Century
The People’s Republic of China (PRC), without a doubt, poses the most pressing human rights challenges since the creation of the United Nations and global institutions that were built to end war and protect human rights for all. What can the international community, specifically Canada, do to encourage China to conform to international human rights standards? How can we learn from Taiwan about how to deal with the human rights challenges posed by the PRC beyond its borders? Legal experts and social scientists from Taiwan, France, the US, Canada, and University of Ottawa will discuss what is at stake for Canada and its partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
Thursday, June 2 & Friday, June 3, 2022
See program below.
June 2: Watch the public webinar starting at 9 a.m.
June 3: Watch the public webinar starting at 9 a.m.
For the sessions offered in-person (registration closed), please note that masks will be required.
8:30 | Welcome participants in person
9:00 | INTRODUCTION
Facilitator: Scott SIMON | Full Professor, School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa
- Joseph Jaushieh WU | ROC (Taiwan) Minister of Foreign Affairs (via video)
- Errol MENDES | Full Professor, Faculty of Law, Common Law Section, University of Ottawa & President, International Commission of Jurists, Canada
- Yi-Chun CHOU | Director, Chang Fo-Chuan Centre for the Study of Human Rights and MA Program in Human Rights, Soochow University, Taiwan (via video)
10:00 | BREAK
10:15 | SESSION 1 — China Repressed, Taiwan Threatened
Session in French. Chair: André LALIBERTÉ | Full Professor, School of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa
- Stéphane CORCUFF | Université de Lyon — Taiwan's Self-Determination
- Isabelle HENRION-DOURCY | Full Professor, Department of Anthropology, Université Laval — Human Rights and Cultural Assimilation in Tibet
- Philippe MARTIN | Ph.D. Candidate, University of Ottawa — The Shrinking of Civil Society under Xi Jinping: The Limits of the Stick and Carrot Approach
12:00 | LUNCH
13:15 | SESSION 2 — Broken Spirits: The Demise of Human Rights in China
Chair: Professor Scott SIMON
- Lynette ONG | Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Toronto — Outsourcing Repression: Everyday State Power in Contemporary China
- Darren BYLER | Assistant Professor, International Studies, Simon Fraser University — Critical Human Rights and the Case of Xinjiang
- Pitman POTTER | Emeritus Professor of Law, University of British Columbia — China's Challenges to International Human Rights Standards
15:00 | HEALTH BREAK
15:30 | SESSION 3 — Student Roundtable: Transnational Repression on Campus
Chair: Neuberger-Jesin Professor John PACKER | Associate Professor of Law, & Director, Human Rights Research and Education Centre, University of Ottawa
- By invitation only.
8:30 | Welcome participants in person
9:00 | INTRODUCTION & KEYNOTE SPEECH
Facilitator: Professor André LALIBERTÉ
- Keynote Speaker: Margaret LEWIS | Professor of Law, Seton Hall University
10:00 | BREAK
10:15 | SESSION 4 — Speaking Truth to Power about China
Chair: Professor Errol MENDES
- Margaret McCUAIG-JOHNSON | Senior Fellow, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa — A Personal Reflection on Human Rights in China
- Steven CHASE | Globe and Mail
- Guy SAINT-JACQUES | Former Canadian Ambassador to China
12:00 | LUNCH
13:15 | SESSION 5 — Painting the Bigger Picture on China and Human Rights
- André LALIBERTÉ — China's Philosophical Diversity
- John PACKER — Pluralism and Self-Determination
- Scott SIMON — Indigenous Rights and China
- Errol MENDES — Continuing the Journey
15:00 | CONCLUSION
Organizing Committee
- Scott SIMON | Full Professor, School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa
- André LALIBERTÉ | Full Professor, School of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa
- Errol MENDES | Full Professor, Faculty of Law, Common Law Section, University of Ottawa & President, International Commission of Jurists, Canada
- Neuberger-Jesin Professor John PACKER | Associate Professor of Law, & Director, Human Rights Research and Education Centre, University of Ottawa
The Human Rights Research and Education Centre (HRREC) is celebrating its 40th anniversary during the academic year 2021-2022! This event is part of a diverse and rich programme developed to highlight this major milestone. #CREDP40HRREC
Image by Omid B. Milani