20090414/专家认为加拿大驻北京使馆雇员人手短缺

Embassy employees in Beijing inadequate in Chinese, expert says
Day had praised their language skills

BILL CURRY

From Monday’s Globe and Mail

April 13, 2009 at 4:00 AM EDT

OTTAWA — Nearly all key Canadian staff working in Beijing at the Canadian embassy are incapable of reading a morning newspaper or understand the Chinese nightly news, says a former diplomat who was posted there twice and recently published an in-depth review of Canada’s China policy.

Charles Burton challenged claims made yesterday by Canada’s Trade Minister Stockwell Day, who boasted in an interview from China on CTV’s Question Period that nine of the top 11 diplomats working at the Canadian embassy are “fluent” in Mandarin.

“I think he got that information from the nine of 11 diplomats [who] are self-reporting their language skills,” Mr. Burton said in an interview with The Globe and Mail. “But the definition of fluency would not be the one that I give in my report, which would be the ability to watch and understand the evening news and to read the newspaper.”

Mr. Burton, who now teaches at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont., worked as a counsellor in the Beijing embassy from 1991 to 1993 and from 1998 to 2000. His research project for the Canadian International Council found fundamental problems with the way Canada deals with China. The ex-diplomat argues the language situation is unacceptable for Canada, where Chinese is the most frequently spoken language after English and French.

Mr. Day has just begun a seven-day tour of China, where he is opening trade offices and promoting Canadian business interests. A Foreign Affairs spokesperson said the department was unable to answer questions yesterday about its language policies.

Mr. Burton’s report was released in February and is based on conversations with current and former senior Canadian and Chinese officials.

It found Canadian officials working in China for Foreign Affairs, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, National Defence and, to a lesser extent, the Communications Security Establishment Canada and the Privy Council Office “lack relatively basic knowledge of Chinese history and politics,” a finding the report describes as a serious problem for Canada.

Mr. Burton goes so far as to write “there is a degree of fraud” in the way Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade rates language skills. Specifically, Canada does not measure them using the standard Chinese-language proficiency test offered regularly by Canadian universities. And the problem is not limited to China: Mr. Burton argues there is no incentive for Canadian diplomats to master the language of their host country because they are routinely transferred.

In contrast, Mr. Burton said in an interview, other countries, including the United States, encourage some of their foreign service officers to specialize in specific regions and languages.

Canadian firms operating in China are racing to compete for a piece of the $600-billion (U.S.) the country will spend on economic stimulus. Mr. Day appeared excited yesterday following a meeting with 12 Canadian firms working in China.

“It’s absolutely amazing what’s going on here. The opportunities are great,” he told CTV, noting that Canadian firms are working to take part in massive construction projects under way in China while Montreal’s Bombardier Inc. is building commuter trains.

Mr. Day was asked yesterday whether his focus on trade contradicts Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s 2006 statement that he would not sacrifice human rights concerns in China for the sake of the “almighty dollar.”

The Trade Minister said he sees no contradiction, insisting that “everything” will be discussed during his trip.

“I find sometimes if we talk about trade, our friends in the media will say, ‘What about human rights?’ ” Mr. Day said. “And then I find when we talk about human rights, our friends in the media say, ‘What about trade?’ ” We’re talking about the whole relationship here.”

In a separate interview with the Canadian Press, Mr. Day said he will raise the issue of why Canada remains one of the few developed countries not on China’s list of approved travel destinations.

Mr. Burton said China wants travel restrictions because it feels Canada’s refugee laws essentially grant safe haven to Chinese criminals.

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