- Honk Kong gets Canada's beef. Canadians get Harper's bull

Canadian beef exporters regain access to Hong Kong, The Canadian Press,Dec. 06, 2009
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/canadian-beef-exporters-regain-access-to-hong-kong/article1390312/ Tab 12

Canada's beef exporters may benefit from this announcement.

But was it really necessary for Harper to go to Hong Kong to get this 'concession'. Especially when you consider that nobody in Hong Kong knows him or cares who he is.

Harper has reduced the Office of Prime Minister of Canada on the Asian stage to that of being a member of Da Shan's entourage.

In China Harper went strutting around like he single handedly got the Approved Destination Status concession from China. He failed to mention that Canada is one of the last countries in the world to be granted this status by China.

He also fails to point out that the Liberal government had obtained Approved Destination Status in January, 2005 and it was Harper himself with his in-your-face, 'Insult Diplomacy' that caused the Chinese to drop it. See the statement by David Emerson on the Industry Canada Website, dated 21 Jan.'05, where he announced "Canada Granted Approved Destination Status by Chinese Government"
( http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/ic1.nsf/eng/02331.html)

Perhaps the real reason Harper went to Hong Kong is to delay having to return to Canada and 'face the music' regarding the Afghan Detainee scandal, the HST undoing of the 2 point reduction on GST, etc.. Evidently Harper is also trying to identify himself with Canada's military, perhaps to deflect the accusations that his actions in 2006 placed our troops in harm's way, vis-a-vis Int'l Human Rights and War Crimes Laws and Afghan detainee transfers, after Harper up'd Canada's participation to direct fighting when the came into power in 2006.

Now Hong Kong doesn't need to ask "Where's the Beef"; and,

Canadians don't have to ask "Where's the bull".

Lloyd MacIlquham cicblog.com/comments.html