JUNE 2 & 3, 2022 - The Challenge of China

Protecting Human Rights and Democracy in the Global Institutions of the 21st Century
Jun 2, 2022 to Jun 3, 2022 — All day

Human rights

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.

See program below.

JUNE 2 & 3, 2022 - The Challenge of China
Image by Omid B. Milani

Thursday, June 2, 2022

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.
For the sessions offered in-person

Please note that masks will be required

Date and time
Jun 2, 2022 to Jun 3, 2022
All day
Format and location
ONLINE | ZOOM Webinar
Language
Event in English
Audience
Watch the public webinar starting at 9 a.m.

Friday, June 3, 2022

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