With the announcement that China will proceed with prosecution of two Canadians, a new national poll by the Angus Ried Institute finds Canadians have an increasingly negative view towards China.
The two Canadians Michael Spavor, and Michael Kovrig, are being held in China in what is widely believed to be a case of retribution for the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Canada.
The poll shows 90 per cent of Canadians feel China cannot be trusted on the rule of law or human rights.
It also showed Canadians increasingly against the idea of Huawei being allowed to develop a 5G network over security concerns. Seven in ten (69%) said Huawei should not be involved in the creation of the high speed network.
In 2018 some 51 per cent of Canadians has an unfavourable view of China, but this year that’s up to 66 per cent.
Angus Reid Inst.
As for the situation regarding Meng Wanzhou, a slight majority (53%) say it should be up to the courts to decide regardless of the consequences to Sino-Canadian relations. Interestingly though, a slight majority (51%) also say that Canada should have resisted the U.S request to arrest Meng in the first place.
Angus Reid Inst.
In regards to the the state of tensions between Canada and China. almost nine in ten (88%) felt the situation was serious or quite serious, while eleven per cent thought it wasn’t that serious and two per cent saying it wasn’t a serious situation at all.
In terms of an overall generally favourable or unfavourable view of 11 countries in Asia, Europe and N America, Canadians gave Japan , England, and Germany the highest favourable ratings, while only Saudi Arabia came in below China in terms of unfavourable opinions.
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