Justin Trudeau's brother, Alexandre Trudeau, does not hide his affection for China

BET À DAY

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's brother, Alexandre Trudeau, who is due to testify today in Ottawa on foreign interference and the Trudeau Foundation, is a great admirer of present-day China where he has made numerous stays.  

In addition to holding positions within the Trudeau Foundation, Alexandre Trudeau published a book in 2016 (published in French under the title Un barbare en Chine nouvelle ), which recounts some of his experiences in China.

• Benoit Dutrizac and Mario Dumont discuss the Trudeaus' interest in China in their Meeting via QUB radio:

The book was republished in 2020 under the title In China.

Alexandre Trudeau paints a portrait in more than one admiring respect of China.

“What I'm pretty sure is that it wouldn't be better by stupidly copying the political regime of another country”, he wrote in particular about the regime in place and in response to his translator China, who tells him that he despises and fears the Communist Party.

He doesn't seem to mind that the South China Morning Post, a newspaper based in Hong Kong, a daily less and less critical of Beijing's power.

It pays homage to the famous artist Ai Weiwei, but it emphasizes to him that China has never known democracy or individual rights. “I urge him to moderate his criticism of Chinese realities and consider results rather than principles,” he wrote.

“The CCP, despite its shortcomings, remains solid. There will be no revolution. Only a slow transformation”, he pronounces further.

Useful idiot?

Guy Saint-Jacques, former Canadian ambassador to China, has read the book and finds it superficial in many ways.

According to expert, one can wonder if Alexandre Trudeau has not been exploited by China.

“The Chinese are past masters in the art of influencing people. […] Alexandre Trudeau was treated well when he went to China. […] I put that in the category of useful idiots,” he says.

“I wouldn't be surprised if he had contact with the Chinese consulate. Especially after he wrote a book, I think the Chinese must have wanted to praise him,” he explains.

Mystique Trudeau

< p>The ties between the Trudeau family and Chinese power go back a long time, according to the former ambassador. Pierre Elliott Trudeau is credited with enabling the country to re-establish international relations. He himself published a book with Senator Jacques Hébert on his trip to China at the time of Mao.

Alexandre Trudeau says he visited China for the first time in the company of his brother and his father in 1990, just months after the Tian'anmen Square massacre.

While his father had reservations, he was the one who convinced him to go.

AMAZING PASSAGES

“I still sometimes defend the [Chinese Communist] Party. I do not believe that China would have come so far and so quickly without the unity and organizational power imposed on it.”

“Unbridled religious fervor has fire and blood China more than once. The severity of the Party towards organized religion is therefore nothing exceptional.”

“Basically, all states tend towards corporatism. Even democratic states end up making the political power of the individual increasingly illusory”

“I like to think that if I were Chinese , I too would have demonstrated in the public square and I would have faced armored vehicles to defend my freedom. That said, I see the benefits that stability has brought to China since Tiananmen.”

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