Senate to focus on Tibetan prisoners as Liberals pursue trade with China
OTTAWA — With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau poised to possibly travel to China soon, a Conservative senator plans to shine a spotlight on human rights abuses in its Himalayan region of Tibet.
Sen. Dennis Patterson plans to use the procedural rules of the upper chamber today to draw attention to what he says are human rights abuses in Tibet, which has been under the Chinese Communist party’s control since 1951.
Patterson said he and fellow senators will read the biographies of more than half a dozen political prisoners held in Tibet.
“It’s a message to the government there are important human rights issues not to be ignored in engagement with China,” Patterson said in an interview.