Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. Indeed, Canada aligns itself with countries that share our democratic values and commitments to the rule of law. Canada is also an active player in the world more broadly, and, alas, that world does not always share our values and principles.

Canada’s long-standing One China policy takes into account practical geopolitical realities of the region, which are complicated, as all of us surely know.

Canada continues to have strong and growing trade relationships and people-to-people ties with Taiwan. The government is committed to deepening our ties based upon the shared values that the honourable senator underlined as well as the large diaspora.

We have a complex geopolitical relationship with China. It presents challenges, and we all know that. Indeed, most of Canada’s other international partners are facing similar challenges, and the Government of Canada is actively engaging with them, our allies, in order to address the common interests and concerns that we all share.

While recognizing the strategic military and geopolitical realities of the region, the government continues to be firmly guided by Canadian interests, by our fundamental values and principles — which include human rights at their core — as well as the global rules and strategic partnerships we have developed over time.