Sunday, September 1

CdaGov

Afternoon briefing session for Minister Coderre and delegation. Immigration Managers and Supervisors participating, followed by dinner with Delegation and Embassy Staff.

Minister Coderre’s visit was timely, sending a clear political message with regard to the seriousness of Canada’s commitment to a strong relationship with China: seven Canadian parliamentarians accompanied: Sophia Leung (L), Jacques Saada (L), Marcel Proulx (L), Madeleine Delphond-Guiral (BQ), Joe Peschisolido (CA, until 2022), Claude Duplain (L) and Liza Frula (L).

CCRels  CdaIm&Vi

China was the leading source of immigrants during the first decade of the 21^st century – 37,500 ‘landings’ in 2001 alone – but by the end of the decade, due in part to changes in Canada’s immigration policy priorities and labour market needs, the number of immigrants from India surpassed those of China. And indeed China’s economic growth, arising in part from the rapid expansion of the domestic economy due to WTO membership, would lead to a decline at the time in Chinese emigrants overall, including to Canada among other target countries.

On the other hand, non-immigrant movements from China – tourists, students, temporary residents were also on the increase such that, as an example, at the time of Minister Denis Coderre’s visit, the non-immigration caseload alone at the Embassy was over 70,000 that year, including 20,000 student applications, the largest of all faced by our Canadian missions abroad. To reduce the workload, Cantonese-speaking applicants for family class and students were being encouraged to submit their applications to Hong Kong.

In 1999 and between July and September, 599 Chinese illegal migrants landed on the West Coast of BC, creating a great deal of consternation, travelling on four so-called ‘Fujian boats’. Separately, also in September, China intercepted two Canada-bound smuggling boats. The Ministry of Public Security publicly reported in 2001 that it had arrested 6,000 or so persons involved in the smuggling business. Southern China in particular was distinguished – if that is the right word – by what was politely called ‘irregular migration’, a.k.a fraud in the application process itself, but also by ubiquitous, gangster-controlled people smuggling – ‘snakeheads’ in US parlance. We, along with other countries, had formalised arrangements with the Chinese Ministry of Public Security within a framework – Working Group Concerning International Crime, Illegal Immigration and Human Smuggling – with the RCMP and CIC, Citizenship and Immigration Canada involved. They would meet with their Chinese counterparts to exchange information on illegal immigrant flows, cooperate to insure timely removals of illegals from Canada, to discuss threat assessments and border control policies. Notably, this was an area where Chinese and Canadian interests largely converged. 

Apart from the origins of the migrants, to be noted is the fact that the 599 illegal immigrants mentioned above based their refugee claim on asserting that they were members of Falun Gong, the Buddhist/Taoist inspired quasi-spiritual movement, thus claiming religious persecution. That was undeniable, given the open persecution of the sect and its members in China. Evidence was produced however at the hearings on individual refugee claims to the effect that their cases lacked credibility, their religious affiliations being in doubt. In the end, only a few were recognized and accepted by the Immigration and Refugee Board.

Another issue which hovered over the visit of Minister Coderre and his delegation was Canada’s wish to be designated as an approved destination country for China’s growing flow of international tourists. ADS allows designated countries to promote tourism directly to travel agents and consumers in China. It was granted in 2009, during the visit to China by PM Harper, after years of persistent Canadian efforts. However, the designation was retracted in 2020, as retaliation over the Meng Wanzhou affair.

Monday, September 2

CCRels

On September 2, all of these issues and more were discussed between Minister Coderre and his Chinese ministerial host, Minister of Public Security Jia Chunwang. Meetings, with largely the same Canadian agenda, were also held with Foreign Minister Tang Jiazuan, and in the afternoon, with State Counsellor Luo Gan, at Zhongnanhai, the residential complex of CCP leadership.

The meeting with Minister Jia – well over one hour – was substantive and specific. Jia raised China’s concerns: criminal fugitives to Canada; Falun Gong founder Li Hongzhi’s application for refugee status, Lai Changxing of course, intelligence sharing, and Minister Coderre raised ours: Chinese people smugglers, Triads moving to Canada, Lai and the legal process, extensive operations of Canadian immigration offices in China and Hong Kong.

The meeting with Foreign Minister Tang was substantive, as he was well briefed on the issues: promoting emigration was not a Chinese government objective, recognized the seriousness of illegal emigration and Chinese steps to suppress it. He raised of course the Lai Changxing case, pointing to Lai’s connections with Chinese Triads in Canada, and his efforts to obtain a false passport. He expected that Canada would continue efforts to extradite him back to China.

Minister Coderre followed up as expected: China must respect Canada’s judicial processes; Canada will repatriate Lai if and when the judicial process rejects his appeals and the legal steps are exhausted. The Minister flagged the importance of letting these processes take their course. Tang agreed: ‘We will remain discreet’.

For his part, State Councillor Luo Gan promised to inform the China Tourism Commission of Canadian tourism interests. He also stated that ‘Canada is a great destination’.

Hosted dinner for Minister Coderre and his delegation, inviting as well 9 senior members of the Ministry of Public Security, including two Vice-Ministers, responsible for immigration matters. 

Minister Coderre and his Delegation returned to Canada the next morning.

Tuesday, September 3

Luncheon hosted by Kumru and me with Dutch Ambassador De Heer and Madame.

Various meetings with Staff.

BT&I

Meeting with John Cheh, Bombardier aircraft, re successful aircraft sales and the forthcoming visit of CEO Bob Brown, invited to participate in the Shanghai Mayor’s international gathering of senior businessmen and women, a practice that continues as of this writing (’25).

Meeting with Richard Liu, Canadian Tourism Commission.

Media

Dinner hosted by Kumru and me with Dr. Willem van Kemenade and Madame. He wrote for the Washington Quarterly.

Willem was an excellent analyst on China in the world, and one of my favorite people, boasting a long history in China, beginning in 1975. When I knew him in the early oughts, China was a much more open country, and this served him well as a writer and journalist. I learned much from him.

Wednesday, September 4

Outreach

Half day ‘Retreat’ with staff of the Political, Economic, Public Affairs and Trade senior staff. These meetings with Staff and other meetings including with other foreign observers, fellow Ambassadors, and the media, helped shape my thoughts for the forthcoming speaking events in Canada.

Media

Hosted a dinner for Canadian media, represented by CBC/Céline Galipeau and Kas Roussy, G&M/Geoff York and MacLean’s Magazine/Paul Mooney. Toronto Star and Le Devoir correspondents regretted.

Thursday, September 5

Meetings with staff.

Kumru and I hosted lunch with Korean Ambassador Kim Ha Joong and Madame. 

 Friday, September 6

Luncheon with Ambassador Shivshankar Menon and Madame. Among the most intelligent and engaging people I have met. As mentioned previously, Shivshankar served 3 times in China, and became PM Manmohan Singh’s National Security Advisor.

Again, grist for the upcoming speaker’s mill.

Saturday/Sunday, September 7/8

Downtime. Visited a calligraphy exhibition.

Arrival of Deputy Minister, Department of Agriculture, Sammy Watson.

Monday, September 9

Embassy briefing session with DM Watson.

CCRels  BT&I Agric

It is not an exaggeration to write that Canadian agriculture was foundational not only for launching the Canada/PRC trade relationship, but also and to an extent, political relationship. Post-WWII, China had become a modest importer of Canadian agricultural products. That prompted Canada to send its first Trade Commissioner to the PRC in 1957. (There had been trade commissioners to the Republic of China but they were withdrawn during the war.) China’s need for food stuffs, especially grain, during and following the mis-named Great Leap Forward, prompted Prime Minister Diefenbaker and his Agriculture Minister Alvin Hamilton to agree to a major set of wheat supply contracts with the PRC, initially on straight commercial terms and eventually, on credit, a ‘great leap forward’ of its own. That decision still reverberated when I became Ambassador in 2001: as mentioned earlier, at the opening of my first call on the President of COSCO Shipping Company, which served as one of the largest shipping companies importing foodstuffs including wheat from Canada, one of the first comments he made was to thank Canada for those early shipments.

Prior to the DM’s meeting with Zhang Baowen, the Vice-Minister of Agriculture, my colleagues and I briefed Samy, starting with an overview of China’s economy, as a mix of features that were modern, modernizing or still backward. The agricultural sector was still dominated by small land-holdings which made land-intensive agricultural production rare where not impossible. Farm incomes were low. This made imports of the major foodstuffs essential to the Chinese diet. Joining the WTO would also have an impact, in reducing the share of agriculture in the Chinese economy, from 22% to perhaps 15% in the coming years. The Chinese government was committed to modernizing agriculture, from the product mix towards a more capital intensive, science-based industry. In this, China looked to Canada, including CIDA’s important role. CIDA was already involved in 7 agricultural sectors, including dairy cattle breeding, where Canadian assistance was producing significant progress.

Still, China would remain a significant importer of foodstuffs, as has proven to be the case. The IBRD projected that Chinese membership in the WTO would increase imports of food grains, oilseeds and their products, livestock and livestock feed and dairy products.

Overall, the official Chinese line on joining the WTO was that it was ‘a good thing for agriculture’ but there was no question that it would raise new problems and issues, starting with adaptation and conformity to rules. Tariff Rate Quotas – whereby one lower tariff applies to a quota volume of the imported product, and a much higher rate applies to the same product imported above quota – were a headache to administer and implementation was in fact to be delayed. While most Chinese companies – importers and exporters – were satisfied with the administrative processes so far, they would need time to adapt.

We explained to Samy that AgCanada should consider a long-term commitment to work with their Chinese Ministry counterparts, as there was potential for close collaboration, to the benefit of our industry, including in such sectors as agricultural machinery technology, S&T in food products, GMO implementation and management. All of this and more had the potential of increasing trade in agricultural goods.    

The subsequent meeting with Ministry of Agriculture Vice-Minister Zhang Baowen went very well. The Vice-Minister outlined some of his Ministry’s plans for modernizing the sector, including designating 37 ‘experimental centers’ for developing new approaches to increase agricultural outputs appropriate to China’s needs and conditions, and that he hoped to send researchers and farmers to Canada as part of the exercise. (Unmentioned was the fact that increasing domestic production of course can reduce the need for imports, unless overall demand for foodstuffs itself increases.)

China was achieving some successes, he said, in the dairy industry, in some grains, and in farming income in modernizing sectors. Dairy products output, he said, were growing at 10% per year.

On the issue of GMOs, he believed that further discussions at the international level were required, but that there should be no immediate effect on trade.

During the afternoon, VM Watson met Minister Li Changjiang, of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, a mouth-full that Readers will agree is more easily remembered as AQSIQ. It has overall responsibility for regulating product quality, certification and standardization of foodstuffs in China. Since it deals with imported foods as well as the domestically produced, it had at the time protocols with foreign countries, including 19 to cover Canadian products. Similarly, Canada had 2 covering imports from China. During my years, food safety issues with Canadian products would occasionally be detected by AQSIQ. Generally, collaboration with  AQSIQ was highly professional and science based. It was an agreeable ministry with which to deal, which was not the case with all of their institutional brethren.

Tuesday, September 10

DM Watson meetings with Ministry of Science and Technology Liu Yanhua and State Development Planning Commission Vice Chairman Yu Guangzhou.

Meetings largely covered the same issues as per above.

ChinaEc

Meeting with the Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Chen Yiyu.

Vice-Minister Chen was an expert on environmental issues and earth sciences. He flagged his engagement with China’s Ecosystem Research Network, which itself has connections with Canadian counterparts. The Academy finds itself involved in the down-stream implications of China’s adherence to WTO rules and norms. He queried about Canada’s thinking re GMOs, an important issue for China as well, mentioning work on genetic engineering. There are differences of views within the Government and CCP about regulatory issues, as well as the potential environmental impact of GMOs, e.g. regarding tobacco and cotton. Accordingly, CAS has received additional funding to study these and related issues.

As often happens in discussions with academics involved in Chinese government policy development, they can frequently be more informative than their Ministry counterparts. However, this rule did not apply to the Ag ministry or AQSIQ where a higher degree of openness was the general rule.

Meeting with Vice Minister Liu, Ministry of Science and Technology

BT&I ChinaGov

Liu stated that he and his Ministry wished to continue to work with the Canadian Government and businesses. He added that his Ministry’s work with CIDA was doubling in size, with emphasis on training. His Ministry was responsible for assisting the Ministry of Agriculture in policy formulation and modernization, as well as looking to Canada for collaboration in dairy sector. He was also planning to lead a business delegation to Canada in the near future.

Meeting with the State Development and Planning Commission, substantively covering some of the same issues.

Early evening reception at the Official Residence, welcoming new Embassy staff and their colleagues, with 56 in attendance,

Dinner in honour of Mr. James Prieur, President, Sun Life Financial, at the Chang An Club.

Wednesday, September 11

Luncheon meeting with Kevin Cai, Gordon Phillips and Vineberg; Robert Kwauk, Cassels and Graydon; and Bing Ho, Baker&Mackenzie,  3 Canadian lawyers working in Beijing, to discuss new GoC rules regulating the practices of foreign lawyers.

BT&I

An interesting discussion, and a picture of the Chinese Government’s efforts, on the one hand, to internationalize the domestic legal sector, consistent with its obligations under the WTO and as part of the broadening of its global reach for trade and investments and, on the other hand, preserving the type of policy controls consistent with CCP and Government of China practices.

Re specifics, on the 1^st of August, the Ministry of Justice issued new regulations with regard to the terms, conditions and scope of activities of the representative offices of foreign law firms in China. While it invited comments on the August 1 texts, it did so 6 days before the implementation of the new rules. The legal community was aware that these would be coming but the Ministry had kept close-mouthed about what it was considering and refused requests for consultations during the drafting phases. Although the MoJ stated that they were studying rules and practices in jurisdictions such as Canada, their ‘reform and opening’ objectives were also shaped by the authoritarianism and bureaucratic tendencies prevalent in China.

According to my dinner guests, the Chinese Government recognized that some liberalization and internationalization of the legal sector would bring important benefits to China: it facilitates the inward flow of FDI; raises the quality of the sector; brings new information and expertise; increases the sophistication of Chinese firms and their practices; and expands the linkages between Chinese law firms and their foreign counterparts.

That, of course, is at the theoretical level: in reality, many Chinese law firms feared the competition that more open regulations would bring, and they may find it harder to grow their businesses.

Meeting with the President of the Asia Pacific Institute, Zhang Yunling.

ChinaEc   DPRK

Dr. Zhang was optimistic about China’s economic prospects, believing growth trends will continue for 5 years or more. He pointed to the dynamics of the forthcoming China/ASEAN FTA, to be signed in November, as an indicator of liberalization of the Chinese economy beyond the WTO. This was indicative of the direction of Chinese trade and investment policy: ‘There is no factor out there to reverse the current trends’. The dynamic with ASEAN will continue: ASEAN has proposed additional market opening measures. Singapore, for example, is arguing for further opening of the services sector, he told us. That said, Dr. Zhang admitted that the LDC ASEAN countries are pressing for ‘unilateral liberalization’, especially with regard to agricultural products. Overall, Dr. Zhang believed in a steady-as-she-goes trade liberalization between China and ASEAN would continue.

He also informed us that the API Institute has linkages with the Institute of Economic Research of the DPRK. IER members had visited recently, and had requested lectures on the WTO, Chinese economic reform, and issues of the world economy. Dr. Zhang however did not believe that steps towards any opening of the DPRK, political or economic, would resemble anything like the evolution seen in Eastern Europe.

Hosted dinner for Minister Li Rongrong, State Economic and Trade Commission, in tandem with the visit of Industry Canada Assistant Minister John Banigan.

Thursday, September 12

Spent the morning speech writing for my forthcoming visit to Canada.

ChinaGov

Hosted luncheon for Ministry of Personnel Vice Minister Yin Weimin, in advance of his visit to Canada.

CCRels

Regrettably, no notes, but his visit was in the broader context of Canadian Government (via CIDA) support for CCP/Government exploration of ideas on modernizing China to better manage its entry into the globalizing world. Yin spent his entire career in personnel management, rising the two ladders of Party and Government, and at the top of his career becoming the Deputy Head of the Organization Department of the CCP.

BT&I

Chaired round-table with a dozen Canadian business representatives in China, to provide visiting Industry Canada Assistant Deputy Minister John Banigan and his 10-person delegation with an overview of the business conditions faced by Canadian firms in China. Some of the comments heard by the Delegation:

• Nortel: lack of consistency horizontally among Ministries; transparency problems, although this is improving.
• Scotia Bank’s partnership with Xian City Commercial Bank illustrates some of the business challenges: high operating costs, cap on local currency swapping among foreign banks to 40% of total assets;
• Canadian engineering companies have issues with cost competitiveness, faced by lower cost and lower quality domestic firms;
• ‘China too flexible’, relatively indifferent to quality, honoring contracts; requirement in practice to team up with local business partners, as they can manage the need for paying ‘guanxi’ for favourable treatment, viz at both personal and organizational levels, calling on the network of relationships, reciprocity of benefit, trust and loyalty, ‘face’, most often resolved through transfer of funds.
• the markets for services in the oil and gas sectors are largely closed to foreign firms.
• IP protection limited by reverse engineering.
• architectural designs by foreign firms stolen by local firms.
• paid in RMB but restrictions on converting and repatriating funds.
• ‘if you leave the market, it’s very difficult to return’;

Conclusion: ‘Management knowhow is what makes the difference’.

Hosted evening reception in the Alvin Hamilton Room of the Embassy for approximately 100 guests, both Canadian business representatives and Chinese government and businessmen and women.

 Friday, September 13

Mission Agenda Meeting: Consul General Tony Burger in Hong Kong reported on Minister Coderre’s visit to HK and Guangzhou. The Minister was impressed by the degree to which technology was being introduced in the processing of visas.

Saturday, September 14

Over the course of the summer, with the imminent departure of our Residence Chef appointed by the Diplomatic Services Bureau, I was able to cajole the DSB in allowing me to employ a Canadian Chef, with attendant visa authorisations. On this day, our new Chef, Nolan Ledarney, arrived in Beijing, the first Canadian to join and work as Chef at the Canadian Embassy Residence. Here, in Nolan’s words…

---

Autumn 2002: Beijing Calling                   

The plane’s intercom chimes with a cheerful ping: “We’ll soon be touching down at Beijing International Airport.”

I’m a starry-eyed adventurer, arriving to a new city for an opportunity of a lifetime. My mind brimming with storybook dreams of vibrant Chinese reds and golds painting the historic city. Yet, as I step into the capital, I’m met by a sprawling metropolis cloaked in shades of grey—construction, pollution, and a pulse of raw energy. Naïveté as my shield I repeat to myself “Never complain, just experience it for what it is”. It was at this moment I had to take stock of the series of events that lead to this exact moment.

Three months earlier…..

At twenty-two years old, I’m thriving as a young cook in the heart of one of Calgary’s top restaurants, my arms scarred from sizzling pans and hands rough from relentless prep. Five years into my apprenticeship, the chaos of a bustling kitchen is my comfort zone—adrenaline is my fuel and at the end of a long week of business I find myself reminiscing of my successes to date. They included collaborations with the Canadian Junior Culinary Olympic team, cooking for Hollywood movie productions and even dubbed the “Canadian Apprentice to Look Out For” by a local industry magazine. I’m riding high and in the moment allow myself a break from the pressures of the dinner service for a quick dance at my station.

But the kitchen keeps me grounded. Sensing my misplaced arrogance, the Cantonese dishwasher, with her unexpectedly strong arm, hurls a soapy sponge at my head, shouting “白痴!” (idiot) to snap me back to reality. Witness to this, the sous chef banishes me to the walk-in cooler and as the steel door creeps closed I hear his voice scream “If you have time to lean…you have time to clean bastar -! “..as the door shuts.

Inside, my legs freeze as I shuffle around damp tiles, reorganizing the chaos left by other cooks. Then, disaster strikes—a 20-liter bucket of lobster bisque tips over, soaking my Birkenstocks in fragrant crustacean sludge. As I stand there, contemplating how to enlist the dishwasher’s help to clean up my misfortune, a thought bubbles up: “I am ready for a new challenge”

Emboldened with this epiphany, I weave through the service line—hot pans clanging like gunfire—my feet trailing bisque behind me. I approach the Executive Chef to seek his guidance. Words tumble out before I can stop them: “I need to know what’s next for me”, I state. To my surprise, his lips curl into a sly smile. “Find me next week, come ready to tell me everything you know about China” he says.

Fast forward 3 months, I find myself arriving Beijing as the first Chef de Cuisine at the Official Residence of the Canadian Ambassador to The Peoples Republic of China.

Stepping into the fortified compound of the Official Residence, I’m both thrilled and overwhelmed.  The tranquil interior contrasts sharply with the city’s grit, and my untested nerves start to sweat taking in the gravity of this new post. I am alone, no team no safety net. It’s on me. But in the middle of this a bold yet calming voice rings out “Welcome to Beijing”. This is how I met Joseph Caron.

My first impression was not as expected. My mind had conjured images of an intimidating aristocrat. But immediately I found myself in front of a man who was approachable, charming and exceptionally passionate about the idea of using Canadian culture & cuisine to bridge gaps in politics. What a novel idea I thought to myself. Then a bombshell: “We have a dinner for 25 dignitaries at the end of the week—be ready.”

My ears ring, but the challenge ignites me. I head straight for the kitchen, suitcase in hand and scribble the name of my old Calgary restaurant on the kitchen wall, a mental anchor to remind me of the standards I know I can meet.

As the previous kitchen duties were executed by mandatory local hires from the Public Service Bureau, I knew everything here must be rebuilt from the ground up—sourcing, menus, hygiene, equipment. All of it. Undaunted, I “borrow” an unattended bicycle from outside the Embassy walls and pedal through Beijing’s chaotic streets, mapping out local markets and vendors.

Most markets were vibrant, makeshift affairs—tricycle stands sprouting like mushrooms days after local neighbourhoods were razed for redevelopment. Others, more entrenched, thrived in the heart of Beijing’s city centre. Each was a glorious assault on the senses. The air buzzed with pungent aromas, from the sweet allure of honey and dried fruits to the grim whiff of decay. Freshly steamed pork buns waged a valiant battle against the scent of meat hanging in the breeze, with refrigeration seeming more a suggestion than a rule. For a newcomer, it was a bracing wake-up call. Yet, amid this chaos lay a treasure trove of unfamiliar ingredients, alongside a conspicuous absence of what I’d call “standard” Western staples. It quickly dawned on me that my menus would need to dance to the rhythm of Beijing’s seasons, with flexibility as my guiding star. Menus would be written at the markets.

Luckily, I stumbled upon a bustling, well-established market just a 20-minute bike ride from the Embassy. The street leading to its entrance was a riot of activity, teeming with hawkers and delivery trucks weaving through the fray. Stepping inside, I was struck by the sight of a single, endless corridor lined with plywood tables groaning under the weight of vendors’ wares. With every step, sellers trumpeted the virtues of their goods with gusto. Navigating these spaces was a challenge at first; the gap between my expectations of quality and the raw reality before me demanded immediate recalibration. Prioritizing quality control, consistency, and cost became my top priority. As my visits grew more regular, bonds with vendors blossomed. Shop owners began setting aside their finest offerings to meet my needs, and I, ever the spirited haggler, fearlessly struck deals with a grin.

Armed with hand gestures, smiles, and laughter, I overcome my lack of Chinese language skills and return with ingredients for that first high-stakes event. Somehow, it worked.

The Beijing Years: Growth and Gratitude

After that first event it would take several more months to truly settle into my role. My official duties would not simply fall into the a traditional role as “ Chef de Cuisine”. The Embassy itself was a dynamic and evolving post, my existence would have to echo this. With a limited support team at its core I would cater to the personal daily needs for the Ambassador and his charming wife Kumru, as well as visiting guests of the Residence. However, my role is clearly in support of the Embassy and its missions. Ambassador Caron put the efforts of my team front and centre. The role grew into much more than simply cooking. I would also plan and execute multiple events throughout the week for official events while collaborating with the Embassy’s Trade Section to highlight Canadian ingredients such as wine, seafood, beef and pork. The Residence became a stage for Canadian ingredients, culture, and music. Events multiply, each one a chance to showcase my craft. This direction would also open new channels for sourcing and collaborations with local enterprises allowing for a steady supply of imported ingredients making its way onto my menus.

Over the next four years I juggled my daily responsibilities with a newfound passion for exploring the vibrant streets of Beijing. The city—raw, unyielding, and bursting with character—speaks to me in ways I never anticipated.

Choosing to live beyond the embassy walls had kept me tethered to reality, grounding me in the pulse of everyday life. I’ll never forget the day I moved into my first affordable housing project ( 保障性住房), nestled within Beijing’s Second Ring Road and home to an aging community of old Beijing residents who’s historic homes had been rebuilt in the name of a modern Beijing. As I stepped into the courtyard, windows snapped shut and curtains were whisked closed. Children were hustled indoors, and I stood there, utterly baffled, as local police trailed discreetly behind me. My real estate agent, with a flair for dramatic timing, revealed after I’d signed the lease that I was likely the first foreigner to call this building home. One week later after work, I returned to find two strangers lounging on my sofa, their clothes neatly hung, casually informing me the flat had been rented out again and I was out. Before the week was over, I’d packed my worldly possessions into a delivery tricycle and pedalled off to a new adventure in a different dwelling. It marked the end of my first home away from home in Beijing. Although a less than ideal situation, I quickly learnt my thick skin would be a valued asset in the decades to come.

My years in Beijing remain one of the greatest treasures of my life, a vibrant tapestry woven with unforgettable experiences. The lessons I absorbed and the guidance from luminaries like Ambassador Caron and countless others have moulded me into the culturally curious person I am today.

It was a seemingly mundane routine task in 2002 that sparked the journey I now call my life. At forty-four, I proudly embrace my roles as a husband, father, Canadian abroad and Chef

China, with its relentless spirit, has woven itself into the fabric of my story—a thread that endures.

---

Nolan was and remains a fantastic chef, ever imaginative, ever surprising and ever hard working. The results? To quote the Ambassador of France, no less: ‘the best Ambassadorial table in Beijing’. You can take his word for it. 

I certainly did. During the summer of 2005, I was appointed Canada’s Ambassador to Japan. Sometime later, following the resignation of the Executive Chef at Marler House, the Ambassador’s residence in Tokyo, I invited Nolan to follow us to Japan to become Executive Chef in The Land of the Rising Sun. Which he did, to the benefit of our Guests, Canadian and Japanese.

Monday, September 16

I make the opening speech at a Fuel Cell Conference, which includes a Canadian delegation.

I hold a press conference announcing the dates and details regarding the forthcoming Terry Fox Run.

This was to announce the 4^th full-scale Beijing Terry Fox Run, to take place on October 26. The previous year, the run involved over 6,000 participants and raised 750,000RMB. The run would start from the Workers Stadium – a short walk from the Embassy – and conclude at the Cancer Hospital. The Chinese Cancer Institute and the Beijing Foreign Affairs Office of the Municipal Government were the main organizers.

Wednesday, September 18

Meeting with Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Ms. Mujie, possibly regarding a future RWB tour of the PRC.

Arts&Culture

The RWB subsequently toured China, as part of an 8-week international tour of Asia where they performed to sold-out houses and critical acclaim throughout 15 cities in 7 countries. They returned to China during the summer of 2004 when it presented in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The ballet of choice was Mark Dodden’s wildly popular ‘Dracula’ performed by Zhang Wei-Qiang, known as Johnny Chang in Canada. He came out of retirement to perform the lead role.

Education  CdaPs&Ms

Working lunch with Newfoundland Minister of the Department of Youth Services and Post-Secondary Education Sandra Kelly and delegation regarding the promotion of NF&L’s educational services in China.

Minister Kelly was very committed to cementing Nfld-Lbd linkages with China, and in both directions. She was accompanied on this visit with a delegation that included a DM, an ADM, as well as academics from UofNfld and the College of the North Atlantic. I was very impressed by their commitment. Which produced results: as of this writing (2025), the Memorial University web pages on their expanding linkages with China is a reflection of the provincial government’s early commitment to student and academic linkages.

Thursday, September 19

Fly to Tokyo for a meeting of ‘North Asia HoMs: Denis Comeau/Seoul, Rob Wright/Japan and yours truly.

This was the outset of a series of meetings and discussions in Tokyo, followed by travel to Ottawa and the second round of meetings and public speaking engagements from Buona Vista to Vancouver Island…well, not quite, but you get the picture. One subject that I expected to be raised, and that repeatedly, was on future political developments in China, given the forthcoming November 16^th Party Congress – where the most important political decisions would be made, and the follow-up First Session of the 10^th National People’s Congress the following March. To prepare for these political discussions, I drafted speaking notes from which I could draw, as appropriate. My comments were a combination of facts and speculation, typical of all projections of future political developments in China, and what would be important for Canada.

My thoughts, for public consumption and in speech format, are in the sidebar link:

Friday/Saturday, September 20/21: Tokyo Retreat

DFAIT CdaFP CdaPD

This was really an exercise in comparing notes from the perspectives of Japan, Korea and China on the regional dimensions affecting Canada’s relationships, and that from economic, security and public diplomacy perspectives. Included was a working dinner with senior Japanese interlocutors. Ambassador to RoK Denis Comeau and Rob Wright in Japan were my counterparts. (Rob subsequently followed me in Beijing, as I followed him to Tokyo, a deal worked out in advance with DFAIT DM Gaëtan Lavertu to our mutual joy and benefit.)

Some of the key discussion points, drawn from a summary prepared in Tokyo:

GovCda  AsiaEc

• the economies of North East Asia are integrating at a rapid pace. This trend varies by sector – e.g. electronics – and is especially strong in the Japan-China relationship, soon to be each other’s largest trading partners. NEA countries are paying more diplomatic and political attention to each other, but that doesn’t mean an effective ‘rapprochement’ that could reduce the tensions remaining from history. (Memories of Japan’s Pacific War continued to weigh heavily.) China’s strategy vis-à-vis Taiwan was one key to NEA longer-term stability and integration.
• there is a rising number of FTA’s being negotiated or signed in the region, with even Japan actively promoting FTA’s; these were not without implications for Canada, one result being the relaunching of the Canada/Korea Free Trade Agreement discussions.
• need to increase PM and Ministerial visibility in the region, always a challenge for harried senior politicians; possible PM visit in 2003?
• promote idea of Trade Minister investment mission for next year.
• potential for regional public diplomacy strategies.
• role of the Asia Pacific Foundation, as it expands project funding in the region.
• should there be sectoral strategies?

Outcomes? Rather, grist for planning at the Mission level: PM/Ministerial visits are initiated out of Ottawa as are trade and investment missions. Consultation among HoMs ensures that we are not working at cross-purposes, or with objectives that are incompatible…at least in theory. In practice, it’s often every mission for itself, pursuing the collective and country specific objectives of the various Departmental programs represented on the ground. Ultimately, most major decisions are made by Ottawa from their perspective and Missions comply.

Having made those points, I should add that the exchanges with my Korea-based and Japan-based colleagues proved to be very helpful in contributing a broader regional context to the meetings I held and the speeches I gave during the following two and half weeks spent in Canada, with stops in Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver. In 2002, everyone was interested in what was happening in China and where it would lead. Reform and opening was exemplified by joining the WTO, with the rules and practices that China was now committed to practice.

Sunday, September 22, from Tokyo to Ottawa for meetings with, at the outset, the DFAIT Deputy Minister Peter Harder and other departmental officials, the Privy Council Office’s Foreign and Defence Secretariat and PM’s foreign policy adviser Claude Laverdure, as well as with other senior officials. The themes would be as expected: a future PM visit to China and PRC President Zhang Zemin to Canada in some time-frame, other possible ministerial and political visits, Lai Changxing (of course), Approved Destination Status, DPRK relations, Embassy and Consulate staffing issues, my outreach activities and so forth.  I also spoke to new recruits to DFAIT on the foreign service career and choices that were available to them, emphasizing the essential role of language training and specialization, around which I had shaped my career.

Then, between September 24 and October 9, I was off on my second 2002 outreach tour of Canada. My speaking notes dealt with political issues, and drew from the presentation I had made in Tokyo. The economic elements updated the spring outreach remarks. I also began speaking on the growing importance of connecting Canadian and Chinese cultural institutions and the role of artists in expanding relations between our two countries.

My meetings were with:  

• art institutions (National Gallery, Museum of Civilization, Conseil des Arts et Lettres de Montréal, ainsi que le Musée des Beaux-Arts and the Ross Creek Center for the Arts near Canning, Nova Scotia, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Emily Carr Institute, Vancouver Art Gallery);
• businesses (Power Corporation, the Chinese-Canadian Business community in Mtl, ditto in  Edmonton;
• journalists (Le Devoir, The Montreal Gazette, La Presse, the Toronto Star, National Post, Winnipeg Free Press),
• politicians (Mayor Gérald Tremblay of Mtl, the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Myra Freeman, the Ontario Minister of the Ministry of Enterprise, the Alberta Minister of Economy and Development Mark Norris, Alberta Learning Minister Lyle Olberg, Mayor Philip Owen, Vancouver),
• academics at the Universities of Montreal, Dalhousie, St. Mary’s, U. of Manitoba and the University of Alberta Association of Chinese Canadian Professors, as well as UofA Deans, and UBC Institute of Asian Studies .
• Speeches were made at the Université de Montréal, Dalhousie, the Trade Team of Nova Scotia, St. Mary’s MBA class, the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce attended by Premier Gary Doer, the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, the Canada China Business Council in Vancouver, CME Annual Conference Panel, Team Canada Inc. executives.
• also, to various student groups re the Foreign Service as a profession.

Returned to Beijing, Thursday October 10. Subsequently, I sent the texts of my speeches to all of the venues where I had made my presentations, and encouraged their distribution.