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Monday, July 23, 2007
Stephane Dion insults a great Chinese Canadian in front of a room of Chinese Canadians
On the occasion of the inauguration of the Chinese Canadian Liberal Association, a partisan Liberal crowd, Stephane Dion manages to insult everyone in the room while reading from a prepared speech.
Here is my transcription of Stephane Dion's remarks:
Do you know who is Arthur Lee? Arthur Lee. He has been the first MP of Chinese origin. He was under Trudeau in 1974. It took time, eh? Only in 1974, the first one.
| Launch in external player |
Not the first one. The first one was Douglas Jung in 1957. How could Stephane Dion and his researchers miss that bit of Canadian history? Could it be because Douglas Jung was a dedicated Progressive Conservative?
Douglas Jung joined the Progressive Conservative Party in the early 1950s. He had vowed not to join the Liberal Party of Canada because of its racist legislation against Chinese in the past. Jung was elected as an MP in 1957, representing the riding of Vancouver Centre, under the John Diefenbaker government.
Maybe that's the reason. But it couldn't really be because the Liberals simply didn't know. One June 8 and on June 11, Jim Abbott of the Conservatives and Meili Faille of the Bloc Quebecois each made speeches to recognize the 50th anniversary of Douglas Jung's historic achievement as the first Chinese Canadian to be elected as an MP.
Stephane Dion was in the House on June 11.
But five weeks later, Douglas Jung was forgotten and his place was handed over to Liberal Arthur Lee by Stephane Dion, in front of a group of Chinese Canadians celebrating their community's participation in Canadian politics and Canadian history.
So will Stephane Dion be called on to correct this egregious mistake, and apologize to the memory of Douglas Jung? We'll see tomorrow.
[Extended post is at Angry in the Great White North]
Posted by Steve Janke on July 23, 2007 | Permalink
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Comments
I am sure it was an error caused by Dion having something critical on his mind at the time; specifically he was thinking about George Bush's latest misdeed. The blame lies with the White House.
Posted by: greenmamba | 2007-07-23 9:32:44 PM
Yup - it's George Bush's fault.
Amazing, isn't it, how he gets around so much.
Posted by: obc | 2007-07-23 9:35:39 PM
I smell a giant treat owed to the Chinese community and as soon as the Liberals are in power there will be a big pay off. That is the way Liberals pay their debts or misdeeds ... with payola. Just like they do in the Sopranos.
Leftist mostly appear to be emotionally disturbed, or emotionally retarded. The way they act out every tiny grievance and dwell on minutia is boring and childish.
It is also much the like kid who always says the dog ate my homework. They didn't do their homework or simply thought no one else would notice.
Those are the methods of a middle school teen.
And they want to run the country.
Oh man ...
However, the only folks who care on this issue is probably some Chinese who may or may not even be aware of this event anyway. Other than a few elitist politically correct ninnies I don't suppose any of this matter at all. One upside is that we continue to get entertaining evidence of the stupidity of Stephan Dion and his team.
Posted by: John | 2007-07-23 9:51:41 PM
"Jung's other achievements include introducing a Private Member's Bill in 1962 that granted amnesty to illegal immigrants from Hong Kong, also known as "Paper Sons"."
He does share something with GWB. A desire to grant amnesty to those who break the law.
Apparently he never heard of Sir John A. MacDonald.
"...the Chinese migrant “is a stranger, a sojourner in a strange land … he has no common interest with us … he has no British instincts or British feelings or aspirations, and therefore ought not to have a vote.”9 Moreover, if given the vote, he warned, the Chinese would likely elect a sufficient number of Chinese-origin MPs in British Columbia to force the rest of the country to adhere to their “eccentricities” and “immorality.”
Prescient.
Posted by: DJ | 2007-07-24 12:27:37 AM
Since he was speaking to Libs, and Lee was the first Chinese Liberal MP, I don't see how this is in error.
Posted by: bigcitylib | 2007-07-24 7:33:02 AM
I see that bigcity engages in the kind of double-talk that we've become accustomed to from Libs when trying to save their own skin.
Dion said nothing about Lee being the first "Liberal MP" of Chinese origin.
Watching the clip, it's pretty clear — despite Dion's laughable English — that Dion is telling the crowd that 1974 was historic because Trudeau had the first MP of Chinese origin in his caucus.
Otherwise, Dion would be engaging in a criticism of the Liberal party, which he clearly would not be doing in front of a partisan audience, right?
So, if Dion comes out and say he meant to say "Liberal MP', I wouldn't believe him. I don't think he will because it'll place focus on his awful English. However, if he does, then he'll have to explain why he would be reminding Liberals that it wasn't until 1974, and for a brief moment of time, that they finally had an MP of Chinese origin.
Posted by: Dennis (Second Thoughts) | 2007-07-24 7:59:57 AM
Trudeau would not have had Citoyen Dion in his Liberal Caucus -But Trudeau knew and frequently met with Dion's Father a Professor and contributor to Cite Libre - although to my knowledge never a Canadian citizen. Dion is politically inept and so is his team led by Saint Gerard Kennedy and Second Hand Rose from Toronto. When Dion taught at the University of Moncton he had no idea who Colonel
Robert Monckton, a senior officer on General Amherst's staff was, who oversaw the expulsion of Acadians from the area of French North America which became New Brunswick - Macleod
Posted by: Jack Macleod | 2007-07-24 8:42:52 AM
Not even a doubt from the clip that 1) Dion had no clue about what he was sputtering, or, 2) He purposely misled/lied, thinking no one would know the difference. Either way, MAL for the silly man.
Never worry about Gerard Kennedy, he's toast in politics after his performance in the Lib Leadership fiasco. Ditto Martha Hall-Findley, both stupidly defend Dion and sing his praises.
Sometimes it's just not smart to defend for the sake of unity, this is one of those times. It's too blatantly obvious. These two show very poor judgment to expect to climb the political ladder, even for Liberals.
Posted by: LizJ | 2007-07-24 9:22:55 AM
I don't think either Art Lee or Doug Jung would have minded who'd had been identified as the first Chinese Canadian MP. Both these men are and were giants in the Chinese Canadian community. They are both very well respected today - especially by those who were around in Canada during their tenure and saw their work.
I had the pleasure of knowing both these leaders. My only regret is that recent politicians from the Chinese Canadian community don't even come close to emulating the leadership qualities of either Lee or Jung.
Posted by: theUglyChineseCanadian | 2007-07-24 12:30:34 PM
Dion is clueless in a lot of ways, this is just the latest proof.
Posted by: canadian freedoms fan | 2007-07-24 12:30:36 PM
Since only Liberals can be Canadians, there is no error here. Nice country! I think Alberta will have to secede some day...soon.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2007-07-24 12:31:09 PM
Do you know ooh iz Artour Lee?
Dion's English is so bad he makes Chretien sound like Sir Laurence Olivier playing Hamlet. If this bumbling fool ever becomes PM, all conservatives across Canada must move to Alberta and then immediately secede.
DJ makes a good point about these hack ethnopoliticians who could care less about traditional Canada, only about importing boatloads of their own countrymen, legally or not.
Posted by: JP | 2007-07-24 2:40:40 PM
When Dion was elected, I was elated! The Liberals elected, not only the leader they wanted, but furthermore, the very leader they so very much deserved. And what he said makes me laugh alllll the way to the very next election. There could be no better person to lead the Liberals, for the sake of this country, than Dion--because for every stupid thing he utters, hundreds of thousands will vote conservative.
I can see him now, tip-toeing, through the tulips, la-lala-laa!...
Posted by: Lady | 2007-07-24 10:01:57 PM
DJ,
And what you have said is disgusting! Probably one of the lowest things you have utterred to date!
And, might I add, not British in the least!
Posted by: Lady | 2007-07-24 10:06:34 PM
Lady, Harper and your conservatives are dropping like a stone. Now tied at 31% with Dion's Liberals. Your time peaking at less then 40% has come and gone. Better not spend the children;s inheritance on a a bust of a celebration.....
Posted by: munroe | 2007-07-24 10:43:26 PM
Harper and your conservatives are dropping like a stone
Harper will eat this weakling dion in a debate, and
after the first debate with Harper the lieberals will be the ones sinking back into their cesspool.
This idiot dion can't even give a prepared speech, with out blowing it, how the hell is he going to survive a pressured debate.
Posted by: Alan | 2007-07-24 11:03:51 PM
For marilyn who may have missed this news on another thread:
Hard to believe! (not really)
A construction union that is on strike in Washington D.C. has hired the homeless, students and retirees to picket for them. They are paid minimum wage (less than Wal-Mart pays its contented employees!) with no benefits.
The picketers' bosses are so heartless!!!
Posted by: obc | 2007-07-24 11:16:53 PM
obc: Are you familiar with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty? They were paid by Ontario's large labor unions to protest for them, while their members could enjoy their weekends free. They became, ironically, the most extraordinary form of Ontario's wealth and privilege.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2007-07-25 7:49:54 AM
. . . but did they get their "benefits" for picketing?
Posted by: obc | 2007-07-25 9:31:12 AM
Well, some managed to get free room and board in the Toronto jail for a little while. They all received the benefit of having rioted against the Harris government and its corporate allegiances.
But if you mean health benefits and the like, then no. Their paymasters in the big labor unions could only raise so much from their members, who prefered to spend their money on their cottages, trips, luxury goods, etc.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2007-07-25 9:37:35 AM
But curses are hurled at Wal-Mart for similar actions, eh?
Posted by: obc | 2007-07-25 10:15:23 AM
"Now tied at 31% with Dion's Liberals."
Libby-Dippy-Doo-Doos,
Are a pile of Poo-Poo!
Dion and jack are koo-koo,
Because they are so loo-loo!
You can spend yo' mon-ey,
And lose your li'l hon-ey!
For a bank of nada,
and a home of ka-ka!
Posted by: Lady | 2007-07-25 10:34:14 AM
Social Credit actively recruited many Chinese Canadians especially after British Columbia based Chinese Businesses became a major retail and wholesale force in BC Retail Circles -smart move, by Social Credit at the time. Chinese Canadians are inclined to be somewhat conservative. During World War II Chinese Canadian volunteers with the British Special Air Service in the Far East contributed very valuable and often heroic support, particularly in the Burma Campaign -National Film Board of Canada
produced an excellent and compelling documentry about them. Chinese Canadians have been an asset to Canada -the influx of Chinese gangsters to Canada in the early seventies was ignored by the ever arrogant RCMP and CSIS. They are a significant threat, I think if they were deported
to Hong Kong most would be executed by the tough minded PRC Police. Macleod
Posted by: Jack Macleod | 2007-07-25 10:50:36 AM
"National Film Board of Canada produced an excellent and compelling documentary about them."
Now that's a first! I thought the nazi Film Board only made hack jobs like The Kid Who Couldn't Miss or The Valor and the Horror. Of course, I had a broke watch once and it was right twice a day.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2007-07-25 10:55:24 AM
This is for Jack MacLeod, who described Dion's father, Leon Dion, as "to my knowledge never a Canadian citizen."
It's Dion's mother who is French; she came to Canada after she married Leon, who was from Quebec and did graduate studies in London, Paris and Germany. Leon Dion could trace his ancestry in New France to a settler who arrived on this continent in 1634. (source: Linda Diebel's bio of SD.)
By the way, if you listen carefully to the edited tape of Dion's remarks about Arthur Lee, it's pretty obvious it begins in mid-sentence. Was something deliberately cut out to mislead?
Posted by: Maudie | 2007-07-25 3:24:45 PM
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