2007年6月23日刊登在The Richmond Review的一封读者来函：
What if B.C. became a Chinese province?
Jun 23 2007
Re: The formation of the Nation Alliance Party, whose focus is on the 350,000 people in B.C. who are of Chinese heritage.
Canadians have generally accepted the politically pragmatic proposition that the Province of Quebec may, if a majority ever vote “Oui” in a referendum, leave the Canadian Confederation and chart an independent course; or, form some more formal relationship with the French Republic.
This is a commonplace and does not excite comment or even much reaction except from the quarters of Empire curmudgeons.
Having established the principles of Canadian disestablishmentarianism, let us now consider a second possibility. From where I sit in Richmond, B.C., where a majority of my fellow citizens already hail from lands that were, or have now become, parts of the Peoples’ Republic of China, it appears quite possible that at some time in the next 25 years, a majority of Lower Mainlanders, and, perhaps of all British Columbians, will also be emigrants from China.
Contrary to what many non-Chinese Canadians may believe, many, if not most, of these Chinese-Canadians have no more dislike for the government in Beijing than they do for the government in Ottawa. China today is not China of even 10 years ago. That was then. This is now.
In fact, many Chinese-Canadians have considerable regard and affection for the Peoples’ Republic, and take great pride in China’s unprecedented growth as an economic and military super-power able to project economic and political influence and force anywhere in the world, and soon on the moon. If you doubt this, ask a British Columbian from Shanghai what they think about the China-Taiwan situation. I suggest that a majority British Columbian, Chinese speaking, ethnic Chinese population will have a greater affinity to the Peoples’ Republic than to Canada or the United States.
Based on the accepted principles of de-Confederation, a Chinese-Canadian majority in British Columbia could vote to leave Canada. I have turned my mind to considering the outcomes if B.C. became a semi-autonomous province of China, and I have concluded that it is all good.
For years, British Columbians have complained vociferously about the way Ottawa treats us. Not enough patrol boats. Not enough helicopters. Not enough planes. Removing the Canadian Forces from the base in Chilliwack. It seems likely to me that the Beijing government would move quickly to satisfy our demands in these regards, and that we would at last get what we wished for from a national government.
Perhaps our economic model will become the wide-open-for-business City-State of Shanghai. Imagine the possibilities for a B.C. free of the shackles that environmentalists have placed on our economic development and resource exploration.
Naysayers might argue that China has never in its 5,000 year history been expansionist. I would respond that the situation in B.C. may be unprecedented for China, but not B.C. The Lower Mainland, in particular, has always been subject to conquest by immigration. However, when thousands of Brits moved here after the war, there was no need for them to seek an alliance with Britain, as we were already Britain’s vassal state and/or colony. By the time Canada repatriated the Constitution in 1982, it was already too late for B.C.’s Brits to seek a formal tie to the realm. For China, confederation with B.C. would be a turnkey operation incorporating millions of Chinese citizens living abroad and delivering an economic and military toehold in North America.
So, what if a majority of the electorate in B.C. did vote for independence and to formalize political, economic and even military ties with the Peoples’ Republic of China? Would the U.S.A. just say okey-dokey? Would the Government of Canada acquiesce? If planners in Ottawa and Washington, D.C. have considered this scenario, they have kept strangely silent about it.
Bob Friedland
Richmond
