A Brock University professor and expert on Chinese issues says he’s not surprised with the fiery response by a Chinese official to a question about that country’s human rights record posed by a Canadian reporter Wednesday.

Charles Burton, an associate professor of political science at Brock, said this type of response has been seen before.

“I think it indicates the sensitivity of these issues and the difficulties these Chinese officials have in maintaining the official line on these matters,” he said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in Canada Wednesday to meet with Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion in an unannounced “inaugural Canada-China Foreign Affairs Ministers’ Dialogue,” which Dion said was a way to discuss expanding partnerships between the two countries.

But during a press conference in Ottawa, a Canadian reporter asked a question of Dion that touched on China’s human rights record including the disappearances of numerous Hong Kong booksellers, the detention of Canadian Kevin Garratt over spying accusations and China’s seizing of disputed islands in the South China Sea.

Dion answered the question, but when a Chinese reporter asked an unrelated question to Wang, he turned to the Canadian reporter to address the previous question.

“I want to make a response to the questions asked by this journalist about China. I have to say that your question is full of prejudice against China and arrogance. I don’t know where that comes from and this is totally unacceptable,” said Wang. “I have to ask whether you understand China? Have you been to China?”

Wang went on to talk about his country’s record of helping people out of poverty and how it couldn’t have happened without the protection and promotion of human rights.

“I would like to suggest to you please don’t ask questions in such an irresponsible manner and though we welcome goodwill suggestions, we reject groundless or unwarranted accusations,” Wang wrapped up by saying.

Burton said Chinese officials are “trained on how to respond to questions about China’s human rights record raised by visiting officials and the press.”

“The question was not unexpected. It was directed at Mr. Dion, so the Chinese Foreign Minister was not required to answer the question, but he chose to anyway.” 

Burton wrote an opinion column about the visit for Thursday’s edition of The Globe and Mail.