A Liberal MP’s comments questioning the existence of forced labour in China have been quickly picked up by state-controlled media there, with a print article reporting positively on Michael Ma’s remarks and calling accusations of labour abuse a Western fabrication. Ma aggressively quizzed China expert Margaret McCuaig-Johnston on her testimony at the House of Commons industry committee last week, demanding to know if she had actually witnessed forced labour herself. He later apologized, saying he thought McCuaig-Johnston was talking about Shenzhen in southern China, not the Xinjiang region where forced labour involving the Uyghur minority has been well documented. She also saw social media posts from China, some of which drew thousands of comments, that highlighted Ma’s tense exchange with her. “Have you witnessed this yourself, have you been to China?” Ma asked.

Source: National Post March 30, 2026 20:12 UTC