It was Sept 6, 2002, a time when Paul Martin was still a little unsure if he was going to replace Jean Chretien as Canada's prime minister.

The event at Vancouver's Plaza of Nations was tailor made for someone hunting public support.

Martin walked from booth to booth, making chit-chat, shaking hands, lifting babies and smiling for numerous pictures.

Nearly all the people there were of Taiwanese origin.

No surprise as it was the Taiwanese Festival in Vancouver.

It was also a fitting time for one reporter to ask the question - Would Martin push to recognize Taiwan's sovereignty if he was prime minister

The response ? "Our relationships are very close and obviously the Taiwanese-Canadian community is a very important one in terms of Canada."

The reporter tried again.

The response ? "The whole issue of foreign policy is very, very important and it's the kind of thing one should not speculate on."

The reporter tried again.

This time the response touched on the importance of multiculturalism and the contributions of the Taiwanese-Canadians to the world and Canada.

It was typical Martin ? evasive and non-committal.

It was also typical of Canada's hypocritical relations with a democratic Taiwan ? a union dictated by Ottawa's relations with a communist China.

We in Canada have no problem doing business with Taiwan. In per capita terms, Canada does more trade with Taiwan than China.

We have tens of thousands of Taiwanese who visit Canada every year. We have tens of thousands of Taiwanese who live in Canada.

Our Parliamentarians are paid to go to Taiwan on junkets. Heck we even sold them a nuclear reactor.

But when it comes to supporting Taiwan's quest to be an independent democratic nation, Canada bows to the more alluring and despotic China.

Maybe that's because of Jean Chretien's links with Chinese tycoons, all of whom insist that Taiwan belongs to Beijing or maybe Paul Martin's shipping conglomerate has a huge stake in China.

Whatever the reason, Taiwan is relegated to a diplomatic never-never land as Canada continues to put money before morality.

Next March, Taiwan will hold an historic third direct presidential election.

President Chen Shui Ban, fed up with his nation living under the threat of China and refusing to be a Beijing lap dog like Hong Kong's Tung Chee Hwa, wants to hold an independence referendum.

China's response to the announcement is to deploy 496 missiles in six bases in the southeastern provinces of Jiangxi, Guangdong and Fujian " just across the Taiwan Strait.

It is disgraceful that Paul Martin, the self-appointed torch-bearer of democracy, is nowhere to be seen or heard as China tries to bully Taiwan with its military might.

Instead, his first official function will be to shake hands with China's premier who visits Ottawa on Dec. 11, the day before he officially takes power.

Canada should step out of the shadows when it comes to supporting Taiwan.

If Paul Martin is serious about tackling the "democracy deficit in Canada" and making it "a national priority" like he promised law students in Toronto last October, he should call for an open vote in the House of Commons on the issue of recognizing Taiwan.

Canadians can then determine for themselves if their new prime minister is a cowardly capitalist or a champion of democracy.