Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said he "seized" the opportunity to talk about human rights in Tibet during a closed-door meeting with Chinese officials Monday after barring reporters from the event and dodging more than a dozen pro-Tibetan protesters.
  
With controversy still simmering over his trade minister's trip to Beijing, McGuinty went ahead with plans to host the lunch at a Toronto hotel with business delegates from Jiangsu province, which has a friendship agreement with Ontario dating back more than 20 years.
  
The premier, who didn't speak with reporters after the meeting, was forced to defend his decision in the legislature as opposition parties accused him of hiding from protesters and the press.
  
"I specifically raised the issue of Tibet directly with him," McGuinty said after his meeting with vice-governor Zhang Weiguo.
  
"I expressed concerns on behalf of Ontarians regarding human rights, the need for restraint and the importance of a continuing positive dialogue."
  
But if McGuinty was really concerned about human rights, he wouldn't be afraid to take questions from reporters or activists, said NDP Leader Howard Hampton.
  
"Last week, the McGuinty government said it was not … their responsibility to raise human rights concerns," he said outside the legislature.

'Behind closed doors'

"This week, they seem to be saying they care about human rights, but only in secret and behind closed doors."
  
The Liberals have been under fire for more than a week over Economic Development and Trade Minister Sandra Pupatello's visit to Beijing to open a provincial trade office, with opposition critics accusing them of trying to cover up the trip.
  
McGuinty soon found himself sinking in the political quagmire when he suggested human rights were a federal concern. But by week's end, the Liberals had tabled a surprise motion in the legislature calling for "meaningful dialogue" with China — a move critics decried as a desperate stunt to improve their image.
  
Avoiding the press is part of McGuinty's "pattern of secrecy" when it comes to his government's dealings with China and international outrage over Tibet, said Opposition leader Bob Runciman.
  
"I think he knew that he would have been under much more intensive questioning if he had faced the media," he said.
  
"He wouldn't be able to get away with what he gets away with in the legislature."
  
As demonstrators chanted outside the hotel, reporters who ventured into the lobby were forced out by security staff, who said they were acting on a request by Liberal party officials.
  
A member of hotel security, who would not give her name, said reporters were not allowed on hotel property and referred all questions to a Liberal protocol office.
  
McGuinty's hollow assurances that he talked about human rights at the meeting comes as little comfort to Tibetan-Canadians who have yet to hear from the premier despite repeated calls to his office, said NDP critic Cheri DiNovo.

Sit-in at legislature

"They're not going away," she said. "They don't buy the McGuinty line."
  
More than a dozen pro-Tibetan activists protesting outside the hotel called on McGuinty to put human rights before trade and denounce China's actions in Tibet.
  
"This is really a poor time for our political leaders to be showing support to the Chinese government," said Tsering Lama, national director of Students for a Free Tibet.
  
"Instead, what they should be doing is calling for an end to the crackdowns inside of Tibet."
  
Activists also started a weeklong sit-in Monday at the Ontario legislature to bring attention to the province's ongoing support of the Chinese government despite human rights violations in Tibet.
  
Chinese troops occupied Tibet in 1951, and Beijing continues to rule the region with a heavy hand.
  
China clamped down hard on Tibet a month ago after anti-government protests erupted. Dozens of people were killed and scores arrested.
  
China says it has ruled Tibet for centuries, but many Tibetans say they were essentially an independent state for most of that time.