A Canadian activist jailed in China for alleged terrorist links was sentenced to life in prison yesterday, the Xinhua news agency said, in a ruling that could ratchet up political tensions between the countries.
Huseyin Celil was sentenced for "taking part in terrorist activities and plotting to split the country," Xinhua said. The brief report did not give any other details.
Celil, a member of the Uighur minority group from Xinjiang, was born and raised in China and drew the attention of authorities by campaigning for the rights of his people.
He was arrested in China and tortured, but escaped from prison in 2000 and fled to Uzbekistan and Turkey before reaching Canada, where he was given citizenship.
He was arrested in Uzbekistan in March last year while visiting his wife's relatives, and extradited to China in June.
Point of contention
His extradition has been a point of contention between Canada and China, which does not recognize Celil's Canadian citizenship and says his case is not subject to consular agreements.
Ottawa has angered Chinese officials by aggressively lobbying for his release, as did Canada's granting of honorary citizenship to the exiled Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama, one of the figures most reviled by the Beijing leadership.
In February, tensions grew stronger after Celil made a court appearance at the Urumqi Intermediate People's Court in Xinjiang's capital without a Canadian diplomat present -- a violation of his rights as a Canadian citizen.
"This is a great blow to Mr. Celil and his family members," said a spokesperson at the Canadian embassy in Beijing, who spoke yesterday on condition of anonymity according to protocol.
"Canada remains very concerned that the Chinese government has prevented us from meeting Mr. Celil," the spokesperson said. "We would urge the Chinese authorities to grant embassy officials access to Mr. Celil."
A man who answered the telephone at the Urumqi court said he could not confirm the sentence.
The charges against Celil have never been made clear, but the Xinhua report said he was a "prominent member of the `East Turkestan' terrorist organization."
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique