China executed four Canadians in the past few months, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly said on Wednesday, adding that she and former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau had asked for clemency in the drug-related accusations involving the dual citizens.
Beijing’s embassy in Ottawa said that the executions were due to drug crimes and added that China does not recognize dual citizenship.
“We strongly condemn the executions,” Joly told reporters in Ottawa. “I asked personally for leniency... They were all dual citizens.”
Photo: AP
Joly said that Canada consistently asks for clemency for Canadians facing the death penalty abroad.
She said the families have asked the government to withhold details of the identity of the four individuals.
Global Affairs Canada spokeswoman Charlotte MacLeod said that the agency — which manages Canada’s diplomatic and consular relations — continues to provide consular assistance to families and requested that the media respect their privacy.
Ottawa continues to advocate for clemency for Robert Schellenberg, a Canadian who was sentenced to death for drug smuggling, MacLeod said.
“China always imposes severe penalties on drug-related crimes,” a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy said. “The facts of the crimes committed by the Canadian nationals involved in the cases are clear, and the evidence is solid and sufficient.”
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) “fully guaranteed the rights and interests of the Canadian nationals concerned,” the spokesperson said, adding that Canada’s government should “stop making irresponsible remarks.”
The two countries have some tensions. China imposed retaliatory tariffs on some Canadian farm and food imports earlier this month, after Canada imposed duties in October last year on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EV), and steel and aluminum products.
“China is sending us a message that we have to take steps if we want to see an improvement in the relationship,” former Canadian ambassador to China Guy Saint-Jacques said.
Ian Brodie, a former chief of staff to former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, wrote on social media that it turns out “agricultural tariffs weren’t the worst part of the PRC response to EV tariffs.”
Opposition Conservative lawmaker Michael Chong said that “executing a number of Canadians in short order is unprecedented, and is clearly a sign that Beijing has no intention of improving relations with Canada.”
Amnesty International condemned the executions in a statement.
“These shocking and inhumane executions of Canadian citizens by Chinese authorities should be a wake-up call for Canada,” said Ketty Nivyabandi, the group’s head for English-speaking Canada.
FAKE NEWS? ‘When the government demands the press become a state mouthpiece under the threat of punishment, something has gone very wrong,’ a civic group said The top US broadcast regulator on Saturday threatened media outlets over negative coverage of the Middle East war, after US President Donald Trump slammed critical headlines from the “Fake News Media.” The US president since his first term has derided mainstream media as “fake news” and has sued major outlets over what he sees as unfair coverage. Brendan Carr, head of the US Federal Communications Commission — which oversees the nation’s radio, television and Internet media — said broadcasters risked losing their licenses over news coverage. “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will
INFLUTENTIAL THEORIST: Habermas was particularly critical of the ‘limited interest’ shown by German politicians in ‘shaping a politically effective Europe Jurgen Habermas, whose work on communication, rationality and sociology made him one of the world’s most influential philosophers and a key intellectual figure in his native Germany, has died. He was 96. Habermas’ publisher, Suhrkamp, said he died on Saturday in Starnberg, near Munich. Habermas frequently weighed in on political matters over several decades. His extensive writing crossed the boundaries of academic and philosophical disciplines, providing a vision of modern society and social interaction. His best-known works included the two-volume Theory of Communicative Action. Habermas, who was 15 at the time of Nazi Germany’s defeat, later recalled the dawn of
The Chinese public maintains relatively warm sentiments toward Taiwan and strongly prefers non-military paths to improving cross-strait relations, a recent survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University showed. The “China Pulse” research project, which polled 2,506 adults between Oct. 27 last year and Jan. 1 this year, found that 86 percent of respondents support strengthening cultural ties, while 81 percent favor deepening economic interaction. The report, co-authored by political scientists at Emory University and advisors at the Carter Center, indicates that the Chinese public views Taiwan’s importance through a lens of shared history and culture rather than geopolitical
Cannabis-based medicines have shown little evidence of effectiveness for treating most mental health and substance-use disorders, according to a large review of past studies published in a major medical journal on Monday. Medical use of cannabinoids has been expanding, including in the US, Canada and Australia, where many patients report using cannabis products to manage conditions such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep problems. Researchers reviewed data from 54 randomized clinical trials conducted between 1980 and May last year involving 2,477 participants for their analysis published in The Lancet. The studies assessed cannabinoids as a primary treatment for mental disorders or substance-use
RSS