China condemns Trudeau's remarks about Canadian's death sentence

Jan 17, 2019, 02:55

According to the Dalian Intermediate People's Court via CNN, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was a‌rr‌‌est‌ed in 2014 for allegedly attempting to sm‌ug‌gle more than 222 kilograms (489.4 pounds) of m‌etham‌phet‌amine from the Chinese port city of Dalian to Australia.

"Canada's position when it comes to the death penalty is consistent and very long-standing", Freeland said.

Canada has asked China's ambassador to Canada for clemency, she said.

Freeland said the cases of Schellenberg, Kovrig and Spavor will be "top of the agenda' for her next week when she travels to Davos, Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum".

"We don't know how much to talk about right now and what to say", says Schellenberg's uncle, adding, "You're not going to find out who Bob really is". "That is just a reality".

"It is of extreme concern to us as a government, as it should be to all our global friends and allies, that China has chosen to begin to arbitrarily apply (the) death penalty.as in this case", Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa.

On Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Beijing "isn't anxious at all" about facing opposition from the worldwide community, according to an English transcript of her remarks that was published on a Chinese government website.

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Hua urged the Trudeau administration to "respect China's judicial sovereignty, correct mistakes and stop making irresponsible remarks".

The timing and speed of the second trial have led to widespread suggestions that Schellenberg was being punished as part of an escalating domestic dispute between China and Canada.

China and Canada have also since traded new travel advisories, warning their citizens of the risks of travelling to the other country.

"If Chinese telecom companies like Huawei violate our sanctions or export control laws, they should receive nothing less than the death penalty - which this denial order would provide".

However, the Canadian maintains that he was a "tourist visiting China and framed by cri‌min‌als".

In a move observers see as retaliation, Chinese authorities detained two Canadian citizens - a former diplomat and a business consultant - on suspicion of endangering national security.

Bloomberg reported that executives from Chinese state-owned enterprises had been cautioned against travelling to the U.S. and the Five Eyes intelligence partner countries - Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Britain.

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She rhymed off a list of countries - Germany, France, the Netherlands, the European Union, the United States, Britain, Australia, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia - for "publicly coming out and speaking against these arbitrary detentions".

A senior Canadian government official said Chinese officials have been questioning Kovrig about his diplomatic work in China, which is a major reason why Trudeau is asserting diplomatic immunity.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman said Trudeau should "earnestly study" the Vienna Convention governing diplomatic ties so as to "not become a laughing stock".

"We expect at a level of principle that not only the death penalty should not be applied but also wherever people are in trouble the rule of law ought be applied fairly".

Experts said retrials are rare in China, especially ones calling for a harsher sentence, but rights groups note that courts are not independent and can be influenced by the ruling Communist Party.

Schellenberg's aunt, Lauri Nelson-Jones, said the family is awaiting any news regarding an appeal.

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