Canada condemns China after it executes Canadians over ‘drug-related crime’

By Peter Zimonjic · CBC News
Global Affairs Canada is condemning China after the country executed an unspecified number of Canadian citizens earlier this year in an act that violates “basic human dignity.” Spokesperson Charlotte MacLeod told CBC News in an email that Canada had “repeatedly called for clemency for these individuals at the senior-most levels.”
She said Canada “remains steadfast in its opposition to the use of the death penalty in all cases, everywhere.” MacLeod said the federal department is continuing to provide consular assistance to the families of those who were executed, but would not provide the identities of the victims, or how many of them there were.
China’s embassy in Ottawa defended the executions on Wednesday, telling CBC News in an email that “whoever violates the law of China must be held accountable in accordance with the law.” The embassy would not provide the names of the executed Canadians or the specific crimes they were alleged to have committed, beyond that they were “drug related.” It also declined to say how many Canadians were killed.
“China always imposes severe penalties on drug-related crimes and maintains a ‘zero-tolerance’ attitude toward the drug problem,” the 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 embassy said the cases were handled “in strict accordance with the law” and that the rights and interests of the Canadians were “fully guaranteed.”
Canada-China relations remain sour
China’s embassy pushed back against Global Affairs Canada’s condemnation of the executions and said Canada should accept the decisions made by China’s judicial system if it wants to improve ties between the two countries. “We urge the Canadian side to respect the rule of law and China’s judicial sovereignty, stop making irresponsible remarks, work in the same direction with China and jointly promote the improvement and development of China-Canada relations with concrete actions,” the embassy said.
Relations between Canada and China have been strained since the December 2018 detention of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor by Beijing, on vague national security allegations.
Their arrests were widely seen as retaliation for the Vancouver arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, just days before, at the behest of the U.S. to face fraud charges related to American sanctions against Iran.
Although all three were released in 2021, the two countries have continued to butt heads.
Source: cbc.ca/news