Canada’s Foreign Minister, Melanie Joly, has reported that China executed four Canadian citizens in recent weeks, despite the Canadian government’s appeals for clemency.
“We unequivocally condemn the executions that took place involving Canadians in China,” Ms. Joly told reporters in Ottawa.
She mentioned that she could not provide further details about the case due to privacy requests from the families involved.
In response, China stated that it acted “in accordance with the law”.
Previously, China defended the executions in a statement sent to the Canadian Globe and Mail newspaper, indicating that the Canadians were convicted of drug offenses.
“Drug-related crime is a serious crime recognized globally as highly detrimental to society,” the embassy statement to the Globe mentioned.
“China consistently enforces severe penalties for drug-related offenses and maintains a ‘zero tolerance’ approach towards drug issues.”
Ms. Joly revealed that both she and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who left office last week, had requested China to show leniency.
China considers death penalty statistics as a state secret; however, rights organizations like Amnesty International estimate that thousands of individuals are executed in the country annually.
In recent years, relations between China and Canada have been strained.
The arrest of a senior Chinese telecom executive in Vancouver on a US warrant in December 2018, along with China’s retaliatory detention of two Canadians on espionage charges, led to a significant deterioration in relations.
Tensions further escalated due to allegations of Chinese interference in Canadian elections in 2019 and 2021, which Beijing has denied.
In 2023, Ms. Joly expelled a Chinese diplomat accused of targeting a Canadian opposition politician who has openly criticized the ruling Communist Party in Beijing, along with his family.
Canada has also condemned China’s security crackdown in Hong Kong and its treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority.
