Canadians Sentenced to Death in China – Update
In addition to the “Two Michaels” who were recently charged with espionage, two other Canadians are still under arrest in China: Fan Wei (known simply as Mr. Fan), arrested in 2012, and Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, arrested in 2016. Both cases are alleged to involve drug smuggling. In 2019, Chinese officials formally pronounced the death sentence on both of these men. Robert Schellenberg has launched an appeal (which stands very little hope of success, according to legal experts), and no one knows what has happened to Mr. Fan. Both the Canadian government and media have said very little about the fate of these two men. Their death sentences will be by lethal injection or by firing squad.
Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, prides himself on being a champion of Women’s Rights as well as Human Rights, yet has given the arrest of Canadian citizens very little attention. In December 2018 when Sarah McIver, an ESL teacher from Alberta, was wrongly arrested for working illegally, he refused to even discuss her arrest with China’s President Xi. Out of 5 recent arrests, she is the only Canadian released from prison. More than likely the other four Canadians will be killed by the Chinese authorities (two have already been sentenced to death).
It is not surprising that Canada was not recently given a seat on the UN Security Council: the international community felt that it didn’t deserve it. Instead of standing up for Human Rights, the Canadian government has tried to appease China’s communist government even if it means ignoring the wrongful arrest and death sentence of Canadians.