The Canadian ambassador to China has condemned a court’s ruling to uphold the death sentence verdict for a Canadian convicted of drug smuggling.
Robert Schellenberg was arrested in 2014 and sentenced to 15 years in prison in November 2018 but then abruptly resentenced to death in the city of Dalian in January 2019.
Schellenberg was convicted of smuggling 222kg (448lbs) of methamphetamine, according to the court.
This decision to reject his appeal came while the Chinese government was trying to pressure Canada to release the chief financial officer of telecoms giant Huawei.
Meng Wanzhou was detained at Vancouver Airport in December 2018 on US charges related to possible dealings with Iran.
Advertisement
Meng, who has said she is innocent, has been fighting her extradition from under house arrest in Vancouver.
Ambassador Dominic Barton told reporters that Canada remains remain deeply concerned about China’s arbitrary use of the death penalty.
More from World
“It is not a coincidence that these are happening right now, while the case is going on in Vancouver,” Mr Barton said, referring to Schellenberg’s case and that of another Canadian, Michael Spavor.
Image: Meng Wanzhou pictured leaving her home to attend a court hearing in Vancouver on 4 August
The Higher People’s Court of Liaoning Province rejected Schellenberg’s appeal, which it heard in May 2020, and said in a statement on Tuesday that the sentence was appropriate and the lower court’s procedures legal.
It sent the case to the Chinese supreme court for review, as is required by law before any death sentences can be carried out.
Businessman Spavor was detained in China days after Meng’s arrest in Vancouver.
He was charged with espionage in June last year and went to trial in March.
Mr Barton said a court in the northeastern city of Dandong, on a river bordering North Korea, is expected to announce a verdict on Spavor on Wednesday.
China has rejected the suggestion the Canadians’ cases are linked to Meng’s case in Canada though China has warned of unspecified consequences unless Meng was released.
Chinese courts have a conviction rate of more than 99%.
Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.
While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.
All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.
The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.
Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.
More on Donald Trump
Related Topics:
Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.
The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.
And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.
Image: US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters
Trump holds trade deal talks – reports
It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indianand Israelirepresentatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.
The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.
Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.
Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.
Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
6:50
Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”
Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.
The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.
The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Image: Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
Image: The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.