(Minghui.org) The Globe and Mail, one of Canada’s largest newspapers, recently published two articles over the course of four days about a Canadian citizen currently detained in China for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime.
Ms. Sun Qian, 51, grew up in China and became a Canadian citizen in 2007. She was arrested on February 29, 2017, in her residence in Beijing, where she established a biochemical firm called Beijing Leadman Biochemistry Co.
According to her lawyer Guo Haiyue, Ms. Sun was kept alone in a small dark room for the first few weeks at Beijing First Detention Center. The solitary confinement caused Ms. Sun tremendous mental distress, and she was not let out of the room until an official from the Canadian Embassy intervened.
This is the second case of Canadian resident being detained by the Chinese communist regime in the past few months. During the debate on Parliament Hill, the Canadian government discussed whether they should sign an extradition treaty to send Chinese political dissidents back to China, where torture and interrogation is prevalent and no fair legal system exists.
After MP Peter Kent asked why the Trudeau government was not speaking out publicly regarding Ms. Sun’s detention, the administration responded days later that it was “seized by this particular matter.”
Austin Jean, the spokeswoman of Global Affairs, added that the Canadian consular officials in China have contacted the Chinese authorities for more information and are closely monitoring the case.
Omar Alghabra, a parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, specializing in consular affairs, told the Commons the Liberal government has not shied away from defending Ms. Sun. “A Canadian is a Canadian,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Falun Dafa Association wrote to prime minister Trudeau, asking for his help to rescue Ms. Sun. They said in the letter, “For the past eighteen years, Falun Gong has been the most severely persecuted group in China. The Canadian government has the obligation to protect Canadian citizens in China, which is also protecting the dignity of Canadian values from being eroded by this authoritarian regime.”
Ms. Sun’s detention has caught the attention of Amnesty International Canada and government officials. They are calling for the parliament to safeguard its own citizens’ human rights and help secure Ms. Sun’s freedom.
Jacob Kuehn, spokesman for Amnesty International Canada, told The Globe and Mail that the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China is of “tremendously grave concern” to human-rights advocates.
“The extraordinary levels of persecution and human-rights violations confronted by practitioners are extensive, including arbitrary detention, unfair trials, torture, and execution,” Mr. Kuehn said.
He added that “Amnesty International has documented numerous deaths in custody, believed to have been caused by torture and other ill-treatment, as well as cases where practitioners have been afflicted with permanent disability following detention.”
Related Reports:
Canadian Citizen Working in China to Face Indictment for Her FaithCanadian MPs Seek to Press China for Release of Canadian Falun Gong Practitioner
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