Canada "deeply concerned" over fate of Chinese dissident Wang Bingzhang
Asia News
BEIJING (AFP)
Thursday February 10, 2005
AFP/File
Canada joined the United Nations in calling on China to release dissident Wang Bingzhang, jailed for life two years ago for "espionage" and leading a "terrorist organisation".
Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew said in a statement to rights group Worldrights his government was "deeply concerned" about the charges and would press Beijing to re-examine the case.
"Canada is deeply concerned about the nature of the accusations against Dr. Wang Bingzhang and at the harshness of his sentence," Pettigrew said.
"The promotion of respect for human rights and freedom of expression is an important objective of Canada's bilateral and multilateral agendas. "Accordingly, Canada has raised Dr. Wang's case with the Chinese authorities, both on its own and in the context of our human rights dialogue with China .
"We will continue to express our concerns about this and other cases on every appropriate occassion."
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights ruled in July 2003 that Wang, a 20-year US resident, was arrested and imprisoned in a process that violated international laws.
Wang was formally arrested in December 2002 after nearly six months in detention in China , which followed his mysterious disappearance from the Sino-Vietnamese border.
He was sentenced in a half-day trial soon after.
Two other dissidents arrested with him, Yue Wu and Zhangi Qi, have since been released.
"We appreciate Canada's expression of concern about the case of Dr. Wang and value its pledge to continue to voice its concern to the Chinese government at the highest levels," said Worldrights executive director Timothy Cooper.