This development further strains bilateral relations, already tense amid ongoing concerns about China’s judicial practices and its role in the North American fentanyl crisis.

By Probe International

China executed four Canadians convicted of drug-related offenses earlier this year, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told media yesterday. The Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the news and expressed its “strong condemnation” to China.

The executions of the four Canadians, identified as dual nationals, followed two years of judicial review. China, however, does not recognize dual nationality.

Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly in her address to media said she had been closely monitoring the cases for months and had collaborated with other officials, including former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in an effort to prevent the executions.

China imposes the death penalty as the maximum punishment for serious crimes such as drug-related offenses, corruption, and espionage. It is nevertheless rare for Westerners to receive the death penalty. While the exact number of executions China performs annually is considered a state secret, international human rights organizations estimate the country has the highest rates globally. According to global data platform Statista.com, China registered 1,000 executions in 2023, although the actual number was “likely significantly higher.”

On March 20, during a regular press conference of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an AFP reporter noted that Canada had condemned China for the execution of four of its citizens for drug smuggling, and asked: “Can China provide more details? What is your comment on Canada’s protest?”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning responded that combating drug crimes is the shared responsibility of all countries. She emphasized that China is a country governed by the rule of law, treating defendants of all nationalities equally and handling cases strictly according to the law. She also stated that China protects the legitimate rights of the parties involved and the consular rights of Canada in accordance with the law. Mao Ning further urged Canada to respect the spirit of the rule of law and refrain from interfering in China’s judicial sovereignty.

Law-based governance is complicated by the reality of what rule of law means in China, however. With its absolute control over law enforcement and the judicial system, the CCP utilizes the law as a means to exert power rather than to limit it, using the judiciary as a tool to promote its policy and political objectives through a system of rule by law.

This latest development in tensions between China and Canada dates to late 2018, when China detained Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig following Canada’s arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. The detentions were widely seen as hostage diplomacy, and the two were released in 2021 after Meng was allowed to return to China. In recent years, Canada has increasingly criticized China over human rights issues and Chinese interference in Canadian affairs and elections.

The timing of these executions is seen as a way for Beijing to maintain pressure and leverage in bilateral discussions with Canada. Despite hopes for improved relations after the release of Kovrig and Spavor, substantive progress has not been made.

At least one other Canadian, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, still faces the death penalty in China for drug smuggling. Human rights groups have expressed concerns about the fairness of trials in China, noting that foreigners are at risk of arbitrary detentions and unfair trials.

News of the executions lands amid ongoing investigations by the United States’ Select Committee on the CCP and independent journalists, such as Canada’s Sam Cooper, into the Chinese Communist Party’s role in the North American fentanyl crisis. Findings from the U.S. Select Committee’s investigation of the CCP’s role in the crisis reveal that China produces over 97% of the fentanyl precursors that fuel the global illicit fentanyl trade, making the CCP the largest enabler of the fentanyl trade into North America.

The Committee’s findings assert that CCP programs in China protect fentanyl traffickers operating within its borders, and even provide government subsidies to PRC companies that manufacture fentanyl analogues, precursors, and other synthetic narcotics, as long as these substances are sold outside of China. These subsidies come in the form of rebates for the country’s Value-Added Tax (VAT), which the CCP uses to significantly boost exports of other goods. It is now evident that the same strategy is applied to illegal synthetic narcotics.

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