China said on Wednesday it was “not worried in the slightest” by mounting international concern over the death sentence handed to a Canadian for drug smuggling.
BEIJING/SHERBROOKE, Quebec (Reuters) – China said on Wednesday it was “not worried in the slightest” by mounting international concern over the death sentence handed to a Canadian for drug smuggling.
Monday’s sentence for Robert Schellenberg for smuggling 222 kg (489 lbs) of methamphetamines prompted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to accuse China of “arbitrarily” applying the death penalty.
The United Nations said it opposed capital punishment apart from exceptional circumstances, and Australia’s acting foreign minister Simon Birmingham said he was “deeply concerned” by the case.
Trudeau has called several world leaders in recent days to share concerns about the case of Schellenberg and two Canadians that Beijing detained last month after a senior Chinese executive was arrested in Vancouver on a U. S. arrest warrant.
Speaking at a daily news briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Canada’s “so-called allies could be counted on ten fingers” and did not represent the views of the wider international community.
“I can very clearly state that we are not worried in the slightest,” Hua said of the mounting outcry, adding that a majority of Chinese supported severe punishment for drug crimes.
