Beijing pays little attention to foreign countries' criticism of a Chinese court's decision to issue the death penalty for Canadian national Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Wednesday at a press briefing
BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th January, 2019) Beijing pays little attention to foreign countries' criticism of a Chinese court's decision to issue the death penalty for Canadian national Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Wednesday at a press briefing.On Monday, a court in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian sentenced Schellenberg to death for drug smuggling. The decision immediately faced sharp criticism not only from the Canadian leadership, but also the international community, particularly Australia, whose Foreign Ministry expressed deep concern over the court's verdict.
"I can clearly say that we are absolutely not worried [about the international criticism]," Hua said.
She also expressed surprise over the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's criticism, pointing out that Schellenberg wanted to deliver drugs to Australia.
"I think that Canada has a few allies on the issue and they absolutely cannot represent the opinion of the entire international community. It seems to me that the international community has reached a consensus that such dangerous crimes as illegal drug trafficking must be strictly punished," Hua added.
The Chinese authorities initially sentenced the Canadian citizen to 15 years in prison. However, in late December, an appeals court ordered a retrial, claiming that the initial punishment was too lenient. The defendant was told on Monday that he had 10 days to appeal the court's death sentence.
