Former Canadian Foreign Minister Shang Pengfei attends a press conference on January 8, 2020.
On Monday, February 15, Canada and 58 other countries announced a coalition against hostage diplomacy and issued a new international declaration condemning the state-sponsored arbitrary detention of foreigners for political purposes. Although the declaration did not specify the target of the condemnation, the Communist government used the media to issue a threat against Canada.
The declaration, called the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in Interstate Relations (the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention), was led by Canada and was born out of the behind-the-scenes diplomacy of former Canadian Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne. The declaration comes as two Canadians, former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor, remain detained by the Chinese Communist government for 798 days now in connection with the Meng Wanzhou incident in late 2018.
Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau did not disclose the specific countries he condemned in an interview, calling the new statement “not country-related.” Garneau said he wants more countries to join as signatories, with the aim of ending the practice around the world and discouraging others from doing so.
Although not mentioned directly, the Beijing government used the left-wing Communist Party tabloid Global Times to issue a blast at the statement, quoting an “anonymous expert” who called the initiative to end hostage diplomacy a “provocative and lame attack” against the Communist Party and threatened that if it continued. It also threatened negative repercussions if it continued.
Kenneth Roth, head of Human Rights Watch, on Monday denounced Beijing’s appalling role in the hostage diplomacy issue, saying “the Chinese government’s detention of Canadians Kang Mingkai and Michael Sparrow exemplifies this despicable practice.” He said the Chinese Communist Party has adopted similar tactics against Australian citizens.
Canada and its key allies in the Group of Seven (G7), the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network and multiple countries on every continent support the new declaration, which is non-binding but aims to condemn and put pressure on countries that engage in the detention of foreign nationals.
In a statement, British Foreign Secretary Rummy said, “Canada’s Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention is an important moment of international leadership, bringing together like-minded allies to oppose this unacceptable practice.”
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the United States “wholeheartedly” supports the declaration and called on “all like-minded nations to work together to compel countries that engage in such detention to stop the practice, release those detained, and respect the rule of law and human rights. “
The new declaration could be said to have come from a coalition established by Canada to speak out on behalf of the two Canadian hostages, according to Canadian media.
When asked if the statement was intended to send a message to the Chinese (communist) state, Shang Pengfei said, “My message is to all those arbitrarily detained by the world: your freedom is stolen, but your voice will not be silenced. We support you and we will fight for you every step of the way.”
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