Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The court said the Canadian was the leader of a drug production and trafficking ring (file pic)

A court in China has sentenced a Canadian citizen to death for producing and trafficking methamphetamine.

Fan Wei is the second Canadian to be sentenced to death this year. Ten others, including five foreigners, were also sentenced on Tuesday.

Relations between Canada and China have been tense since the December arrest of a Huawei executive in Vancouver.

Canada has accused Beijing of arbitrarily applying the death penalty, and have requested clemency for Mr Fan.

In January, another Canadian, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, had a 15-year jail term increased to a death sentence - prompting condemnation from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Beijing rejected his comments, saying that Canada was practising "double standards".

On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told journalists that Canada is "very concerned" by this latest death sentence.

"Canada stands firmly opposed to the death penalty everywhere around the world," she said.

"We think that this is a cruel and inhumane punishment, which we think should not be used in any country. We are obviously particularly concerned when it is applied to Canadians."

Global Affairs Canada said in a statement that the country "has raised our firm opposition to the death penalty with China, and will continue to do so".

The diplomatic agency said representatives attended the 30 April verdict and sentencing trial for Mr Fan, and have called on China to grant clemency to him.

The latest case is likely to further inflame the months-long diplomatic row which started when Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei's founder, was arrested in Vancouver on the request of US authorities.

Two other Canadian citizens, former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor, are also being held by China and face accusations of harming national security.

The Jiangmen Intermediate People's Court in southern Guangdong province said that Fan Wei was the leader of the drugs ring. Another suspect, Wu Ziping, whose nationality was not made clear, was also given a death sentence.

Nine others, including an American and four Mexicans, were given jail terms.

All were detained in 2012 and the trial took place in 2013.

Drug-dealing is punishable by death in China, and at least a dozen foreigners have been executed for drug-related offences. Many more are on death row.

However, the execution of Westerners is less common. One of the most high-profile cases involved British man Akmal Shaikh, who was executed in 2009 despite claims he was mentally ill and an appeal for clemency from the UK prime minister.</s>BEIJING - A court in southern China handed down sentences Tuesday to at least six foreigners involved in an international methamphetamine operation, including a Canadian given the death penalty.

The Jiangmen Intermediate People’s Court in southern Guangdong province sentenced 11 people who produced more than 63 kilograms (139 pounds) of methamphetamine, an illegal drug.

Among them were one American and four Mexicans, who were all given life sentences or death sentences suspended by a period of two years. The court statement did not make clear which individual received what sentence, nor did it give their full names,

The Canadian sentenced to death was identified as “Fan Wei,” but it was unclear whether that’s the person’s legal name. A person identified as Wu Ziping, whose nationality was not specified, was also handed the death sentence.

The sentence is likely to further strain Sino-Canadian relations, which have frayed since Canada arrested a Chinese tech executive last December at the request of the U.S. Since then, China has detained two Canadians and delayed some Canadian exports in apparent retaliation.

According to the court, Fan Wei and Wu conspired to manufacture and sell the drugs in 2012, and brought the others — described as “drug-making technicians” — on board. Between July and November of that year, the court says, the group set up a “den” in Guangdong’s Taishan city, where they produced and sold more than 63 kilograms of methamphetamine and 365.9 grams of dimethyl amphetamine.

A court employee reached by phone declined to give further details on the case.

In a separate drug smuggling case, China sentenced Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg to death in a sudden retrial January — one month after Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were detained on vague national security allegations. The moves were widely seen as punishment for Canada’s arrest of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of the Chinese telecom company Huawei.

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China has also suspended the license of two major Canadian canola exporters, alleging that officials discovered hazardous organisms in canola seed shipments.</s>A Chinese court sentenced a second Canadian man to death for drug trafficking on Tuesday, eliciting a rebuke from Canada's foreign minister, amid diplomatic tensions between Ottawa and Beijing.

The court in southern Guangdong province said the Canadian, Fan Wei, and 10 others -- including an American and four Mexicans -- were part of an international narcotics syndicate working out of Taishan city between July and November 2012.

The group produced and sold 63.38 kilos (140 pounds) of methamphetamine and 366 grammes of dimethylamylamine, a drug used for attention deficit-hyperactive disorder, weight loss and improving athletic performance, according to the Jiangmen Intermediate People's Court.

Fan and a Chinese man who played a key role in operations were sentenced to death, the court said in a statement.

"The number of drugs sold and manufactured was extremely large and the crimes were extremely serious," the statement said.

The other foreigners were given suspended death sentences which would be reduced to life imprisonment after two years while the rest of the men faced prison terms.

They have 10 days to appeal the sentence.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland reacted to the sentencing, saying her government is "very concerned."

"Canada stands firmly opposed to the use of the death penalty, everywhere around the world," she told reporters. "We think that this is a cruel and inhumane punishment, which should not be used in any country.

"We are obviously, particularly concerned when it is applied to Canadians."

The Canadian foreign ministry in a statement called on China to grant clemency for Fan, who is the second Canadian to face capital punishment this year.

In January, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was handed the death penalty following a one-day retrial after he appealed an earlier 15-year sentence in a separate drug trafficking case.

China says that he was a key member of an international drug trafficking syndicate but Schellenberg claims that he was visiting as a tourist.

The sentence came amid the backdrop of frosty diplomatic relations between China and Canada, with Beijing furious over the Vancouver arrest of a top executive from telecom giant Huawei on a US extradition request related to Iran sanctions violations.

Chinese authorities later detained two Canadian nationals -- a former diplomat and a business consultant -- on suspicion of endangering national security, a move seen as retaliation over the Huawei executive's arrest.

Schellenberg has appealed his sentence and Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou is fighting extradition.</s>April 30 (UPI) -- A second Canadian citizen was sentenced to death in China on Tuesday for manufacturing and trafficking methamphetamine.

The decision comes after another Canadian national, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, had a 15-year prison sentence increased to a death sentence, the BBC reported.

The Chinese decision to sentence to death Canadian citizen Fan Wei comes at a time when the two countries are experiencing unprecedented tensions over citizens in custody.

In December, China detained Michael Spavor, head of Paektu Cultural Exchange, at the Chinese border city of Dandong. He was arrested on charges of "harming [Chinese] national security," but details on the reasons for his detention were not provided by Beijing. Ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig is the other Canadian in Chinese custody.

The arrests came after Canada detained Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei. Meng was arrested in Vancouver at the request of the United States.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has condemned Schellenberg's death sentence, but the Chinese government refuted the remarks and has said Canada was practicing "double standards."

On Tuesday the Jiangmen Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong province said Fan Wei was the leader of a drug ring. A defendant of an unknown nationality but identified as Wu Ziping was also conferred the death sentence, according to the BBC.

China takes a tough stance on narcotics that may date back to the 19th century, when the country fought the Opium War against Britain. The Qing dynasty began to sentence Chinese drug traffickers to death as early as 1838, according to historians.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has evoked his country's "humiliation" at the hands of Western powers on previous occasions.

On Tuesday he called on Chinese youth to build community and "take responsibility" in order to "realize the great revival of the Chinese people," according to Chinese network CGTN.

Xi was speaking at an event commemorating the centenary of the May Fourth movement, a student-led mass protest in 1919 that condemned Chinese concessions to Japan at the time.</s>The verdict marks the second time a Canadian citizen has been sentenced to death on drug charges in China this year, amid escalating tensions between the two countries over the arrest of a Huawei executive.

Only the Canadian, who name is translated as Fan Wei, and a Chinese national, Wu Ziping, received the death penalty.

The harsher sentence was due to their role in helping to organize the trafficking operation in March 2012, according to the court statement. In total, they were found to have trafficked 63 kilograms (139 pounds) of methamphetamine.

The American and Mexican citizens received either a suspended death sentence or life imprisonment. The statement noted all defendants could appeal the verdict within 10 days. In January, Canadian national Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was also given a death sentence after a rapid retrial, a move which plunged relations between Canada and China to a new low. The sentences come as two other Canadian men -- ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor -- remain in detention in China on suspicion of espionage. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called for the immediate release of both Korvig and Spavor, describing their detentions as "arbitrary." The cases have previously been interpreted in Canada as retaliation for the country's decision to arrest Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei. Meng was taken into custody on December 1, 2018, in Vancouver on behalf of the United States on charges of working to evade Iran sanctions. The Chinese government has repeatedly protested Meng's detention, saying the arrest was political. "Both Canada and the US abused their bilateral extradition treaty and took forced actions on a Chinese citizen. This severely infringed a Chinese citizen's legitimate rights," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in March. Meng is currently under house arrest in Vancouver and is facing extradition to the US.</s>A court in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong has sentenced a Canadian national to death drug smuggling, drawing protests from Ottawa, while handing a suspended death sentence to a U.S. citizen.

Fan Wei was handed the sentence along with 10 others by the Jiangmen Intermediate People's Court, which found him guilty of drug trafficking as part of an international narcotics syndicate that sold and produced methamphetamine and dimethylamylamine in Guangdong's Taishan city between July and November 2012.

Canada's foreign minister Chrystia Freeland said the Canadian government was "very concerned" about the sentencing.

"Canada stands firmly opposed to the use of the death penalty, everywhere around the world," Freeland said. "We think that this is a cruel and inhumane punishment, which should not be used in any country. We are ... particularly concerned when it is applied to Canadians."

The Canadian foreign ministry has called for clemency.

The court said in a statement that the number of drugs sold and manufactured "was extremely large and the crimes were extremely serious."

The court also sentenced U.S. citizen Mark Swidan to death, suspended for two years, in the same case.

All of those convicted have 10 days to lodge an appeal. The sentences followed a trial in 2013, but the Jiangmen court has repeatedly applied for extensions to the three-month time limit to pass sentence.

The Supreme People's Court approved more than 20 such extensions, with no explanation provided to the families, according to U.S.-based rights group the Duihua Foundation.

The group said that no forensic evidence has was produced, with no drugs in his system, no DNA on the packages, no fingerprints on the packages, or drug paraphernalia, tying Swidan to the drugs.

No emails, letters, or phone calls were cited, linking him to any transaction, and Swidan had no previous history of criminal behavior, it said.

"The Swidan family was never told why the judgment was repeatedly extended, a violation of a basic norm of transparency," Duihua's executive director John Kamm said in a recent statement.

"Mr. Swidans rights to a fair trial and due process have been seriously abused," Kamm said.

Fan is the second Canadian national to be sentenced to death this year.

At least 13 Canadians were detained after Chinese officials vowed to retaliate for the arrest in Canada of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of China's flagship telecoms company Huawei.

While at least eight have since been released, a court in the northeastern city of Dalian on Dec. 29 handed down the death penalty to Canadian national Robert Schellenberg, who had originally been sentenced to 15 years in prison for drug smuggling.

Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and consultant Michael Spavor remain in detention on suspicion of "endangering national security."

Kovrig is a diplomat on leave who was working for the International Crisis Group think tank at the time of his detention, while Spavor is an entrepreneur known for contacts with high-ranking North Korean officials, including leader Kim Jong Un.

Reported by Liu Fei for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

Copyright 1998-2018, RFA. Published with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036</s>China has sentenced a Canadian citizen to death for his involvement in drug trafficking.

Canada’s Fan Wei received the death penalty, similar to Wu Ziping, whose nationality was not given, a court in the southern Chinese city of Jiangmen in Guangdong province said on Tuesday.

The two men allegedly headed a group that manufactured and sold drugs.

11 people have been sentenced in the case.

They included a U.S. citizen and four Mexicans, all of whom were sentenced to life in prison.

In January, a Chinese court sentenced Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg to death for smuggling drugs into China after having previously been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Convicted drug smugglers face long prison sentences or the death penalty in China.

Canada and China have been embroiled in a political confrontation for months.

The trigger was the December arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the Chief Financial Officer of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, in Canada.

Meng, the daughter of the company’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, was arrested at the request of the United States, where the government accuses her of bank and wire fraud in connection with possible violations of U.S. sanctions against Iran.

After Meng’s arrest, two Canadians were detained and investigated for “endangering national security,’’ with some viewing their detainment as China’s retaliation for the proceedings against Meng.</s>The Canadian leader of an international drug-trafficking gang was sentenced to death in China today, according to a court.

One American citizen, a member of the gang, received a death sentence with a two-year reprieve, it is understood.

Four Mexicans were also given suspended death sentences or life imprisonment, the Jiangmen Intermediate People's Court in Jiangmen city of Guangdong Province announced.

The Canadian citizen has been named Fan Wei, who is said to have led the multi-national criminal syndicate in Guangdong Province together with an individual called Wu Ziping.

Wu Ziping, believed to be a Chinese national, was sentenced to death today as well.

The court said in an online statement that Fan and Wu were found guilty of producing and trafficking drugs in March, 2012.

The pair were said to have recruited and worked with a number of 'technicians', including an American citizen identified as Mark and four Mexican citizens whose names are translated as Leon, Pedro, Oscar and Carrete.

The gang also hired two individuals to produce drugs. They have been named Zeng Xianliang and Li Furong and they are both believed to be Chinese.

Authorities raided Fan and Wu's drug production plant in Taishan, Guangdong, during July and November in 2012.

They were found guilty of producing and trafficking 63.8 kilograms (140 pounds) of methamphetamine and 365.9 grams of dimethyl amphetamine during the period, the court said.

The court said Fan and Wu had manufactured and trafficked 'a particularly large quantity of drugs' and their crime was 'extremely serious', therefore they were given death sentences and their personal assets would be confiscated.

The American citizen and four Mexican citizens were regarded as principal criminals.

The American was given a suspended death sentence with a two-year reprieve, according to China's Legal Daily.

Death sentence with reprieve is a type of death sentence under the Chinese Criminal Law. The convicted individual is given a two-year reprieve from the execution. At the end of the two-year term, the sentence will be reduced to life imprisonment if the individual does not commit further crimes within the period.

The four Mexicans were given suspended death sentences or life imprisonment, but the court did not specify which ones received a suspended death sentence and which ones were jailed for life.

Four other individuals, namely Zeng Xianliang, Li Furong, Liao Jianming and Liu Zhimin, were given unspecified jail terms.

The court said all convicted individuals could appeal against the ruling.

Although the full name of the American citizen has not been revealed, he is believed to be Mark Swidan, who is from Houston and was detained on drug charges in China in November 2012, according to South China Morning Post.

Mr Swidan, reported to be 45 years old, was detained on 'flimsy' charges and had planned to kill himself to declare his innocence during his pro-longed confinement in Guangdong, reported Newsweek in 2016.

The report cited Mr Swidan's mother who was in contact with an American consular official who had visited Mr Swidan at a detention centre.

Mrs Swidan told Newsweek that his son was taken by the Chinese authority after travelling to Guangdong to buy furniture for his wedding home and finding factories for a friend's business.

He was said to be held in a detention centre, where many inmates 'are forced to make silk flowers with harsh chemicals' for export.

MailOnline has attempted to contact the Jiangmen Intermediate People's Court for further information on the case.

A worker who answered the phone call claimed that relevant office staff did not have extensions, therefore it was not possible to reach them.

This is the second high-profile court case in China this year which has resulted in foreign individuals being sentenced to death.

In January, another Canadian citizen received the capital punishment by a court in Dalian in north-eastern China - also over drug-trafficking.

The sentence of the 36-year-old Canadian, named Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, was announced amid ongoing tensions between Beijing and Ottawa over the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.

The court found Mr Schellenberg guilty of trying to smuggle 222 kilograms (490 pounds) of crystal meth from China to Australia.

He was initially sentenced 15 years in prison late last year, but a high court deemed the decision 'too lenient' and gave him the death penalty in an open hearing on January 14.

Commenting on Mr Schellenberg's case, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was concerned that China had chosen to 'arbitrarily' apply death penalty to a Canadian.

Canada asked China to spare the life of Mr Schellenberg shortly after the sentencing, but China responded that it was 'not worried in the slightest' by mounting international concern over the punishment.

China has executed other foreigners for drug-related crimes in the past, including a Japanese national in 2014 and a Filipina in 2013.

In 2009, a Briton, Akmal Shaikh, was executed in China on charges of smuggling heroin despite his supporters' protest that he was mentally ill.</s>OTTAWA - The head of LNG Canada says Ottawa’s trade and diplomatic frictions with Beijing “do not play out” at all in the massive project that will one day ship liquefied natural gas from British Columbia to major Asian economies — including China. PetroChina, a state-controlled Chinese energy giant, owns a 15-per-cent stake in the $40-billion project, a Royal Dutch Shell-led joint venture that includes other Asian partners. The project includes an export facility in Kitimat, B.C.

In an interview Tuesday, LNG Canada CEO Andy Calitz told The Canadian Press the deepening feud between Canada and China has never been raised at any of LNG Canada’s executive committee meetings. “The current tensions between China and Canada do not play out in our project at all,” Calitz said in Ottawa after meeting with federal cabinet ministers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “PetroChina is a proud participant.” In recent weeks, China has blocked Canadian canola-seed shipments — which is widely seen as a response to Canada’s move in December to arrest senior Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver at the behest of the United States.

Meng’s arrest, and her possible extradition to the U.S. to face criminal charges, has angered China. Canola is a key export for Canada and China has been a huge market for the product. China imported $2.7 billion worth of Canadian canola seed last year, which ensures any prolonged blockage will hurt farmers, the industry and the broader economy. Since Meng’s arrest, China has also detained two Canadian citizens on allegations of endangering Chinese national security and has sentenced two Canadians to death for drug-related convictions. The second death penalty was handed down Tuesday. The Canadian was among at least six foreigners allegedly involved in what has been described as an international methamphetamine operation.

Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s foreign-affairs minister, told reporters in Ottawa that the government firmly opposes the use of the death penalty anywhere. “We think that this is a cruel and inhumane punishment which should not be used in any country,” Freeland said. “We are obviously particularly concerned when it is applied to Canadians.”

On Canada’s natural-gas business with the Chinese, Calitz said he’s worked on different projects that have taken Australian and Russian gas to China. He suggested the work in B.C. could strengthen the Canada-China connection. “Every time it leads to trade ties that relaxes the relationship,” he said. “It creates a mutual dependency, it creates business understanding.” China, he added, plans to bring in Canadian gas to help it replace its coal power plants, improve air quality and lower greenhouse-gas emissions. Calitz added that the LNG Canada project, which has faced opposition from some Indigenous communities in B.C., is on track to start transporting gas in late 2023. —with files from The Associated Press</s>BEIJING: A Chinese court sentenced a second Canadian man to death for drug trafficking on Tuesday, eliciting a rebuke from Canada’s foreign minister, amid diplomatic tensions between Ottawa and Beijing.

The court in southern Guangdong province said the Canadian, Fan Wei, and 10 others -- including an American and four Mexicans -- had been part of an international narcotics syndicate working out of Taishan city between July and November 2012.

The group produced and sold 63.38 kilos of methamphetamine and 366 grammes of dimethylamylamine, a drug used for attention deficit-hyperactive disorder, weight loss and improving athletic performance, according to the Jiangmen Intermediate People’s Court.

Fan and a Chinese man who played a key role in operations were sentenced to death, the court said in a statement. "The number of drugs sold and manufactured was extremely large and the crimes were extremely serious," the statement said.

The other foreigners were given suspended death sentences which would be reduced to life imprisonment after two years while the rest of the men faced prison terms. They have 10 days to appeal the sentence.

"Canada stands firmly opposed to the use of the death penalty, everywhere around the world," she told reporters. "We think that this is a cruel and inhumane punishment, which should not be used in any country.
Fan Wei, a Canadian citizen in China, is sentenced to death following his conviction for producing and trafficking methamphetamine. Canada has requested clemency for Fan, who is the second Canadian citizen sentenced to death this year. The application of the death penalty was condemned by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland added, "Canada stands firmly opposed to the death penalty everywhere around the world."