A Canadian citizen in China on Monday was sentenced to death after a court in northeastern China convicted him of drug smuggling. Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, who was initially given a 15-year sentence last November, had requested a retrial and was sentenced to death for smuggling methamphetamines. In response, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused China of “arbitrarily” applying the death penalty, calling the sentence “extremely concerning.”
At a regular press conference on Tuesday, Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was asked for China’s comment on the matter.
Hua called the claim that China is arbitrarily enforcing its laws “far from the truth.” She then wondered whether the people in Canada making such claims have read the information issued by the court or if they have seriously studied the relevant laws in China.
The point that Hua was making is that the court made a reasoned decision and drug smuggling is a serious crime punishable by death in China.