Feb. 18, 2021 - Epoch Times
05:47
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| Time | Text |
|---|---|
| On February 15th, foreign ministers from 58 countries agreed to join an initiative, launched by Canada to stop arbitrary detentions. | |
| Although the declaration does not target any specific nations, China immediately slammed it as an insult, tantamount to an admission of guilt. | |
| The United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan, and nearly all of the European Union's 27 member states are among those who have signed the declaration against arbitrary detention in state-to-state relations. | |
| Taking people from their families and using them as bargaining chips is both illegal and immoral, Canadian Foreign Minister Mark Garneau told Reuters. | |
| In an unofficial statement, Garneau said such practice puts citizens of all countries at risk and it undermines the rule of law. | |
| It is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. | |
| The declaration is intended to increase pressure on those countries who have detained foreigners. | |
| Although Garneau said in an interview that he wouldn't name specific countries Chinese state-run media responded in a manner that indicates they know very well that the Declaration seeks to hold China accountable. | |
| Even before the formal release of the Declaration, China's Global Times cited an unnamed expert criticizing the Declaration for being an aggressive and ill-considered attack designed to provoke China. | |
| Both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil Rights and Political Rights Stipulate that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile. | |
| Lai Jianping, a scholar of international law, pointed out that it is precisely the CCP's hostage diplomacy that the 58-country declaration is meant to regulate. | |
| "With regard to the Chinese regime's blatant practice of arbitrary detention and hostage diplomacy, considering the seriousness of such a crime, these countries specifically launched this declaration. | |
| It is a significant move. | |
| I believe more and more nations will join this declaration. | |
| And more and more people in the international society will stand up to condemn such outrages and support the declaration. | |
| Sheng Xue, a Chinese writer living in Canada, explained that the Chinese authorities behave this way because they believe hostage diplomacy is an effective way to get whatever they want. | |
| The CCP has been conducting hostage diplomacy for many years because it always believes that such practice has an intimidating effect for those nations upholding freedom, human rights, democracy, and constitution. | |
| They are aware that these nations are very concerned about each individual citizen's life, freedom, and basic rights. | |
| In December 2018, the Chinese regime detained two Canadians after Canada arrested Huawei's chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou at the request of the United States. | |
| The Canadian government condemned Beijing's hostage diplomacy. | |
| Yet the CCP claimed that the two cases were not linked. | |
| In 2020, when Australia pushed for an international probe into the origins of the novel coronavirus, the CCP once again used hostage diplomacy by sentencing an Australian suspect to death in June 2020. | |
| Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison used tough language to fight back. | |
| Australia and the United States are both among the signatories of the declaration. | |
| A Canadian official said the declaration could help put pressure on Beijing. | |
| We want them to know that a lot of countries think this practice is unacceptable, and hopefully over time it does contribute to a change in behavior, said the official, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation. | |
| Canada is in a very passive position on this issue and can't do much about it. | |
| The Canadian government tried many methods to negotiate with China, but China just ignored them all. | |
| This is because the CCP knows very well that it can act as a hooligan and disregard all moral principles While a democratic country cannot behave in the same manner, therefore it is both important and necessary that these 58 countries are now endorsing the declaration together. | |
| However, Shengxue believes that it is far from enough if the pressure imposed on the CCP is merely at the level of a written declaration. | |
| This is because when the CCP's tyranny has progressed to the current stage, it dares to openly act as a hooligan without any constraints. | |
| It is a state terrorism, and sometimes the CCP doesn't even bother to operate under a civilized disguise. | |
| For instance, we all know about live organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners, the internment camps to persecute the Uyghurs, and the wanton killings in Hong Kong in the past two years. | |
| As a matter of fact, at this point, the CCP does not really care about how the international society views or evaluates it. | |
| Shengxue hopes that the 58 countries will impose sanctions that can bring out real effects, because in the eyes of the CCP, it only cares about concrete impacts. | |
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