The Chinese state-run propaganda outlet Global Times published a screed on Thursday condemning the government of Canada for objecting to the Communist Party’s execution of several Canadian nationals, convicted of unspecified “drug-related” crimes in Beijing’s Kafkaesque judicial system.
Speaking to the Globe and Mail on Wednesday, Canadian officials confirmed that they had been made aware of at least four Canadian citizens killed by the Chinese state in 2025 so far. The Canadian government has refused to identify the victims of Chinese communism, stating that their families wished to remain private. Global Affairs Canada revealed in a statement that former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a radical leftist with close family ties to the Chinese Communist Party, had personally intervened requesting that the Chinese government not kill his citizens, but the regime ignored him.
The current prime minister, unelected Liberal Mark Carney, has not publicly remarked on the executions, leaving the issue to Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly. Carney is reportedly scheduled to attend a meeting with Canadian premiers, the nation’s provincial executive leaders, in which China is expected to be a topic – but only in relation to the onerous tariffs that China has placed on Canadian goods, which have attracted less media attention in the country than the smaller tariffs imposed by American President Donald Trump.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a terse statement on Thursday insisting that Canada stop “interfering in China’s judiciary sovereignty” by opposing the issuance of the death penalty in opaque alleged drug cases. The Global Times followed up with a column that questioned the logic of a country objecting to the killing of its citizens and implied that Canada should welcome the killing of “drug traffickers.”
“It is not surprising that drug-related crimes are severely punished under Chinese law. On the contrary, it is quite absurd for Ottawa to speak out for drug traffickers,” the Global Times posited.
“First, China has territorial jurisdiction over related criminal activities. It is reasonable, legal, and responsible,” the state outlet claimed, “to handle drug-related crimes in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations, while ensuring the legitimate rights of the individuals involved and the consular rights of the Canadian side.”
Neither the Global Times nor the Chinese Foreign Ministry have clarified how China respected the “legitimate rights” of the dead by killing them. Instead, they focused on complaining that criticism of the killings, as the Times described it, “amounts to interference in China’s judicial sovereignty.”
“If Canada truly cares about protecting the interests of its citizens, it should educate them to abide by the laws of the host country, rather than turning individual cases into political tools to accuse or criticize China,” the Times scolded.
The Global Times column concluded by suggesting that Canada should accept the killing of its citizens without complaint because Canada and China need to cooperate against “climate change.”
The executions became a public issue after the Globe and Mail asked Carney’s government to confirm them; the Canadian government did not independently address the issue. Asked by the newspaper if the Carney government is planning any “repercussions” for China in response to the killings, Joly did not indicate that any such action was planned.
“The minister said she and former prime minister Justin Trudeau had intervened in recent months to ask Beijing for leniency as part of an unsuccessful effort to avert the executions,” the Globe and Mail noted in its reporting.
The Chinese regime has been entirely unapologetic in addressing the issue. On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning celebrated the executions as a victory for justice.
“Combating drug-related crimes is the responsibility of all countries. China is a country that upholds the rule of law,” she told reporters. “The law treats everyone the same regardless of nationality. The Chinese judicial authorities handle those cases justly in strict accordance with the law.”
“Canada should respect the spirit of the rule of law and stop interfering in China’s judiciary sovereignty,” Mao recommended.
Despite the harsh words and the killing of its citizens, the Chinese communist regime is still seeking improved commercial ties with Canada. In an interview with the Globe and Mail conducted on Wednesday — before the confirmation of the executions — and published on Friday, Chinese Ambassador to Ottawa Wang Di said his country would be open to a free trade agreement and cooperation in the Arctic, among other initiatives.
“China’s perception of the China-Canada relationship is that no matter when, China is ready to engage with Canada in cooperation, because we believe that such cooperation is beneficial to the people of both of our countries,” Wang told the newspaper. “But at the same time, we hope that China’s sincerity will be responded with the same sincerity from the Canadian side.”
“As you have said, our two countries have had good engagement in FTA [free trade agreement] talks. To be exact in 2017 and 2018 our two countries had intensive discussions on this. So I think there is a foundation there,” Wang suggested. “If the Canadian government has the willingness to continue with that, I hope Canada will create good conditions for that to happen. I also hope that the business community of Canada can make positive suggestions to the government.”
The Globe and Mail noted that, the day after this interview, “China imposed retaliatory tariffs on $3.7-billion of Canadian imports, from canola oil to pork to seafood.”
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