Breaking News, World News and Taiwan News.

Updated Wednesday, December 30, 2009 1:47 pm TWN, By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, AP

China shows defiance with Briton's execution

BEIJING — China executed a British man for drug smuggling, ignoring international pleas for clemency on the grounds he was mentally unstable and warning London that its outrage threatened relations.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "appalled" by the execution — China's first of a European citizen in nearly 60 years. But Beijing dismissed claims by relatives and rights groups that 53-year-old Akmal Shaikh's mental instability was exploited to lure him into smuggling a suitcase of heroin into the country.

Beijing's insistence in carrying out the death sentence reflects both the communist government's traditional distrust of foreign interference and its newfound power to resist Western pressure.

"We express our strong dissatisfaction and opposition to the British accusation," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters at a regularly scheduled news conference. "We urge the British side to correct its wrongdoing to avoid causing damages to bilateral relations."

Though rare, China has in the past pardoned prisoners or released them early in response to international pressure, particularly those accused of spying or political or economic crimes.

But with its rising global economic and political clout, China appears increasingly willing to ignore Western complaints over its justice system and human rights record. And as it relies more and more on China's cooperation to solve global problems — from the recession to climate change — the West has few ways to exert pressure on Beijing.

China's leaders "feel freer than their recent predecessors to disregard world pressures," said Jerome Cohen, an expert on China's legal system at New York University School of Law.

Whereas in the past, the West may have held out its approval as a carrot for China to improve its record on human rights, analyst Kerry Brown said now countries like Britain are now the ones eager to maintain good relations.

"There is a feeling that we have very limited leverage on China. We have to pick our territory where we can have an impact," said Brown, a China expert at the Chatham House think tank. "It's becoming more complicated by the day."

Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis called Tuesday a "deeply depressing day for anyone with a modicum of compassion or commitment to justice." Prime Minister Brown said he condemned the execution "in the strongest terms, and am appalled and disappointed that our persistent requests for clemency have not been granted."

1|2|Next Page>>

Share

Print

Email

Comments

December 31, 2009 cia-yes@

For the sake of human rights, should we let all the criminals loose? This is why crime is higher in Western countries than the Asian countries like Singapore and Japan.

December 31, 2009 johnlohsfx@

It is very unfortunate Akmal Shaikh is a victim of a large pawn game between the West & China which has been going on for a couple of decades. The full state honors accorded to the Dalai Lama, the baseless accusation of sabotaging of the Copenhagen talks, the double standard in relation to economic matters sure does nothing to help.

January 4, 2010 lifejourney@

johnlohsfx@ wrote:
It is very unfortunate Akmal Shaikh is a victim of a large pawn game between the West & China which has been going on for a couple of decades. The full state honors accorded to the Dalai Lama, the baseless accusation of sabotaging of the Copenhagen talks, the double standard in relation to economic matters sure does nothing to help.

How do you feel when the East has the power to enforce its own law of the land? No more barbaric act from the western world can impose its will on any nation any longer. The western power is shrinking by the day as the world grows stronger.

January 5, 2010 mtsai16@

cia-yes@ wrote:
For the sake of human rights, should we let all the criminals loose? This is why crime is higher in Western countries than the Asian countries like Singapore and Japan.

Release criminals so that criminal recidivism will terrorize us law-abiding citizens again and take away OUR human rights?

Just to tease your conclusion a bit, I would be interested to know if any "Asian" countries have higher crime rates than Western countries.

January 5, 2010 mtsai16@

lifejourney@ wrote:
How do you feel when the East has the power to enforce its own law of the land? No more barbaric act from the western world can impose its will on any nation any longer. The western power is shrinking by the day as the world grows stronger.

The British Empire reached its height not because citizens in its colonies were "enchanted" by British "friendliness", hospitality" or even "Cool Brittania".

All empires grow employing every capitalistic means at their disposal.



	This undated handout photo taken in Warsaw, Poland and issued by Reprieve on Monday Dec. 28, 2009 shows Akmal Shaikh. China brushed aside international appeals Tuesday, dEC. 29, 2009 and executed Akmal Shaikh by lethal injection. Akmal Shaikh was a British drug smuggler who relatives say was mentally unstable and unwittingly lured into crime. (AP) Enlarge Photo


Sponsors
▪	Find great real time deals on China Flights. Book flights to China or China domestic flights 24/7.
▪	Buy china wholesale products from reliable chinese wholesalers on DHgate.com!
▪	Save 70% for hotel in Shanghai and 6000 hotels, in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and all China.
▪	Get the best deals for Guangzhou Hotels or choose from more than 10,000 hotels in 499 Chinese cities.