(Minghui.org) The Globe and Mail, one of Canada’s largest newspapers, recently published two articles over the course of four days about a Canadian citizen currently detained for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime.
Ms. Sun Qian, 51, grew up in China and became a Canadian citizen in 2007. She was arrested on February 29, 2017 in her residence in Beijing, where she established a biochemical firm called Beijing Leadman Biochemistry Co.
According to her lawyer and sister, Ms. Sun was kept alone in a darkened small room in the first few weeks of her incarceration at Beijing First Detention Center. This solitary confinement didn’t stop until an official from the Canadian Embassy visited her.
Ms. Sun’s detention has caught the attention of Amnesty International Canada and Canadian politicians. They are calling for the Canadian government to safeguard its own citizens’ human rights and help secure Ms. Sun’s freedom. As reported by The Globe and Mail,
Amnesty International Canada spokesman Jacob Kuehn said the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China is of “tremendously grave concern” to human-rights advocates.
“The extraordinary levels of persecution and human-rights violations confronted by practitioners is extensive, including arbitrary detention, unfair trials, torture and execution,” Mr. Kuehn said.
“Amnesty International has documented numerous deaths in custody, believed to have been caused by torture and other ill-treatment, as well as cases where practitioners have been afflicted with permanent disability following detention.”
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“The Trudeau government told the House of Commons on Thursday it is “seized by this particular matter” after the Sun case was raised by Conservative foreign-affairs critic Peter Kent, who had questioned why the Liberals were not speaking out publicly against the detention.”
Omar Alghabra, a parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, specializing in consular affairs, told the Commons the Liberal government has not shied away from defending Ms. Sun. “A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian,” he said.
A department of Global Affairs spokeswoman added that Canadian consular officials “are in contact with local authorities to gather additional information and closely monitor this case.”
Li Xun, president of the Falun Dafa Association in Canada, is also calling for Prime Minister Trudeau to help seek Ms. Sun’s release.
Related Reports:
Canadian Citizen Working in China to Face Indictment for Her FaithCanadian MPs Seek to Press China for Release of Canadian Falun Gong Practitioner
