加拿大公民走私毒品案：中国法院二审维持死刑判决
王霜舟
8/10/2021
香港——中国一家法院周二维持了对一名因走私毒品被定罪的加拿大人的死刑判决，该案是导致北京和渥太华之间外交裂痕的一系列法律案件之一。
加拿大人罗伯特·劳埃德·谢伦伯格(Robert Lloyd Schellenberg)最初被判15年监禁。但2019年，他在为期仅一天的重审中被判死刑。此前一个月，加拿大当局逮捕了一家中国电信公司的高管孟晚舟。
法院对谢伦伯格的上诉做出裁决之际，孟晚舟在加拿大的案件正进入最后阶段。她正在与美国以欺诈罪提出的引渡要求做斗争。
华为首席财务官孟晚舟被捕导致加拿大和中国之间的紧张关系急剧加剧。孟晚舟被捕后不久，两名加拿大人——前外交官康明凯(Michael Kovrig)和商人迈克尔·斯帕弗(Michael Spavor)——因间谍罪名在中国被拘留。他们于3月受审，目前仍在等待判决。
周二，加拿大驻华大使鲍达民(Dominic Barton)告诉记者，他正前往中国与朝鲜接壤的丹东市，预计斯帕弗的判决将在那里下达。
在加拿大，中国对康明凯和斯帕弗的拘留被广泛视为一场残忍的人质外交。在孟晚舟获得假释、住在拥有门禁的别墅中、去“包场购物”的同时，这两人被关在条件艰苦的隔绝环境中。
中共旗下《环球时报》的主编胡锡进在2018年警告说，如果孟晚舟被引渡，“中国的报复可要比抓一个加拿大人严厉得多”。
下级法院此前裁定谢伦伯格伙同他人走私冰毒222.035千克。谢伦伯格的律师曾警告他，对2018年的判决提起上诉可能会导致更严厉的惩罚。
然而，他的案件于2019年重新审理的速度之快仍然令观察人士感到震惊，人权倡导人士和法律专家表示，这个时间点发出了一个强烈信号，表明他的案件现在已经成为一个政治问题。动作迅速的重审和死刑判决在加拿大尤其引发警觉，该国在数十年前就已废除了死刑。
谢伦伯格的上诉周二被驳回，这被认为几乎是必然的。中国东北的辽宁省高级人民法院周二在一份声明中表示，“一审判决认定的事实清楚，证据确实、充分，定罪准确，量刑适当。审判程序合法。”
他的案件将由中国最高法院——最高人民法院进行复核，这是处理死刑案件的标准程序。
加拿大官员对谢伦伯格的判决作出谴责。该国外交部长马克·加诺(Marc Garneau)在一封声明中表示，“我们已多次向中国表达过我们对这一残忍、非人道的惩罚坚定的反对立场，也将继续与中国官员进行最高级别的交流，以为谢伦伯格获得宽大处理。”
周二，鲍达民在沈阳法院外表示，加拿大在“世界上所有地方”都反对死刑。
“在这个时候，在本案中，我们支持罗伯特和他的家庭，”他接着说。“很明显现在是应对这一消息的艰难时刻。”
自2019年以来，中国法院已在其他贩毒案件中将至少两名加拿大人判处死刑。其中一名加拿大人范威因参与生产甲基安非他命的国际团伙被判有罪，另一人徐伟洪则因制造氯胺酮在南方城市广州被判有罪。
中国处决罪犯的数量名列世界前茅，尽管外界认为该数字近年来有所下降。该国对被控犯有贩毒等重罪的外国人很少网开一面。2009年，尽管面临来自国际社会的抗议和对其患有精神病史的关切，一名被控走私海洛因的英国男子仍被以注射的方式处决。
宁波高校外教杀害女学生引发众怒 网民呼吁严惩 不让外籍身份成罪犯“护身符”
来自 / 联合早报 | 文 / 杨丹旭
6/20/2021
作者：杨丹旭
受害者是宁波工程学院一名23岁的大三学生，涉案外籍人士是该校一名美籍黑人外教，案发前曾追求这名女生。有网民爆料，涉案外教此前曾因骚扰女生被投诉，但学校仍保留了其职务。这起刑事案引起中国民众众怒，大量网民要求“杀人偿命”。
中国浙江宁波发生高校外教杀害女学生的骇人命案，引发舆论极度愤怒。中国网民呼吁官方严惩罪犯，不让外籍身份成为罪犯逃脱法律制裁的“护身符”。
宁波鄞州公安分局前天（6月18日）通报，破获一起涉外刑事案件。通报称，警方在6月14日晚上10时接报，鄞州区通途路世纪大道附近树林中发生命案，一名女性被害。警方在次日凌晨抓获一名外籍男性犯罪嫌疑人。据犯罪嫌疑人供述称，因感情纠纷行凶，案件正在进一步侦办中。
根据网上传开的疑似死者父亲发的长文叙述，受害者是宁波工程学院一名23岁的大三学生，涉案外籍人士是该校一名美籍黑人外教，案发前曾追求这名女生。
该文也称，家属要求学校给一个说法，但学校称案件在受害者离开学校时发生，学校没有责任，只能向家属退还学费，建议家长走法律程序。
有网民爆料，涉案外教此前曾因骚扰女生被投诉，但学校仍保留了其职务。也有网民称，命案发生后，学校对外封锁消息，禁止学生在社交媒体上谈论案件。
这起恶劣的刑事案引起中国民众众怒，大量网民要求官方严惩凶手、“杀人偿命”，呼吁执法机关不因嫌疑人是外籍人士而网开一面。
重庆市协和心理顾问事务所所长谭刚强受访时向《联合早报》指出：“民众因为过去的一些经验，以及官方之前在处理这类案件时，因外交、当下时局等原因不公开、不透明，会担心违法者不被严惩，质疑法律的严肃性。”
“超国民待遇”常受争议
在华外国人在执法机关面前的“超国民待遇”不时受争议。2019年一名在福州的留学生骑电动车时因违规载人被交警拦下，该外籍学生五次推搡交警、暴力抗法，警方最后对其进行批评教育，但该处罚被网民质疑太轻。
面对汹涌的网络舆情，鄞州公安分局昨天再发通报称，将严格规范执法，“确保办成铁案”。
法律博主“检者青峰”昨天发文指出，担心凶手靠外国人身份逃脱法律制裁的担心“并无现实基础”，外国人的身份确实是司法机关定罪量刑不得不考虑的因素，但这种影响不是绝对的。但评论不讳言，某些部门在处理涉外事件时，可能存在对外国人身份投鼠忌器“和稀泥”的处理问题。
《环球时报》总编辑胡锡进前天在微博评论指出，外籍的身份完全无法成为那些罪犯逃避惩罚的保护伞，“这一点大家无需怀疑”。
他同时提醒，舆论第一时间对案情的关注应避免聚焦到犯罪嫌疑人的国籍和肤色上，那样的话有可能在国际舆论场上引起反弹，因此任何成熟的社会都不会鼓励那样的关注方向。
外国人“超国民待遇”的老话题也再度浮现，有网民质疑，高校崇洋媚外尤为严重。急于国际化的中国高校近年来积极引入外籍教师和留学生，召来门槛过低、超国民待遇等争议，由此引发的个别事件，也频频刺激中国民众敏感神经。
山东大学两年前被曝给外国留学生配“学伴”，并在报名表格使用“结交外国异性友人”等暧昧表述，陷入舆论风波。
四川成都电子科技大学最近在端午节举行传统文化体验活动，也被质疑仅邀请男性留学生和中国女生参加。不过，校方回应称，相关指责严重歪曲事实。
宁波外教杀害女学生案在社交媒体引起大量讨论，但中国主流媒体并未进行突出报道。
谭刚强分析，中共建党100年庆祝在即，高层强调维稳，相信案件因此被淡化处理。他说：“不过，普通民众仍然会密切关注，尤其是其司法公正问题。”
（记者是《联合早报》北京特派员）
Foreign identity can’t be used as shield to escape punishment in China
By Lu Xue
6/20/2021
A woman on June 14 was murdered in Yinzhou district, Ningbo, East China’s Zhejiang Province. According to an online post purported to be parent of the victim, the victim is a college student in a local university and the alleged suspect is a foreign teacher who lectures at the college where the victim was studying. Local police announced on Saturday that it had arrested a suspect. But it didn’t identify the victim and suspect as a college student and teacher at the local university.
This case has triggered wide public anger in China, with many netizens calling for the death sentence for the foreigner. Some worry that the alleged perpetrator would get a lighter sentence if he is foreign.
Hong Daode, a professor of criminal law at the China University of Political Science and Law, told Global Times on Sunday that such a narrative is a complete misconception. Some people have misled the public in this regard. They tend to compare the results of similar practices by Chinese nationals and their foreign counterparts, believing foreign ones get preferential treatment.
For example, in July 2019, an international student in Fuzhou, East China’s Fujian Province, pushed a police officer who tried to stop him for illegally carrying a person on an electric scooter. This student was released after being criticized, which many citizens considered a very light punishment. They said if it were a Chinese, the punishment would be harder. Such rhetoric may have left many netizens the impression that foreign citizens who commit crimes in China will be given a lighter sentence.
But the fact is foreign nationals in China do not have extraterritorial rights, Hong said. “There is no such thing as a lighter sentence for foreigners who commit crimes in China. The legal provisions and judicial practice of China are absolutely equal to anyone regardless of their nationality, especially for criminal offenders.” Two Canadian citizens producing and trafficking a large amount of drugs were sentenced to death by Chinese courts in 2019 and 2020. Foreign identity cannot be a shield for foreign nationals to escape punishment in China. There is no doubt about that.
With globalization and China’s increasing openness, more and more foreigners arrive in China to seek academic and employment opportunities. Against this backdrop, cases involving foreigners committing crimes in the country have arisen. The public’s attention to the cases should avoid focusing on the nationality of the suspect, but on the cases itself.
Yinzhou police authorities said in bulletin that they will strictly regulate the law enforcement, and ensure to make their case with conclusive evidence. It is expected that Yinzhou police will publish more information related to the case when the investigation progresses, in a bid to dispel the public’s suspicions about the sentencing of foreign suspects.
Furthermore, many netizens appeal for stronger supervision and verification of foreign teachers’ backgrounds in both public and cram schools. Some online posts alleged that the suspect, who was married, had harassed female students several times. If so, the suspect’s basic professional ethics as a teacher must be questioned.
The quality of foreign teachers in China is indeed uneven. Three or four decades ago, when China’s economy was backward, many foreigners were reluctant to come to China. It is rational that the criteria for recruiting a foreign teacher were low. But as the country has witnessed a rapid rise in terms of social and economic development, greater emphasis should be attached to the quality of foreign teachers, instead of quantity. The basic requirement for lecturers in most Chinese universities are PhD holders or above, and the threshold of foreign teachers should keep pace with it. It is hoped that the case, if proved, serves as an opportunity to strengthen the supervision of foreign teachers, to avoid repetition of such a tragedy.
Murder case allegedly committed by foreigner draws attention of Chinese netizens, calling for impartiality
By Global Times
6/20/2021
The murder of a woman by a foreigner in a university in East China’s Zhejiang Province has drawn public outrage, with many Chinese netizens calling for severe punishment and for the fact that he is a foreigner not to be a factor.
Many netizens have expressed regret and pain over the woman’s murder and some have called for impartiality in handling the case as they believe the nationality of the suspect should not be a factor given special treatment and could not be serve as a shield to dodge severe punishment.
The Yinzhou public security bureau in Ningbo first reported the incident on Friday, in which it said the police received a report at 10 pm on June 14 that a woman had been killed in the woods near Shiji Avenue in Yinzhou district of Ningbo. The suspect, a foreign male, was arrested. According to his confession, he murdered the woman over a relationship dispute.
In a second police release on Saturday, the local bureau said they had traced tools discarded by the suspect and objects related to the case.
Higher-level public security organs have attached great importance to the case. The procuratorial organ has stepped in according to law and the bureau will strictly regulate law enforcement to ensure the case is properly handled, the Yinzhou public security bureau said in the latest release.
The police did not reveal which country the foreign national comes from.
According to an online post purported to be parent of the victim, the victim is a college student in a local university and the alleged suspect is a foreign teacher who lectures at the college where the victim was studying. The police didn’t identify the victim and suspect as a college student and teacher at the college.
“In such a horrible and brutal case, the killer should never be given a lighter sentence just because he is a foreigner,” wrote one netizen on China’s Twitter-like social networking platform Sina Weibo.
In the past few years, there have been cases of foreigners receiving supranational treatment in various regions in China, which made this incident involving a crime committed by a foreigner of great interest to the public, observers noted.
Justice will definitely be carried out. This foreigner-related murder case in Yinzhou is a criminal case of serious nature, and the murderer will never escape the severe punishment of Chinese law, observers said.
China’s criminal law provides that foreigners who commit criminal offenses in China’s territory, except those with diplomatic immunity, are directly subject to the disposal of Chinese criminal law.
Global Times
