Chinese execution

[yorkie_chris]

Would it not make more sense for our government to shout about this a lot in public (as they have), and in private with the chinks go "ah be right, we don't care much for drug dealers either, can't even tax it...". That way it keeps them looking good(ish) and keeps international relations sweet too.

[fizzwheel]

Thing is, we dont know how much diplomatic work went in trying to avoid this happening.

Thats true we dont. But... if he was arrested in 2007 why all of a sudden has it popped up in the news now ?

Or would it have been a news blackout whilst the government tried to sort it out, when they realised that they couldnt, did it get released to the media in order to put pressure onto China to let him go free / reduce the sentence.

There is a I think alot more to this than has been reported.

[yorkie_chris]

Because he was executed quite recently I think

[SV-net]

Apparently he was only depressed, thats not an excuse to say he never knew what he was doing. And if the law is broken then whatever the law states in that land it should be upheld.

[MattCollins]

Or would it have been a news blackout whilst the government tried to sort it out, when they realised that they couldnt, did it get released to the media in order to put pressure onto China to let him go free / reduce the sentence.


It is not uncommon for governments to keep quite while negotiating with Asian countries where the death penalty is involved. Asian countries do not take kindly to western politicians making comments in the press or undue press coverage. It's all about face, so the second a case gets undue coverage the death warrant is fairly much signed. If it is all done on the qt success rates are much better... iff government decides to intervene.

Something that I find curious is that Au (maybe the UK also) has little or no power to extradite Au citizens to another country for an offence where the death penalty is on the table, but... There has been a few cases where it has come to light that the AFP while investigating drug rings has handed up Au citizens to Asian countries when they could have been nicked for trafficking as they passed out of Oz.
That says to me that government does not really care.

[anna]

Matt, it is the same here in Portugal, government will not extradite criminals back to their countries if they will face the death penalty in their own country.

Apparently it has cause a few fall outs here and there, but for example the will not extradite to America because, even if the president were to promise to the pt government that they wouldn´t be executed, because America is a democracy pt government would not take his word on it.

However, part of China was pt government and so extradition has taken place to Macau because they were able to promise equal pt laws and punishments.

[Ed]

I'm fairly certain that it's supposedly the same in the UK but that didn't stop the UK government from extraditing someone to Jordan, but against assurances that he wouldn't be beheaded.

[ophic]

Lob the morals and start reading a little red book and you end up with China!
Exactly my point.