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Canadian diplomats denied access to tycoon trial in China: embassy

#Canadian #diplomats #denied #access #tycoon #trial #China #embassy

Canadian diplomats have been denied access to the trial of Canadian-Chinese tycoon Xiao Jianhua in China, the Ottawa embassy in Beijing said in a statement Tuesday, a day after the businessman appeared in court.

Xiao, one of China’s richest people at the time of his alleged kidnapping from a Hong Kong hotel in 2017, reportedly had close ties to the upper echelons of the ruling Communist Party.

The tycoon, who is a Canadian citizen, was not known since his disappearance until the embassy confirmed on Monday that he faces a court hearing.

“Canada has made several requests to participate in the court proceedings. Our participation was denied by the Chinese authorities,” the embassy said in a statement Tuesday.

Chinese authorities have so far remained silent on the case, which is reportedly linked to an anti-corruption campaign championed by President Xi Jinping since he took office.

When asked about the trial Monday, a State Department official said they were “unaware of the situation.”

Xiao’s alleged kidnapping came at a time when mainland Chinese agents were not allowed to operate in Hong Kong, sparking fears in the city that residents might be forcibly disappeared.

These fears were at the heart of massive pro-democracy protests that rocked Hong Kong in 2019, sparked by a government law that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China’s opaque Communist Party-controlled judicial system.

Xiao’s disappearance also followed the alleged kidnapping in mainland custody of five people who worked for a bookstore that published lewd titles about China’s leaders.

The booksellers later appeared on television in mainland China and admitted to a series of crimes.

In response to the 2019 protests, China imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020.

This law allowed its security agencies to operate in the city and brought down the legal firewall between the mainland and Hong Kong courts.

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