Reply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Dear Honorable xx，

Our Member of Parliament had already contacted Global Affairs Canada, and we have also repeatedly sought help from Canadian embassies and consulates in China. All the answers we received were the same: that we should find a Chinese lawyer ourselves and seek a legal or reasonable explanation through China’s legal channels.

But do you know that Chinese lawyers can be arrested by the Chinese government at any time? China’s law-enforcement authorities and personnel have never shown even the most basic respect toward Chinese lawyers. Therefore, the guidance provided by Global Affairs Canada and the Canadian diplomatic missions in China has no practical meaning in China.

At present, China’s stance in international economic, military, and diplomatic affairs is extremely tough, so one can imagine how its stance is domestically. Thus, we can only seek help from the international community and from governments at the national level. There is no other path available to us.

In other words, Global Affairs Canada is already aware that the Chinese government is prepared to take extreme measures against the family members — including underage children — of its targeted individuals. So why not widely inform all Canadian citizens? If people knew that the government of this country would take action even against minors — a country that abandons even the most basic human morality — I believe no normal person would ever choose to enter it.

Together with the lawyer recommended by the Canadian consulate, we went to inquire at the Guangzhou Municipal Supervisory Commission and were told that the matter was related to “suspected job-related crimes.” The problem is that none of us has ever had any interaction or involvement with any Chinese government body or Chinese enterprise.

Although China has laws protecting women and children, it is obvious that its law-enforcement agencies do not abide by them. Collective punishment of family members is a feudal-era penalty that has long been abolished in modern society. For a modernized country to detain family members—what difference is there between this and kidnapping hostages?

We do not have the ability to question these matters, nor would we ever receive a formal answer. Therefore, we can only beg our national government to ask these questions forcefully and demand that they provide a response.