David Law Interviewed on the Huawei Extradition Case and Canada-China Relations (CGTN, Arirang TV)

Sir YK Pao Professor

"The Point: Politics behind Canadian sentenced to death in China?"

The Point
CGTN
16 January 2019

Description: Tensions between Beijing and Ottawa escalated sharply on Monday after Canadian officials harshly criticized a ruling by a Chinese court, which sentenced Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg to death for smuggling drugs and participating in organized international drug trafficking. Is Schellenberg’s case an arbitrary application of the death penalty? Professor David Law, Sir Y.K. Pao Chair in Public Law at the University of Hong Kong, Jiang Wenran, senior fellow from the School of Public Policy & Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia, Canada, and Xu Qinduo, senior fellow from Pangoal Institution, joined The Point.      

     David Law: 'China has a right as a sovereign nation to impose harsh sentences for drug trafficking. There is a global trend toward abolition of the death penalty but having said that, it's not alone, and having the death sentence for drug trafficking, and as you pointed out, there is a lot of drugs, this is not someone who accidentally forgot a marijuana cigarette in his pocket across the border...'

* * *

"Huawei's Role In Diplomatic Dispute Between China And Canada"

The Point: World Affairs, Ep 34
ARIRANG TV 

27 January 2019

David Law: 'Yes, so the death penalty for drug trafficking... is quite common in China the problem is we don't know exactly how common it is... but it's also known for not being transparent at all how many executions there are so if we look at just the death penalty decisions that are reported publicly there have been about 800 or so over the last five years and about a hundred and thirty of them involve drug trafficking so that's around one sixth of all executions in China are for the death penalty...'

* * *

"China takes coercive measures against 2 Canadians & Iran's perspective on Huawei arrest"
The Point
CGTN 

14 December 2018
Description: The controversial arrest of Huawei's CFO in Canada, her release on bail of C$10 million, not one but two Canadians being submitted to "coercive measures" in China, and fresh developments in the exhausting China-U.S. trade frictions – all the ingredients for a brewing diplomatic storm. The dynamics this week has elevated the complexity of the Huawei case. How do all these developments add up? Are these cases political or legal, and can the two be separated? And what does it all mean for Iran – the country wrapped up in the accusations against Huawei? Guests joining the debate are Professor Rick Dunham, co-director of the Global Business Journalism Program at Tsinghua University; from Hong Kong, Professor David Law, Sir Y.K. Pao Chair in Public Law at the University of Hong Kong; and from Tehran, Professor Mohammad Marandi from University of Tehran. 

    David Law: 'Well, what it means to breach Chinese security law is somewhat malleable and certainly the Chinese authorities have a lot of discretion, the penalties for that could be quite severe.  I would say the legal side is much clearer with respect to what Canadian and U.S. law is but there's a lot of discretion on the Chinese authorities here ...'