China: Blame Canada? · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Google seizes up before any results appear in a search for ‘Celil,’ ‘Canada’ (in Chinese) and ‘2007,’ fitting given that a proxified search turns up no Chinese language media reports from websites that can be readily viewed within China. It's a different story, as usual, for a Google search which includes the word blog. The controversy surrounding the identity and fate of Canadian citizen Huseyin Celil, originally from China's largely muslim northwest, was revived this past week when he was sentenced to life in Chinese prison.
Celil's previous stint in Chinese prison ended in 2000 when he broke out and fled West, soon landing in Canada where he went on to gain citizenship. Two questions around which the controversy revolves: does the Canadian government not worry about granting citizenship to Chinese criminals, or is the Chinese government making these charges up?
Huseyin Celil
Speaking strictly by percentage, rabid nationalistic discourse tends to dominate online discussion in China, but the reason so little of this is reflected here at Global Voices Online is that one hopes to engage in balanced conversation, but in the Celil incident, this week at least, all the bloggage this blogger was able to find leans heavily in the Chinese government's favor. For example, random comments on blogs found in the first two pages of results in the search described above:
From the military bbs at China.com, netizen Son of the South on April 20:
加拿大政府给一个犯罪分子入籍，本身就是一种犯罪行为，中国政府没有审判加拿大政府已经是很宽大的了。
From the Dragon's Dream Sina blog whose readership jumped to over 1,700 with his post on the affair, netizen East China Sea Scholar on April 21:
汉奸,坚决清除.
不枪毙 感觉国家对他太仁慈了…这样的还留着干吗?!
加拿大 混蛋国家 赖昌星为什么不引渡 .实际还不是为了带去的 600多亿 不给中国 还有脸来说话 …加拿大 应该被中国人鄙视的国家.最好让他闭嘴.
From the military affairs blog at China.com, which had sixteen pages of comments, netizen Bright Point of the Sun on April 22:
加拿大去死吧!你没什么资格说中国的事,你们的总理就是个垃圾
MSN Spaces blogger and Chinese law student WY Aaron, currently studying in the United States, took the time to put more substance behind a somewhat similar argument in his post ‘Utterly Shameless‘:
人可以无耻，但是不可以无耻到这种地步。
夜半惊醒，想起最近在中国和加拿大之间闹得沸沸扬扬的玉山江案（西方称其为Celil，即塞利尔），辗转难眠。凌晨五点（北京时间下午六点）起来，吃了个苹果，上网来查资料。
作为执业律师，我习惯了听有关各方完全不同的说法，不会轻易相信任何一方的陈述。所以，我今天上来，先是温习了一下最初的资料来源，然后全面、认真地了解了中国、加拿大两国政府，特别是被告家人为其设立的网站上（以下简称”塞利尔网站”）的观点资料。看完以后，我可以说是强忍着愤怒，来写这篇日志。
综合各方面的消息，尤其是”塞利尔网站”上主动承认的事实，勾勒出本案的梗概：
被告玉山江，英文名Huseyin Celil, 英文名中译侯赛因塞利尔，生于中国新疆，维吾尔族人。自称生于东突厥斯坦，系突厥族人，为东突厥斯坦伊斯兰运动成员。东突厥斯坦伊斯兰运动，即”东突”，为联合国正式认定的恐怖主义组织。”东突”谋求分离新疆，在”塞利尔网站”上毫不掩饰。中国政府称”东突”与”基地”组织有千丝万缕的联系，在新疆和内地制造了众多爆炸事件和流血冲突，故依照中国国内法，对其打击不遗余力。
被告曾被中国政府逮捕，2000年越狱。中国政府迅速通过国际刑警组织，发布红色通辑令，全球辑拿。被告在通辑期间，辗转逃至加拿大。加拿大政府于2001年接收其为”难民”，并于2005年接收其入籍。被告入籍加拿大以后，有恃无恐，于2006年3月持加拿大护照赴乌兹别克时，被当地警方以涉嫌恐怖活动为由逮捕，引渡回中国。现本案正在（中国新疆）法院审理中。
加拿大政府以被告为加拿大公民为由，要求为其提供领事保护。中国不承认被告的加拿大国籍，严词拒绝。加拿大政府总理说，他的政府相信，没有明确的证据证明，作为少数民族权利的主张者，被告犯有或参与任何被指控的罪行。（Harper said his government believes there's no clear evidence that Celil, a minority rights activist, has committed any crimes or participated in alleged terrorism.）加拿大政府以中国政府侵害人权等理由，把”人权”、”自由”的口号喊得整天响，在外交层面对中国政府施加种种压力。
现在，加拿大方面最强的理由，就是中国国籍法不承认双重国籍。被告加入加拿大国籍以后，自动放弃中国国籍。因此中国方面，对本案无权管辖。
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依照中国法律。。对在中国境内犯罪的外国人和无国籍人，可以适用属地管辖。对在中国境外对中国国家和中国公民犯罪的，可以适用保护管辖。对国际公约、条约规定的犯罪，可以适用普遍管辖，即任何国家均可管辖。
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法律层面的争论，可能太过技术化，暂时放一放。我们换位思考：如果本拉登逃到了中东某个国家，比如伊朗。现在伊朗政府接收其为难民，为其提供政治庇护，并且容许其入籍。然后说，拉登先生现在是我堂堂伊朗国公民了，我们的政府相信没有证据证明他参与了恐怖活动，世界上任何国家不要再妄想碰他！包括加拿大在内的西方世界会如何反应？我看美国拼死也要出兵中东，怕是把伊朗灭掉十次也有余了！加拿大呢，难道会放半个响屁？
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加拿大总理说，他的政府”相信”没有证据证明被告犯罪，似乎于是就可以怎样怎样，说什么、做什么都情有可原了。笑话！你既然没有看到证据，凭什么”相信”？话说回来，世贸大厦是本拉登炸的，可有证据？伊拉克有大规模杀伤性武器，可有证据？我敢说，本案被告在中国境内制造恐怖袭击的证据，比指向本拉登和萨达姆的证据加起来还要多！现在全世界都知道纽约世贸大厦是本拉登基地组织干的了，萨达姆也被美国端掉了，加拿大为什么不反对？加拿大为什么不接受他们两个为难民、为公民，然后提供政治庇护，再给他们两个发护照，让他们继续逍遥？
人可以无耻，但是不可以无耻到这种地步！
For a balanced overview of the development of the dispute between the Chinese and Canadian governments, journalist-blogger Susanna Ng in Vancouver, Canada has been tracking the story on her Chinese in Vancouver blog, and her most recent post on the subject, dated April 21, ‘Embarrassing Canadian foreign policy,’ looks at the Canadian government and particularly its current leader's response to the Celil incident in comparison with that of another Canadian citizen also recently in diplomatic hot water, which reads:
This Egyptian case has so much in common with Celil:
* both are alleged of harming their home countries’ security and integrity
* Israel is the Harperites’ good friend whom should be supported “unconditionally”; and Harper's China policy might have been dictated by people who lobby for an independent Tibet (ironically, the Dalai Lama has announced that he's not interested in an independent Tibet any more)
* both men say they're innocent and are tortured into confessions; Canada has no way to prove it but jump to hoist the human rights flag
* Arab countries do not like to be criticized in public
* China is more ready to cooperate if talks are behind the scene