posted on Oct, 1 2004 @ 08:32 AM
Forty four North Korean defectors scaled the wall of the Canadian embassy and have requested political asylum. The incident took place Wednesday and
now the Chinese government is demanding that Canada turn them over to them. Calling the issue a security matter and pointing out the 44 entered the
Canadian embassy illegally, Assistant Foreign Minister Shen Guofang, insisted that it is a legal issue. Canadian officials have not as of yet
responded to the Chinese governments demand.
www.voanews.com
China is calling on Canadian diplomats to hand over 44 people believed to be North Korean asylum seekers. The group stormed into the Canadian Embassy
in the Chinese capital on Wednesday.
China's government is demanding custody of the alleged North Korean asylum seekers saying it considers their entry into the Canadian Embassy a
security issue.
Assistant Foreign Minister Shen Guofang told reporters in Beijing Thursday the issue is one of law.
Mr. Shen says China opposes the way the 44 men, women, and children entered the Canadian Embassy compound on Chinese territory illegally. He says
Beijing wants Canadian officials to hand them over to China.
Canadian officials have yet to respond to the demand. But Canada's ambassador to China spoke Wednesday shortly after the refugees climbed his
embassy's spiked fences, saying his staff would work to ensure that the asylum seekers were treated humanely.
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The Chinese government has a policy of treating defecting North Koreans as illegal immigrants and returns them back. This event occurred at around
the same time that eight North Koreans presented themselves at an American school in Shanghai. The school not having diplomatic status was required
to turn the eight over to Chinese authorities. The US has asked China to not send them back to North Korea. Due to the persistent famine and brutal
policies of the Kim regime, thousands of North Koreas have attempted to defect by crossing over into China.