Aussies face death penalty in China

SEVERAL Australians have been arrested in China for allegedly trying to smuggle home large amounts of drugs.

SEVERAL Australians have been arrested in China for allegedly trying to smuggle home large amounts of drugs and some of them face the death penalty.

Alarm about the practice and the number of individual arrests in recent months has prompted the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to issue fresh travel advice for China specifically warning of the dangers of carrying drugs there. Because of a major crackdown on drug use in China, the death penalty is mandatory for those convicted of carrying amounts of drugs that are clearly to be sold for profit rather than for personal use.

Foreign citizens executed in China recently for drug offences include a Canadian dual-citizen and some Koreans.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told ABC TV’s 7.30 last night she had raised the issue with her Chin­ese counterpart, Wang Yi, when he was in Sydney this week for the Australia-China strategic dialogue.

“I informed him that Australia does not condone the death penalty but we do take very seriously the issues of Australians travelling to China or becoming involved in drug-related activities in China,” Ms Bishop said.

“We acknowledge how serious it is but we also need to warn Australians that if they are involved in such criminal activities then it could carry the death penalty in China.” Ms Bishop would not say how many Australians faced the death penalty. “A number are, others aren’t,” she said.

Since the Chinese government ordered an unprecedented 100-day anti-drugs operation across most of its major cities, police have been carrying out random drug tests, focusing on bars especially in Beijing, which are popular with expatriate residents.

Dozens of bars have been closed during busy weekend trading hours and customers forced to take part in on-the-spot urine tests. Drug usage, especially among expatriates, is high in China despite the penalties and the tight control that the central government has on the state.

The rate of methamphetamine consumption has started to concern the government as a growing number of young Chinese citizens become hooked on the drug.

Police who targeted the popular Sanlitun precinct in Beijing arrested 30 drug dealers in one night.

The police crackdown has also centred on some of China’s high- profile entertainers, with Jackie Chan’s son, Jaycee Chan, 32, arrested for carrying marijuana in Beijing.

A DFAT spokesman said the travel advice had been reissued to highlight the severe penalties in place in China for the use, possession or trafficking of illegal drugs, which could include the death penalty. “It also notes the substantial risks involved in carrying parcels for others which may conceal narcotics,” the spokesman said. “In 2014, a number of foreigners have been arrested and executed for trafficking significant quantities of drugs.’’

The Australians were receiving appropriate consular assistance but no details would be released of specific cases, the spokesman said.

“The Australian government is determined to ensure that Australians are aware of the severe risks of engaging in serious drugs crimes in China. We continue to encourage Australians travelling to China to familiarise themselves with Chinese laws and comply with them in full.”

Xinhua, the official news agency, reported recently that in the first five months of this year Chin­ese courts sentenced 39,762 people a 27.8 per cent increase on the same time last year. The Supreme People’s Court revealed that more than 9000 of those were given the death sentence or a jail term of more than five years.

Additional reporting: Rosie Lewis