Newsline 29 December 2009: UK reacts with anger after China executes a mentally ill British drug smuggler. Ten years on, human rights in Russia remain an unfulfilled dream. Europeans go dotty for pigs.
China executes British drug smuggler
Britain reacts with anger after China executes a mentally disturbed British drug smuggler accused of smuggling four kilograms of heroin. Listen to interview with RNW's Beijing Correspondent, Marije Vlaskamp
Human rights remembered in Russia
Human rights activists in Russia lament the lost decade of unfulfilled dreams. Chairman of Russia's Memorial rights grroup, Oleg Orlov tells RNW's Geert Groot Koerkamp how the writing was on the wall ten years ago.
Pigs for pets
A new craze for pigs over pussy-cats is taking Western Europe by storm. Robert Chesal goes snouting around for the story.
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The mentally ill man executed in this case makes for perfectly good foreign relations canon fodder on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party. Whether or not this individual was a plant or the prime delivery mule for the drugs is now a moot point. The message has been sent domestically in China and overseas that the existing staus quo in the rule of China will be exercised to the ultimate measures. Despite foreign protests this message has been received and acknowledged in diplomatic circles, and the issue will die down in time.
no offense but that briton was a drug dealer caught with over 4kg Heroin... According to the law of China, anyone carrying over 50g shall be executed. He knew the risk and still carried on. What can I say...
In terms of his mental illness, is there any evidence supporting that? If that was true, why was he conscious enough to continue his drug smuggling mission to China? very contradictory....
China is not part of the western family, but it does not mean everything this government did is utterly wrong. That's my 2 cents
Huey
Sorry but the Chinese Government should be ashamed for its barbaric behavior in this case. We are now in the 21st Century and most of the world has moved on from mediaeval barbarism, but not, it would seem, the Chinese authorities (nor the US for that matter which also practices state-sanctioned torture and murder). With two superpowers such as these, what hope is there for the rest of us?
"We are now in the 21st Century and most of the world has moved on from mediaeval barbarism...." Have we really moved on from "mediaeval barbarism"? I think not! Look at the world around you today and the crimes committed towards mankind by people and governments who murder people indirectly by selling heroin, murderers who are allowed to murder innocent people and not be be punished likewise by the government, governments that support the killings of millions of innocent babies. No, we have not moved forward. If, anything we have got worse.
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