Canadian Jailed for Life in China..Political nightmare ensues !

Does this man look like a terrorist? Well looks aren't really a great indicator for a terrorist, but the Chinese Government says this Canadian is and he will spend the rest of his life behind bars. Sentenced today in Chinese Court, Huseyin Celil, a Canadian as of 2005, was a member of Western China's Muslim Uigur minority, an "illegal" political group under the Communist regime. He fled China to Uzbekistan in 2001 and then made his way to Canada, where he lived until 2006. In 2006 he had to return to Uzbekistan for a family matter and was arrested by the police there, who then deported him not to Canada, but to CHINA!

Now the "he said she said" starts between Canada and China, with China declaring Celil a terrorist and Canada demanding evidence of terrorism and basically evidence of ANY wrong doing. Canada claims Celil was and is tortured and wrongfully detained without just cause. Plus China has not allowed any Canadian official or legal council to see Celil, which are both illegal in the view of world law and UN policy. Now China views demonstrations of human rights and political parties not in line with Communist regulations, illegal, but in Canada this is rather the opposite. And this is what Celil was doing back in the 1990's and was jailed for it, but broke out of jail and fled China to Canada. China also claims he helped assassinate a political leader yet refuse to give Canadian officials any evidence of this act.

Today Peter McKay, announced a formal protest in Celil's defence, and urges China to comply with Canada's request of evidence, just cause and visitation by legal council and Canadian Embassy workers:

"We call upon the government of China to investigate these claims promptly and impartially, and to ensure that Mr. Celil's rights are adequately protected,." Mr. MacKay said.

Mr. McKay also sent harsh words to China for their response and rather lack of it saying that Canada would review the foreign Embassy policies in China, meaning Canada would look ways of political protest as in trade or travel. China of course responded with an attack against Canada saying "[we] should stay out of China's domestic issues".

Even if Celil's crimes of murder are true or that he broke Chinese law, his human rights have been violated and his legal rights as a Canadian have been taken away illegally. I really hope this situation calms itself down and the Chinese give Canada some sort of positive response, rather than making this turn into an international trade war. China is a very opinionated nation and Canada must uphold the rule of law. Our industry and China's both rely on each other, but more importantly, the USA also relies on both of us. Having an unstable trade network between the 3 nations would bring about a global crisis.

Beijing Cabbies Told to Bathe!

(Above is a photo of an Olympic Stadium in Beijing under construction) Today, the Chinese Government announced additional rules now being placed on Cab drivers in Beijing. With the Olympics now 500 days away, China is trying to sharpen it's image as the influx of 10,000 "western" nationals will descend upon Beijing for the games. One point of interest for the Chinese Government is the Cabbies. Not only are there new regulations for women drivers, such as no hoop earrings and non-natural coloured hair, but also male drivers and their rather poor personal hygiene habits are to be changed.

I recently returned from Beijing and China, backpacking for a month, and most of those "changes" to their cabbie standards are fine and dandy but they are superficial. Try being a white guy in Beijing and having 30 empty cabs pass you by because you are white. Or when you get in the cab, if your destination isn't far enough for the cabbie, they will force you out of the cab. This how I was treated, and I was travelling with my friend Justin, who speaks Mandarin!! I know the Chinese Government cannot change the cabbie culture in Beijing, but they should try and tackle the negative-foreigner attitude, before they fix the superficial bathing habits of the Chinese.

Don't get me wrong, I had a blast and China was a fantastic place, and most of these issues are cultural and not "real" issues. To the Chinese, this is normal and 100% accepted, but to a Westerner looking in, it is an issue. Hearing stories from my friend Justin, who lives in China, shocked me while I was at home in Vancouver, but once I visited China these things are not shocking rather I find them normal. You can't explain China or their culture, until you visit, nor can you explain anything to someone who has never been there. I once read this saying: "China is organized chaos", but chaos is such a strong word. It is not chaos unless you are a Westerner. Do you get it?????

But Westerners have to realize that even if these changes happen, and the cab drivers will stop for white people, that still will not change the way they drive. Getting into a cab in China is one of the most unique and most entertaining things in life to do. Beijing is a huge city and more Western than the other cities I visited, so the driving is not as "scary" in Beijing. But you get out of the city or drive during rush hour (which is most of the day) and you will know what I mean. Especially the 4 laned round abouts in the express-highways, man those are fun.

And of course above all, my one recommendation to the Chinese would be to reduce the pollution in Beijing, before you try to fix superficial issues like the popular Chinese sport of street spitting. I doubt many World records will be broken in Beijing as the athletes will not be breathing in oxygen but granulated particles floating in what use to be O2. The air in Beijing is quite offensive, you can literally "taste" the air on the bad O2 days. Ask anyone who has been to Beijing, they can relate.