(Clearwisdom.net) A public judicial review of hate crimes perpetrated by Chinese Consulate officials in Calgary was presented on January 25, 2007, at Alberta High Court, Calgary. Regarding the decision made earlier by the Attorney General of Alberta that the charge against Chinese Consulate officials for disseminating hate propaganda was not valid, renowned international human rights lawyer David Matas and Ms. Shirish Chotolia submitted a joint appeal. Falun Gong spokesperson Zhang Erping said that he believed that the Canadian government and the judge would handle this case lawfully.
In June 2004, an Edmonton Falun Gong practitioner witnessed two officials from the Calgary Chinese Consulate handing out the propaganda materials hostile to Falun Gong at a local conference. He reported to the police, who conducted an investigation on the materials. On June 23, 2005, after a year of investigation, the police finally submitted an investigation report to the Department of Justice and confirmed that the booklets handed out by the Calgary Chinese Consulate were hostile propaganda. This has been deemed illegal.
Hate crime laws fall under Canada's Criminal Code and mainly refer to systematically spreading certain speeches, rumors, or selective information to harm groups divided according to race, complexion, religion or ethnicity. Constable Stephen Camp of the Hate Crimes Unit of the Edmonton Police said that "these booklets constitute a breach of the hate crime law under Section 319.2 of the Criminal Code of Canada, the law banning the 'willful promotion of hatred' against an 'identifiable group.'" The materials, largely distributed by the Chinese Consulate officials, are full of information slandering Falun Gong.
International human rights lawyer David Matas said: "Canada should not allow itself to become a platform for global promotion of hatred. What is happening in Edmonton is happening all over the world where China has a Embassy or Consulate, and every police service should react in the way Edmonton police have acted to stop hate against Falun Gong."
Constable Camp said, "The Chinese government is defaming and persecuting members of Falun Gong across the country [Canada]. Alberta could be the first province to lead the way, to say enough is enough!"
Matas pointed out that Constable Camp's investigation report is unprecedented in Canada. The police had never before conducted such an investigation of a foreign consulate in Canada. "Even though the Edmonton police confirmed through an investigation that the Chinese Consulate was spreading hostile propaganda, the Alberta judge made the judgment to dismiss the charge. I think it is not right. Currently, we are waiting for the decision from the High Court. If they sustain the original judgment, we will continue to appeal to the court." He hoped that the court would reach a verdict that recognized that "the decision of the judge of Alberta does not conform to the facts and that the charge against the Chinese Consulate officials is valid." The High Court's verdict on the hate propaganda case is very important, and he hoped to stop the slander of Falun Gong within Canada.
Falun Gong spokesman Zhang Erping said, "I believe the Canadian government and the judge will deal with this case lawfully. It is not only a matter of judging lawfully, but also a matter of people from different countries being able to bravely stand up and stop the propaganda of an evil regime unscrupulously spreading its lies around the world."
