A state of madness.
Akmal Shaikh has been executed, or should I say, assassinated, by China. His crime was to be delusional. His punishment was death.
The whole developed world pleaded with China to stay his execution and commute his sentence...but China, in its pig-headed way, ignored them. In China, the opinion of the whole world, has no value at all. Despite every effort of the rest of the world, China killed him, by lethal injection.
Now, as you will probably know, Akmal Shaikh was caught carrying drugs he didn't know he was bearing, whilst under the incredible delusion that he was flying to China to record a hit single, that would "bring world peace". Now, if that isn't reason enough to reconsider his sentence and commute it, perhaps to a stay in a mental hospital, I don't know what is.
For me, the most appalling element of this is the self-serving nonsense spewing from China. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Jiang Yu, said, for instance, that Akmal Shaikh's rights had been "fully protected". Yep. I can see how killing a man for something he didn't intentionally do, is "protecting his rights". Perhaps Mr. Jiang Yu would also like to be executed for something he didn't willingly do...and then he, too, can enjoy the full protection of his rights. The same astonishing spokesman went on to say, in classic paranoid delusional fashion: "We hope the British side will face this case squarely and not create new obstacles for China-Britain relations". I say this is paranoid because it is a classic sign of this illness that someone should blame others for their own actions. Here, China is blaming Britain for the consequence of its own actions - killing a most certainly innocent man.
China is growing economically. However, in many ways, it remains a backward, even barbaric country. It does not heed international norms for human rights. It does not listen to international opinion. It has a history of appalling crimes against its own people (take one look at Tianamen Square...). Yet, the world is expected, by China, to show it respect in proportion to its economic success. However, what China fails to understand is that economic might, alone, does not command any respect at all. Just as one would not respect a rich man whose path to richness involved crimes against others, disrepect for basic human rights, and general disregard for the rest of the world. So, too, does China not command respect at this time - for it's behaviour is too coarse, too callous, too cold by international standards.
I hope that China matures as a nation - that it develops a sophisticated, humane, concerned and involved personality that takes heed of global standards for national conduct. For, at this time, China is far from being such a welcome global citizen. Its standards of conduct are well below what it expected from even the most backward of countries.
China has done well economically, it is now time for them to take a good look at themselves and focus on becoming a humane nation.
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Labels: a state of madness, Akmal Shaikh, execution, human rights, international norms, miscarriage of justice, no justice in the orient, PRC, why China will never be admired
10 Comments:
How is China being pig headed? They have stated clearly that the judiciary is independent and were satisfied that the procedures have been followed. Whether you agree with them or not you must agree that the rule of law has been followed. In a sense it would be more worrying that international political pressure would interfere with their judiciary.
They are being pig headed because they have ignored the weight of evidence to the effect that Akmal Shaikh was mentally ill and unaware of the "crime" he was accused of. It is pig headed to ignore the truth and pursue one's own fantasy of power over human life.
If you think China has an independent judiciary and that it operates under "rule of law", then I can only assume you are either: unaware of the nature of modern China...or Chinese.
"International political pressure..." how funny a term you use. Much of the pressure came from human rights groups such as Amnesty International - but I suppose you would praise any country that ignored human rights and those who lobby for it?
Like I said, it is likely that you have an undeclared interest in this case beyond that of innocent bystander...or if you don't, you completely fail to appreciate what kind of place China is.
I once had an interesting conversation with a Chinese Communist Party leader's son. He was adamant that "no-one died at Tiananmen Square". I asked him who had told him that. He said: "My father".
I told him that his father was lying to him.
He asked me why I believed that people had died at Tiananmen Square - and I said: "For two reasons...firstly, the whole world except China says so...and secondly, because I saw the tanks crushing people, for myself, on tv."
He went very silent and said nothing more about it.
China is a country where the fathers of the nation, lie to the sons of the nation, where murderers declare themselves saints, to history.
If you think that there is "rule of law" and an independent judiciary in such a state...then you can only be like that boy's father: one of them.
It is shocking to read that Akmal Shaikh was arrested and convicted in 2007. The decision seemed like a hasty one as far as death penalty cases go. If the judiciary was unaware of the bipolar disorder, the execution should have been postponed until the issue of mental illness was fully considered on appeal. Akmal Shaikh may have been mentally unfit to stand trial. He may have been unfit to represent himself. These questions shall remain unanswered as he was never given a mental health evaluation. If all of the proper procedures were followed, perhaps the procedures need reform because Akmal Shaikh received anything but a fair trial.
Thank you Shannon, for supporting my views with your own legal perspective. For those readers who are not familiar with Shannon, she is a member of the legal profession.
Yes. I agree that what happened was unfair. One point that I noted was that the Chinese side said that Akmal did not state his mental illness in court. This is ludicrously ignorant of the Chinese since it is common for many mentally ill people to deny that they are ill - so why would he raise the issue when he would probably have denied it anyway?
China has done a great deal of damage to itself over this. I hope people have a better idea of what kind of state China still is.
I have two words for you: Samantha Orobator.
"They are being pig headed because they have ignored the weight of evidence to the effect that Akmal Shaikh was mentally ill and unaware of the "crime" he was accused of. It is pig headed to ignore the truth and pursue one's own fantasy of power over human life."
What weight of evidence? There is no documented diagnosis of mental illness of any kind from any doctor. This was a man who was able to live in Poland and the US for many years without any form of assistance.
Why should the Chinese judicial system stay its hand? Because the UK says so? Which country's judicial system allows for legal input from another country's legal system?
Hi Fox,
Akmal Shaikh's former GP expressed concern about his mental health and invited the Chinese to contact him.
Please see this link:
http://www.reprieve.org.uk/2009_12_18_akmal_shaikh_new_evidence
For this comment from the Doctor and three others who knew Akmal and thought him very unwell.
As for living in Poland - he was homeless, living in a kind of community shelter, completely unable to look after himself without assistance from the kindness of others. This is typical of severely mentally ill individuals.
Bear in mind this: people who knew him prior to his departure for China say he had recorded a song about a little rabbit, which he believed would be a global success and would "bring world peace". The song, according to those who heard it, was appallingly badly sung and performed by him. It was execrable. Yet, he believed, against all who told him it was rubbish that it was going to be a great hit. He showed, in doing so, every characteristic of extreme mania.
I have no doubt, having read the accounts of his actions in the years leading up to his death, that he had been ill for several years, at least. Anyone who looks into his life, could only conclude the same thing.
It must have been starkly evident to the Chinese that he was very ill...but they took no account of this at all.
It is all very tragic.
Re. rule of law, Fox. I very much doubt that the judiciary is independent in China...therefore rule is not, truly, by law. This circumstance is typical of the type of political system in place in China.
Re. Samantha Orobator.
Thank you for the example. Her case provides a reason why the British would have expected international pressure, alone, to be effective. In her case, she was pregnant and sentenced to death in Laos. Appeals from the international community were successful and she was not executed, in the end.
It seems that the developed world and human rights groups OVER-ESTIMATED China's level of moral maturity in assuming that their efforts would be effective. China has, in this instance, been put to shame by Laos (considered less developed economically...but clearly more humane).
Thanks for your tip.
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