BEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities have refused to allow Canadian diplomats to attend the trial of a Chinese-Canadian tycoon who disappeared from Hong Kong five years ago, the Canadian government said Tuesday.
Xiao Jianhua was last seen in a Hong Kong hotel in January 2017 and was reportedly taken to the mainland by Chinese authorities. The government has never confirmed whether he was detained or what charges he might face.
The Canadian government said earlier that Xiao was due to stand trial on Monday, but gave no indication if a trial had taken place or where. He gave no details of any charges.
“Canada has made several requests to attend the trial. Our presence was refused by the Chinese authorities,” said a statement from the Canadian government.
Xiao, the founder of Tomorrow Group, has disappeared amid a wave of lawsuits against Chinese businessmen accused of misconduct.
This fueled fears that the ruling Communist Party could abduct people outside the mainland. At the time, Hong Kong banned Chinese police from operating in the former British colony, which has a separate legal system.
Since then, Beijing has tightened its control over Hong Kong, sparking complaints that it is violating the autonomy promised when the territory was returned to China in 1997. The ruling party imposed a national security law in 2020 and has imprisoned pro-democracy activists.
Hong Kong police investigated Xiao’s disappearance and said the subject had crossed the border into the mainland. But an advertisement in the Ming Pao newspaper in Xiao’s name the same week denied that he had been abducted against his will.
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