Hong Kong news, breaking updates ? 100% Independent, impartial, non-profit

HKFP?s Tim Hamlett is penning extra columns exclusively for HKFP members. Sign up to receive sharp analysis on local affairs via email.

Receive regular previews of our exclusive features, interviews and explainers via email, a day before they arrive on our website.

Exclusive access to merch store drops, and up to 15% off.

How do we gather the news? What does a day look like at HKFP? Does HKFP self-censor? How to survive a chief executive press conference? To mark a decade of HKFP, our editor-in-chief will be sharing regular newsroom insights with members.

Join us for an after-hours peek of our mini-newsroom in Kennedy Town, then take part in a Q&A with HKFP?s founder ? ask us (almost!) anything. Regular events are first-come-first-served, offered to a dozen members at a time.

94% of our income comes from donors, so HKFP Members are first in line to see our Annual Report and Transparency Report every January. They include an overview of our achievements each year, and full details of our income and spending.

All third-party Google banner ads are disabled for donors of any amount.

💡 You?ve read article/s this month. Support Team HKFP ? unlock 8 benefits by joining as a HK$150/month+ member. Promos disabled for members.

China has overturned the death sentence of Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, a Canadian official told AFP Friday, in a possible sign of a diplomatic thaw as Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks to boost trade ties with Beijing.

Schellenberg?s lawyer Zhang Dongshuo, reached by AFP over the phone in Beijing on Saturday, confirmed the decision was announced Friday by China?s highest court.

Schellenberg was detained on drug charges in 2014 before China–Canada ties nosedived following the 2018 arrest in Vancouver of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou.

That arrest infuriated Beijing, which detained two Canadians ? Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig ? on espionage charges that Ottawa condemned as retaliatory.

Then, in January 2019, a court in northeast China retried Schellenberg, who was 36 at the time, sentencing him to death while declaring that his 15‑year prison term for drug trafficking had been too lenient.

The court said he had been a central player in a scheme to ship narcotics to Australia, in a one-day retrial that Amnesty International called ?a flagrant violation of international law.?

Schellenberg has denied wrongdoing.

The Canadian official requested anonymity in confirming the decision by China?s highest court to overturn Schellenberg?s death sentence.

Schellenberg, who has been held in northeastern Dalian since 2014, will be retried by the Liaoning High People?s Court, his lawyer Zhang said. The timing for the retrial has not yet been set.

Zhang said he met with Schellenberg in Dalian on Friday, and said the Canadian appeared relatively relaxed.

Carney, who took office last year, visited China in January as part of his global effort to broaden Canada?s export markets to reduce trade reliance on the United States.

?Global Affairs Canada (GAC) is aware of a decision issued by the Supreme People?s Court of the People?s Republic of China in Mr. Robert Schellenberg?s case,? foreign ministry spokesperson Thida Ith said in a statement sent to AFP.

Ith said the ministry ?will continue to provide consular services to Mr. Schellenberg and to his family,? adding: ?Canada has advocated for clemency in this case, as it does for all Canadians who are sentenced to the death penalty.?

Key sectors of the Canadian economy have been hammered by US President Donald Trump?s tariffs, and Carney has said Canada can no longer count on the United States as a reliable trading partner.

Carney says that despite ongoing tensions, including allegations of Chinese interference in Canadian elections, Ottawa needs a functioning relationship with Beijing to safeguard its economic future.

When in Beijing last month, Carney met Chinese President Xi Jinping and heralded an improved era in relations ? saying the two countries had struck a ?new strategic partnership? and a preliminary trade deal.

Global Affairs Canada did not comment on whether diplomacy during Carney?s visit related to Schellenberg?s case impacted the Chinese court decision.

?Due to privacy considerations, no further information can be provided,? Ith said.

Schellenberg?s lawyer Zhang said Carney?s visit raised his hopes that the Chinese court would announce a relatively positive outcome for his client.

Meng, who had initially been charged with scheming to evade US sanctions on Iran, was freed in September 2021.

Spavor and Kovrig were released the same month.

Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact Us | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps

Safeguard press freedom; keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team

Members of HK$150/month unlock 8 benefits: An HKFP deer keyring or tote; exclusive Tim Hamlett columns; feature previews; merch drops/discounts; "behind the scenes" insights; a chance to join newsroom Q&As, early access to our Annual/Transparency Report & all third-party banner ads disabled.

Produced externally by an organization we trust to adhere to high journalistic standards.

facebookx Agence France-Press (AFP) is "a leading global news agency providing fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the events shaping our world and of the issues affecting our daily lives." HKFP relies on AFP, and its international bureaus, to cover topics we cannot. Read their Ethics Code here

Support our non-profit newsroom: safeguard HKFP's future, ensure our independence, help keep trusted local news free-to-access for all.

Make a one-off or monthly contribution instantly online. Access eight benefits by donating HK$150/month.

HK$ cheques save us on fees. Please make them payable to Hong Kong Free Press Limited and send to: Hong Kong Free Press, The Hive Kennedy Town, 6/F, Cheung Hing Industrial Building, 12P Smithfield Road, Kennedy Town, Hong Kong. [Please do not send cash.]Please include your name and address for accounting purposes.

Scan our QR code. Please include your name and email in the ‘comment’ field for accounting purposes.

Support us with a one-off or regular contribution by signing up at: patreon.com/HongKongFreePressHKFP.

Do you have a big jar or bag of coins at home? Contribute leftover 10c, 20c, 50c, HK$1, HK$2 and HK$5 coins to HKFP at Coin Dragon machines across the city. Just select Hong Kong Free Press from the list of non-profits.

More ways to support independent media.

Download our free apps:

Check your email to confirm subscription. Unsubscribe at any time. HKFP will never share your details with third parties.

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

Views expressed by opinion writers & advertisers are not necessarily shared by HKFP.

Discount codes and offers from our partners. HKFP benefits if you buy or enrol.

Sign in with Google Or Enter the code sent to your email.

Sign in by entering the code we sent to , or clicking the magic link in the email.

Get the best of Hong Kong Free Press HKFP directly in your email inbox.