The prosecution of naturalized American citizen Xue Feng, which concluded on February 18, is a vivid reminder that China’s abuses of criminal justice can reach even those who steer clear of politics and human rights.

Next month will mark the 30th anniversary of the signing of the US-China Consular Convention. Three decades of increasingly close Sino-American relations have demonstrated the value of this agreement to both countries in protecting the rights and interests of their nationals when visiting the other country.

Most countries, including the United States, struggle to strike a balance between the need to keep some government information secret in the interest of national security and the need to provide free access to most information in the interest of popular participation and economic development.

[孔杰荣谈力拓案中文稿]

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The Chinese Government’s refusal to allow Australian Government consular officials to observe the secret portion of the Rio Tinto trial was supposedly based on the alleged superiority of Chinese domestic law over China’s international obligation under the Sino-Australian Consular Convention. On March 19 MOFA spokesperson Qin Gang said the case would be handled according to Chinese laws. In rejecting the Australian Government claim to have the right of consular attendance even at the closed portion of the trial, Qin said:”We should not confound the consular agreement with sovereignty, especially judicial sovereignty….The decision of a closed-door trial was made based on Chinese law…”