Refoulement Overturned

"My opinion, which I think is shared with others who have knowledge of the circumstances … has been that if [Yang] was returned to China, he would likely face a harsh incarceration on political grounds."
"My feeling is that the Chinese government wants Yang returned."
"And that’s why they’ve facilitated the matter in this way, which is not typical of their practice."
 Charles Burton, associate professor, political studies, Brock University

"When you experience persecution as Yang had done — that is, three years in the penitentiary in China and all that goes with that — you don’t come out the same as you went in."
"When you do get out, it’s not over. You’re haunted on an ongoing basis by the memories of what happened to you."
"Not every refugee is necessarily going to be in a situation to land on their feet and to rise up the ladder of success. Some of them are broken people and sometimes even worse than that."
"The baggage they carry with them creates a disturbed person that may present some risks to people around them. This is the most difficult kind of situation to resolve."
Leslie Morley, Lawyer assigned to Yang Wei

"IRCC [Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada] senior decision makers have the delegated authority to form a danger opinion."
"They are independent from the minister of IRCC and their decisions are not influenced by political or diplomatic considerations."
Shannon Ker, IRCC spokesperson

Undated photo of Yang Wei (right) shortly after he was released from a 
Chinese prison in 1993.
Federal Court files

Canada has returned a Chinese citizen native to the south-western province of Sichuan who once served time in a labour camp for his support of the 1989 Tiananimen democracy protests. He was also involved in founding the Sichuan branch of the China Democracy Party, since crushed. He fled China and came to Canada. During his time living in Canada he was unable to settle down, and while he made friends among others in the Canadian-Chinese community whose values reflected his own, his life was one of poverty, no doubt a result of his acknowledged mental illness.

Now 49 years of age, Yang Wei has amassed a criminal record in Canada, with numerous convictions on charges of violence. He was deported from Canada today due to his record of violence, the conclusion reached that he is a danger to the public. Authorities with a Toronto court who evaluated his records felt no proof existed that on return to China he would face incarceration. Under Canadian law any concerns respecting forcible return of an asylum-seeker or refugee might lead to persecution can be upturned by fears of public safety.

The Government of Canada, through the Canadian Border Services Agency and the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, deemed this man ineligible to remain in Canada, citing his mental illness causing violent outbursts. The opinion was that Yang Wei could in all likelihood take advantage of good psychiatric help in China. China, it seems, agreed to receive this man who remains a citizen of China, and issued the required travel visa to expedite his removal from Canada.

An undated photograph of Yang Wei, right, with the exiled author Liao Yiwu. Mr. Liao has said that Canada would be “aiding and abetting the trampling of human rights” by deporting Mr. Yang. Credit via Liao Yiwu

Yang Wei's record of offences is extensive with repeated arrests, including for possession of a knife, aggravated assault and a number of other offences. He frequently threatened people with violence. He assaulted a bus driver who asked him for a transfer ticket. An employee of a mobile phone store who refused him a refund was also assaulted. In yet another instance, he stabbed a bus driver repeatedly resulting from another verbal altercation turned violent. 

The court that ruled for his removal had been presented with numerous psychiatric reports attesting to his behavioural issues caused by mental illness. It was also pointed out that when he took psychotropic drugs prescribed for him, his behaviour was positively modified. "This case has been very trying. It strikes me as a human tragedy", commented Adam Wawrzkiewicz, a last-minute intervenor-lawyer who attempted to prevent the man's deportation.

Mr. Yang himself informed a court hearing in 2008 that in his opinion the Chinese government would be disinterested were he to be returned to China. "I was shocked at  his answer. He has no idea what he's saying; he needs psychiatric help", said Toronto writer and friend Sheng Xue after visiting Yang and asking why he had made that statement. The Chinese Consulate in Toronto, she pointed out, rarely issues travel documents to dissidents.

"They know that with a travel document he can be sent home. They'll be waiting for him", she warned.

Activist Yang Wei was one of thousands involved in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests  Getty Images

"Once he's repatriated, his life will vanish in the prisons of the dictatorship."
"I remember in 1999, Yang Wei had been fleeing arrest for several months... [when he] suddenly knocked on my door. [He said], the last time I fell into [police] hands, they hanged me upside down... slammed my head against the wall until I was unconscious."
"I can't fall into their clutches again."
Exiled Chinese author Liao Yiwu