VOA: A Canadian Court Orders the Garnishment of a Chinese Diplomat's Assets

Voice of America reported on July 29, 2004 that a Canadian court ordered the garnishment of a Chinese diplomat's assets to pay for legal fees and damages in a defamation case brought against him.

Being Ordered to Pay for Damages and Legal Fees

The report stated that in the case involving the Chinese Deputy Consul General in Toronto, Pan Xinchun, the Ontario Supreme Court last week issued a garnishee order against Pan Xinchun's personal assets in the amount of $11,000, to pay for damages and legal fees in a defamation case brought against him by Toronto resident Joel Chipkar.

Regarding the cause and effect of the case, the report stated that last April, Pan Xinchun wrote a letter to a Canadian newspaper, the Toronto Star, accusing Falun Gong of being a [slanderous words omitted] and accusing Chipkar of attacking the Chinese government with lies and damaging the relations between Canada and China.

Prior to this, Chipkar, in a feature letter in the Toronto Star, once accused the Chinese authorities of covering up the SARS epidemic, and also of covering up their persecution of human rights and the suppression of Falun Gong.

Chipkar therefore filed a suit in the court, accusing Pan Xinchun of defamation and inciting hatred. The Ontario Supreme Court found Pan Xinchun guilty of libel this February and ordered Pan Xinchun to pay Chipkar $1,000 as a symbolic fee for damages and $10,000 for legal fees.

The report also states that Mr. Chipkar expressed on Thursday to VOA that the purpose for suing Pan Xinchun is to warn Chinese diplomats not to incite hatred in Canada.

The report cited Chipkar as saying, "It's not about the money. It's about the principle of stopping these people from attacking people here in Canada. "

The Court Refuses to Acknowledge Diplomatic Immunity

The VOA report states that Pan Xinchun had never appeared in court during the court's proceeding. His lawyer once submitted a statement to the court from the Chinese Government, expressing that Pan Xinchun, as a diplomat, enjoys diplomatic immunity, and therefore refused to accept the court's judgement.

But the judge expressed in the verdict that Pan Xinchun personally wrote a letter to the Toronto Star, and therefore he could not enjoy diplomatic immunity. As Pan Xinchun was stalling on paying the damages to Chipkar, acting upon the request of Chipkar, the judge issued an order to garnishee $11,000 from Pan Xinchun's personal bank account.

Chipkar said, "Pan Xinchun must respect the Canadian court's decision. The court has explained that he cannot claim diplomatic immunity in this case."

VOA cited a report from The Globe and Mail that Chinese authorities requested the Canadian Government to intervene in the case and clarify Canada's position on consular immunity; otherwise, it would damage the relations between Canada and China. A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs in Canada expressed Wednesday that it is a Chinese diplomat's function to obey the Canadian law.

The spokesperson said, "According to Provision No. 55 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations regarding consular officials, all consular officials must respect the laws of the countries in which they are staying, but cannot intervene with the internal affairs of the countries."

The spokesperson also said, "Over the past two years, we have repeatedly reminded the Chinese Embassy in Canada that it is unacceptable for them to intervene with Canada's internal affairs."

The plaintiff of the case, Mr. Chipkar expressed that as there was no way to garnishee Pan Xinchun's assets, he requested the court to subpoena Pan Xinchun to attend a judgement-debtor examination.