Executions will taint NZ, say Greens

Relevant offers

National News

Jury sees site where Liberty Templeman's body found Govt poised to make taxi safety measures compulsory Key 'no GST rise' video emerges SPCA steps in on injured dog standoff 'Constant breakthroughs' in Hiren Mohini case Judge was too lenient - widow Private schools fail to keep lid on fees Radar 'drone' units used for three years Capital faces a decade of rising fares Pub patrons and staff describe fatal dispute

New Zealand's decision not to criticise China over the execution last week of two men for their part in the Sanlu contaminated milk-powder scandal could damage the country's international reputation as a strong advocate of human rights, the Green Party says.

And in China questions are being asked about why two relatively low-status men have been put to death over the scandal, yet no one from Sanlu, part-owned by Kiwi dairy giant Fonterra at the time, had been executed.

The Global Times, a newspaper owned by the Communist Party's People's Daily, is reporting that the executions are being portrayed as the official closure of the tainted milk scandal, even though questions remain unanswered.

"Can it be true that Sanlu knew nothing about it? Is it fair to put the entire blame on the two farmers?" the newspaper said in its English-language edition.

The milk products, contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine, were supplied to about 20 Chinese dairy companies, including Sanlu, in which New Zealand dairy co-operative Fonterra held a 43% stake. Sanlu is now defunct but Fonterra still has significant investments in China.

China executed a dairy farmer and a milk salesman on Tuesday for their roles in the sale of the contaminated baby formula – Geng Jinping and Zhang Yujun were executed by lethal injection.

Beijing hoped the severe punishments would reassure importers, assuage public anger, and put to rest one of the country's worst food safety crises, which resulted in the death of six children and the hospitalisation of 30,000 others. In all, 22 people were tried and sentenced over the scandal, including the general manager of Sanlu.

Keith Locke, the Greens spokesman on foreign affairs and human rights issues, has accused the government of weak leadership for failing to condemn the executions.

He said the government and Fonterra had an obligation to protest the executions and their silence could be interpreted as New Zealand putting export profits ahead of human rights. "It's weak leadership on this particular issue. It isn't asking too much to speak out against the death penalty where New Zealand, if indirectly, has been involved.

"By not being more vocal we are allowing people to interpret that as New Zealand not caring enough about what happens in China and the use of the death penalty," Locke said.

"New Zealand's reputation in the world and its trading will be enhanced if we are consistent in upholding normal civilised standards of behaviour, and the death penalty runs against that. Our reputation will be tarnished in the long run."

A spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully reaffirmed New Zealand's opposition to the death penalty but said it was inappropriate to criticise another country's legal system.

"The China melamine in milk story was a tragic one – six infants died and many more became seriously ill as a result of what happened.

"As the government noted at the time the sentences were handed down, New Zealand is a longstanding opponent of the death penalty, and that stance is well known internationally. However, we have no comment on the workings of the Chinese judicial system."

Fonterra spokesman Graeme McMillan said the episode had been tragic and rejected Locke's suggestion that the company was putting export dollars ahead of human rights.

"That's simply not true. Fonterra operates with different countries around the world and they all have different legal systems. We obey and respect the laws of those countries. We are a dairy co-operative, not a political organisation, and do not and cannot be expected to take a stance on judicial executions."

Amnesty International NZ said Fonterra, because it operated in China, had an obligation to uphold the values of New Zealand through its conduct.

"Not only must it speak out against the executions following a scandal it was so closely associated with, but it must also use its ongoing engagement with China to work on improving human rights and particularly labour rights," spokeswoman Margaret Taylor said.

"This case compellingly highlights the link between trade and human rights, and is indicative of the ripple effect a denial of rights in one area can have on human rights generally."