In the name of justice

The parents of Amanda Zhao, a Chinese student who was murdered in Metro Vancouver six years ago, are planning to come to British Columbia to finally confront the Minister of Justice about why nothing has been done to prosecute the alleged killer.

"Six years have passed and the family has been left with no answer," said NDP MLA Jenny Kwan, who along with MLA Mike Farnworth, has sponsored a visa application for Zhao’s parents and cousin.

"I can’t tell you how unacceptable it is for a family to have their daughter come to British Columbia to get a better education and to have her return home in a body bag, knowing that the alleged murderer is free."

Zhao, was found dead in a piece of luggage in Mission after her boyfriend, Ang Li, reported her missing. He initially told police she didn’t come home after a trip to Safeway to buy cooking oil.

Li and Zhao lived together in a basement suit with Li’s cousin, Zhang Han. Han was arrested and charged as an accessory after the fact. He told the court that Li killed his young girlfriend and asked Zang to help dispose of her body.

The day Zhao’s body was found, Li flew to Beijing under the nose of the RCMP.

Since then, Zhao’s mother and father, Yang Baoying and Zhao Zisheng, have been pleading with Canadian authorities to demand that Li be brought to Canadian justice.

But with cultural and language barriers, and the expense and hardship of travel, the couple has found little help from Canada’s justice department.

In shock over how the provincial and federal governments have handled the case, Kwan and Farnworth have formally and personally invited the family - a necessary prerequisite for visa applicants from China. They have also personally financed the process.

Zhao’s mother is grateful for the politicians’ efforts. In a letter send to Kwan, Yang Baoying confirmed that the letter has been received and her visa application process begun.

By bringing Amanda’s family here, Kwan hopes that their voices will finally be heard, and will add political weight to lingering concerns that have been floated from one government department to another.

"It’s easy to ignore someone when they’re thousands of miles away," Kwan said. "But if they’re right here in front of your face, I think it’s much more difficult for them to be ignored."

Kwan said she has been frustrated in her attempts to find answers.

"We have since found that frankly both the federal and the provincial government are pointing fingers at each other and nobody has really provided the answers, the information or the assistance to the Zhao family to have a day in court."

Darren Eke, spokesperson for Minister of Justice and Attorney General Robert Nicholson, said he could not discuss specific discussions between China and Canada, but said the two countries "cooperate with each other on a regular basis through police-to-police interaction, and through the treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance."

Since Canada and China do not share an extradition treaty, Kwan hopes diplomatic channels can be used to facilitate a trial for Li if other legal options fail.

In November 2007, Kwan wrote a letter to the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General for B.C., asking what he was doing to ensure a fair process of justice was being pursued.

Then Solicitor General John Les did not respond, said Kwan. She then approached new Solicitor General, John van Dongen, who was sworn in to office on June 23.

But still, no word.

Conflicts of an international scope do not typically involve provincial governments and are dealt with state-to-state at the federal level. Kwan accepts that the only solution in the case of Amanda Zhao may be a trial in China, with the full support of Canadian authorities.

"Li might not even be found guilty but that’s secondary," said Kwan. "What matters is that the alleged should be tried. The fact that he’s not being tried because of some bureaucratic issue is simply not acceptable."