Chinese/Korean Asylum seekers scale Canadian embassy wall

[dr. what]

Link

Beijing — A group of 44 people, at least some of them North Koreans, entered the Canadian Embassy on Wednesday, using ladders to scale a spiked fence around the compound, the Canadian ambassador said amid a spate of asylum bids by North Koreans.

The intruders, who included men, women and children, were being interviewed by Canadian diplomats to confirm their nationalities, said Ambassador Joseph Caron.

“We are in the process of speaking to them to determine who they are and what they expect of us,” he said. “It would appear there were some North Koreans in the group.”

A Chinese police officer outside the embassy said he saw the group run across an adjacent street carrying three metal ladders, place them against the fence and climb over.

“All were successful except for one man, who was taken away by police,” said the officer, who would give only his surname, Li.

Mr. Caron said he couldn't confirm whether anyone had been detained, but said a few people in the embassy were injured.

Thousands of North Koreans fleeing hunger and repression at home have been allowed to leave for rival South Korea after seeking asylum at embassies and other foreign offices in Beijing.

China is obligated by a treaty with its North Korean allies to send home fleeing North Koreans. But it hasn't done so in cases that become publicly known.

Mr. Li said the group wore yellow construction hard hats, possibly as a disguise.

The ladders were left on the sidewalk outside the embassy, along with quilts that might have been used for protection against the spikes. At least 18 police and troops from the paramilitary People's Armed Police stood guard.

The Canadian Embassy stands on a busy street corner in Beijing's northeast.

Earlier this month, a group of 29 people claiming to be North Korean asylum-seekers forced their way through a fence into a Japanese school in the Chinese capital.

Last year, a total of 1,285 North Koreans reached the South, up from 1,140 in 2002.

Tens of thousands of North Koreans are believed to live in hiding in China's northeast. Beijing has refused appeals to treat them as refugees, saying they really are illegal economic migrants.

[Wicked Pilot]

I for one hope they get welcomed to the land of beer and hockey.

[Zed Snardbody]

I wonder why the Canadian Embasy though. Just seems odd to me. I was under the impresion for some reason that Canadains were not overly fond of immigrants.

[Elheru Aran]

I wonder why the Canadian Embasy though. Just seems odd to me. I was under the impresion for some reason that Canadains were not overly fond of immigrants.

Well, if anything, Canada needs a few extra people... for all the size of their country (they occupy what, half the North American landmass? Something like the second or third largest country in the world, after Russia...), and the (in comparison) minimal population, they certainly have plenty of room there....

[Guy N. Cognito]

Uhhh..... that may be true, there is a lot of room, but we aren't the richest country out there and a large portion of our land mass isn't the most hospitable. And we seem to be at a loss for skilled labour right now, so if they come, tell them to get a trade and go from there. (At least in BC) Then again, my wife was a sort of refugee. We'll see, we are very open in regards to immigration, at least more open the Australia

[CaptainChewbacca]

I wonder why the Canadian Embasy though. Just seems odd to me. I was under the impresion for some reason that Canadains were not overly fond of immigrants.

Canadian guards won't shoot to kill like the American ones.