Amy Chang
Amy Chang is a Canadian wine merchant. Chang has been the subject of numerous press and TV profiles, after her parents were taken into custody by Chinese officials in March 2016.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
Chang has described how she was warned that she too might be taken into custody, if she did not immediately leave China.[1][2]
Her parents weren't immediately charged, and Chang did not learn why they were taken into custody. She eventually learned that they were accused of selling underpriced products. In her appeals to Canadian government officials Chang has tried to clarify that she doesn't think her parents need the usual consular assistance a citizen's government is called upon when they are accused of a crime in another country. Rather, she thinks her parents have been caught up in a trade dispute, where China is criminalizing a commercial dispute.[3]
Omar Alghabra, parliamentary secretary to Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs met with Chang in late May, 2017.[1][8][4] Freeland described her parent's case as a top priority. The Globe and Mail reported Chang met with both Thomas Mulcair and Andrew Scheer, the leaders of Canada's two leading opposition parties, and they both agreed to encourage Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to intervene with Chinese leaders.
Chang's parents, John Chang and Allison Lu, were born in Taiwan, and immigrated to Canada in 1995.[3] She has spent almost her entire life in Canada. In 2007 her parents became winery owners, owning two wineries in British Columbia and another in Ontario. Chang and her brother had to take over management of the wineries, while working for their parent's release.[9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Winery owners' arrest a warning for Canadians doing business in China: daughter". Vancouver Sun. 2017-06-01. Archived from the original on 2019-10-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20191008144855/https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/winery-owners-arrest-a-warning-for-canadians-doing-business-in-china-daughter. Retrieved 2017-06-02. "Amy Chang is in Ottawa this week pleading with federal politicians for help in getting her parents released from custody in Shanghai, where the two were arrested in March 2016 while visiting their business suppliers and agents."
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Nick Eagland (2017-05-25). "Winery owners' arrest a warning for Canadians doing business in China: daughter". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 2019-10-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20191008144855/https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/winery-owners-arrest-a-warning-for-canadians-doing-business-in-china-daughter. Retrieved 2017-06-02. "Amy Chang is asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Government of Canada to immediately help her parents, who have been imprisoned and detained in China by China Customs since March 2016."
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Steven Chase, Robert Fife (2017-05-25). "Daughter of winery owners facing trial in China pleads for Trudeau to intervene". Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2020-11-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20201111201421/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/daughter-of-canadians-detained-in-china-hopeful-for-meeting-with-pm/article35159878/. Retrieved 2017-06-02. "'I really need Prime Minister Trudeau to help the situation,' Ms. Chang said. 'My parents have been detained for over a year and nothing has happened. This really needs his attention. It’s been far too long that this has been ignored.'"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Steven Chase, Robert Fife (2017-06-01). "Chrystia Freeland says Canadians detained in China are top priority". Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2020-11-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20201112003650/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/winery-owners-arrest-a-warning-for-canadians-doing-business-in-china-daughter/article35178997/. Retrieved 2017-06-02. "Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland has assured the daughter of a couple detained in China that Ottawa is working hard to persuade Beijing to allow them to return home."
- ↑ John Dehaas (2017-06-02). "China's ambassador: Detention of B.C. winery owners 'should not be politicized'". CTV News. Archived from the original on 2018-10-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20181029142929/https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/china-s-ambassador-detention-of-b-c-winery-owners-should-not-be-politicized-1.3441802. Retrieved 2017-06-02. "Amy Chang, the couple’s daughter, has met with the leaders of Canada’s NDP and Conservative Party to plead her case."
- ↑ "Daughter of B.C. winery owner jailed in China seeking Ottawa's help". CTV News. 2017-05-25. Archived from the original on 2019-10-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20191021195850/https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/daughter-of-b-c-winery-owner-jailed-in-china-seeking-ottawa-s-help-1.3428550. Retrieved 2017-06-02. "The daughter of a British Columbia couple jailed in China last year while on a business trip is calling on the Canadian government to take action and bring her parents home."
- ↑ Terry Pedwell (2017-06-01). "Daughter of winery owners arrested in China appeals for their release". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2020-10-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20201025232002/https://www.thestar.com/business/2017/06/01/daughter-of-winery-owners-arrested-in-china-appeals-for-their-release.html. Retrieved 2017-06-19. "Amy Chang is in Ottawa this week pleading with federal politicians for help in getting her parents released from custody in Shanghai, where the two were arrested in March 2016 while visiting their business suppliers and agents."
- ↑ Steven Chase, Robert Fife (2017-05-30). "Daughter of Canadians detained in China ‘hopeful’ for meeting with PM". Globe and Mail (Ottawa). Archived from the original on 2020-11-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20201111201421/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/daughter-of-canadians-detained-in-china-hopeful-for-meeting-with-pm/article35159878/. Retrieved 2017-06-02. "The case has raised new questions about Canada’s pursuit of a trade deal with China after the couple’s daughter, Amy Chang, petitioned Ottawa for help. Lawyers for the couple say their clients have been victimized by a country where commercial disputes can catapult the unwary into an abuse-prone criminal justice system controlled by the ruling Communist Party."
- ↑ Eric Degerman (2018-04-21). "British Columbia wines golden at California’s Pacific Rim judging". Great Northwest Wine (San Bernardino, California). Archived from the original on 2020-08-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20200811192326/https://greatnorthwestwine.com/2018/04/21/british-columbia-wines-grab-gold-at-californias-pacific-rim-judging/. Retrieved 2021-01-05. "Chang’s daughter, Amy, has served as general manager of the family’s three wineries across Canada while her Taiwanese-born father has been jailed. The case has generated headlines across Canada since Amy Chang’s parents were detained beginning in 2016, and her pleas for help have included Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau."
