Former Canadian cabinet minister and crown prosecutor David Kilgour has said that the kidnapping by Chinese security agents of respected human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng will bounce back on the Communist authorities.
Speaking to The Epoch Times while visiting Melbourne, Australia, Mr. Kilgour said that if anything happened to Mr Gao while being held in custody "there will be an outburst of feeling around the world".
Mr. Kilgour said that "if the Chinese government had any common sense or humanity they will not hurt or injury him in anyway shape or form—in fact I think they will release him."
Mr. Gao was kidnapped by a dozen Chinese security agents on August 15 in Shandong Province. Two days later Chinese state run media confirmed that Mr Gao had been arrested and accused him of being a suspect of a crime.
For Mr. Kilgour, such actions by the Chinese regime would not be convincing the world that it was moving towards behaving like a responsible government.
"How do they think this kind of act can possibly help convince the people that they have stopped this killing going on?", questioned Mr. Kilgour in reference to the reports of Falun Gong practitioners being killed in China for their bodily organs.
"And how do they think this will encourage people to come to their [Olympic] Games when they are arresting very admirable citizens for no reasons apart from those invented by very foolish people?" asked Mr. Kilgour.
It is believed that Mr. Gao's family—his wife and their twelve-year-old daughter and two-year-old son are being held under house arrest.
Since having his office closed down last year Mr. Gao and his family have on an ongoing basis been intimidated and harassed by Chinese security forces. This has included assaults, vehicles trying to run him down and threats made against his family.
Mr. Gao's law office was closed down after he appealed to the Communist authorities to end the brutal violent persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
Mr. Kilgour says he sees Mr. Gao's significance as an advocate for human rights and freedom similar to that of Lech Walesa of the Polish Solidarity movement and Nelson Mandela in his fights against the apartheid regime.
"To treat a person of his principle and character and knowledge this way is nearly beyond belief in the 21 st century," said Mr. Kilgour.
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