Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson’s pop-star girlfriend has written a song dedicated to her mother, who is being tried in China for corruption charges stemming from a government land transfer deal.
For two years, Wanting Qu, a Chinese-Canadian pop star, has been cut off from her mother, Qu Zhang Mingjie, who could face execution for suspected financial crimes.
A former city official in the northeastern city of Harbin, Zhang was arrested in 2014.
Chinese prosecutors have accused Zhang of embezzling the equivalent of nearly $70 million. According to the English-language Chinese newspaper South China Morning Post, government lawyers plan to seek the death penalty.
Last week, Qu, a singer who has a huge following across Asia, released a new single called “Your Girl.” She dedicated the song to her mom.
In a statement, Qu said that she hasn’t been able to talk or “reach” her mother at all in the last two years.
“I hope she can hear the song and it gives her love and strength,” Qu said.
On Twitter, Qu has not commented directly on the trial or her mother in recent months. But in one tweet she writes that the past year and seven months have been a "nightmare."
Woke up sobbing. She died, in my dream. So real... My reality in the last 653 days's been a never ending nightmare.
— Wanting 曲婉婷 (@WantingQu) July 7, 2016
Amnesty International says that Chinese courts execute thousands of people each year, and many of them are convicted of financial crimes.
“This case really brings to the fore everything that is wrong about the death penalty in China and anywhere,” said Alex Neve, secretary general at Amnesty International Canada, told CTV News.
Although Zhang is not a Canadian citizen, Amnesty International would like to see Ottawa step in on her behalf.
“We certainly hope that the Canadian government will find a way to bring some pressure to bear on the Chinese government to ensure that the death penalty does not go ahead (in this case),” Neve said.
Qu is a megastar in Asia, with more than 700 million fans, according to a profile of the singer by CTV’s W5 in 2015.
Raised in Harbin, Qu moved to Vancouver 15 years ago to study English and business, but she ended up pursuing a music career.
At the time, her mother, then a powerful and well-connected Chinese politician, cut her off and stopped sending her financial support.
The pair didn’t speak for a number of years, but in 2014, W5’s cameras captured the pair hugging as they greeted each other at the airport in Harbin. When Qu performed in Harbin, her mother had a front row seat where she sang along to her daughter’s music.
With a report by CTV Vancouver’s Ben Miljure
