The Real Shame in a Diplomat’s Illegal Arrest

Who is embarrassed in the Houston diplomatic issue?

If the case of a diplomat being handcuffed had not happened in a Western country, the internet opinion would have probably been different. Yet this happened in the U.S. and, if one is not careful, public opinion could be distorted—especially in this case, as the car being driven had no license plate, leading to confusion over the identities of diplomats and civilians.

There are also reports that “[the Houston police] chased Yu into the building [Chinese Consulate] and placed him in handcuffs”. There are also fraudulent accounts that omit the fact that the Chinese consulate was entered to arrest the diplomat, but instead emphasize that the U.S. police was fulfilling its duties. Purely because they are U.S. police, these law enforcement officers, who had no consideration for international law, are actually considered to be models of strict law enforcement. I am speechless!

Driving a car with no license plate could be due to several reasons. First, the license plate could have been stolen. In Houston it is common for license plates to be stolen and it is possible that the diplomat drove the car without realizing the license plate was gone. Yet, regardless of whether he knew there was no license plate, the police were correct to pursue the diplomat since the identity of the diplomat was unknown. However, local security issues cannot be used as an excuse to escape responsibility.

Second, the license plate could have been purposely removed. If this is the case, everyone would know why. If the diplomat was driving around without a license plate because he knew he could not be arrested, that would explain why he did not stop his car for the police. Theoretically, if a diplomat declares his identity, even the police are not allowed to search the car. However if the identification were taken during the search, I’m afraid one would have to suffer in silence. The Chinese deputy consul in Houston would definitely have a greater understanding of this situation than most.

It is commonly known that official cars are used to having their own way in China and, in this case, the bad behavior continued overseas. The ability of a deputy consul to adapt to life in the superpower is definitely strong. In fact, it is his return to China that presents the real challenge in adapting. Ordinary people are well aware that once a diplomat identifies himself, he is able to leave, so how could the diplomat himself not know this? Yet he did not identify himself. So, what does that imply? Does that mean you know foreign rules better than him?

The Americans can accuse him of not stopping his car for examination, yet we cannot, at least when the truth is still unclear. Generally such incidents will not have a truth, unless U.S.-China relations are completely coming to an end—though all know this is not the case. Therefore we cannot fault our diplomat at all, nor can we verbally abuse him. What I really want to say is not that it is shameful that the Houston police have no consideration for international law, but that Houston’s response to this diplomatic incident has shamed some Chinese.

It is fair to say that regardless of the reason for no license plate, it is legitimate for police to pursue cars on the road, even if the license plate was rigged by secret agents. This could have led to a situation where the license plate was present when the car was boarded and then fell off when the car was started.

Others can reprimand us for this but we ourselves cannot do so. The police barging into the Chinese consulate, using violence and arresting people demonstrated that the U.S. has become completely unreasonable. According to the relevant conventions:

1) U.S. police are not allowed in the consulate, unless in emergency situations where they are given permission to protect the consulate and the safety of the diplomats. Yet apparently this was not the case. Universal values argue that this would in fact be acceptable when pursuing a terrorist. The problem is, even the U.S. itself wouldn’t dare to use this excuse as the acts of violence that happened at the consulate occurred after the diplomat revealed his identity.

2) The 29th Article of Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations:

The person of a diplomatic agent shall be inviolable. He shall not be liable to any form of arrest or detention. The receiving state shall treat him with due respect and shall take all appropriate steps to prevent any attack on his person, freedom or dignity.

3) The 31st Article of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations: A diplomatic agent shall enjoy immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving state. In other words, even if there is sufficient evidence showing that the diplomat had violated the law in the receiving state, the American police have no right to enter the consulate to arrest. There is no dispute over this international rule.

4) Consulates are almost like the territory of a specific state, and it should not be easily accessible to outsiders. The U.S. side argues that it did not know that the building is a consulate. The possibility of such an excuse being truthful is almost zero. It is impossible that the local police did not know that they had entered the Chinese consulate. With the several patrol cars that followed, no police realized that it is a Chinese consulate? Can you believe that?

Still there are some people who believe this, and these Chinese mislead the public and convince other Chinese of their view. This is totally odd. However, it is not as bizarre as the fact that even as Americans confess that the Iraq war was a mistake, some in China still argue over this. Regardless, the U.S. had to apologize for its mistakes; the law will not let you shirk responsibility just because you say you are “unaware.”