China has executed four Canadians over drug-related convictions, Canada’s foreign affairs minister said Wednesday, a development that threatens to worsen an already tense relationship between the countries.

加拿大外交部长于周三表示，中国以涉毒罪名处决了四名加拿大人。这一事态发展可能会使两国之间本已紧张的关系进一步恶化。

Mélanie Joly, the Canadian minister, told reporters that she condemned the executions, and that the government would still seek clemency for others.

加拿大外交部长赵美兰(Mélanie Joly)告诉记者，她谴责了这些处决行为，政府仍将为其他人寻求宽大处理。

“We will continue to engage with China as we’ll continue to not only strongly condemn but also ask for leniency for other Canadians that are facing similar situations,” Ms. Joly said.

“我们将继续与中国接触，我们不仅会继续强烈谴责，还会继续为其他面临类似情况的加拿大人争取宽大处理，”赵美兰说。

The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa did not provide details on the executions but defended Beijing’s strict penalties on drug-related crimes.

中国驻渥太华大使馆没有提供处决的细节，但为北京对涉毒犯罪的严厉惩罚进行了辩护。

The executions were first reported by The Globe and Mail. The newspaper said that the executions had taken place earlier this year, citing Canada’s Department of Global Affairs as saying so on Wednesday in response to a question from the news outlet.

《环球邮报》首先报道了这些处决。该报援引加拿大全球事务部周三在回应该报提问时的话称，这些处决是在今年早些时候进行的。

Ms. Joly told reporters that she and the former prime minister, Justin Trudeau, had asked Beijing for leniency in recent months to try to prevent the executions. She said those involved were dual nationals of Canada and China. (China, however, does not recognize dual citizenship.)

赵美兰告诉记者，她和前总理特鲁多最近几个月曾请求北京宽大处理，以阻止处决。她说，涉案人员拥有加拿大和中国双重国籍。（但中国不承认双重国籍。）

The Globe and Mail cited a statement from Ottawa condemning the killings as “inconsistent with basic human dignity.” The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The New York Times.

《环球邮报》援引渥太华的一份声明，谴责这些处决“不符合人类的基本尊严”。该部门没有立即回应《纽约时报》的置评请求。

John Kamm, the founder of the Dui Hua Foundation, a human rights group in San Francisco that has campaigned for people on death row in China, said he had been helping to lobby China on behalf of the four individuals but was unable to share their details for privacy reasons.

旧金山人权组织对话基金会的创始人康原(John Kamm)表示，他一直在代表这四个人帮助游说中国，但出于隐私原因无法分享他们的详细信息。对话基金会一直在为中国的死刑犯争取利益。

He said the four were men and that their cases were handled in the southern province of Guangdong. Mr. Kamm noted that it was “highly unusual” for China to execute four foreigners within a short time frame.

他说，这四人都是男性，他们的案件在南方的广东省处理。康原指出，中国在短时间内处决四名外国人是“极不寻常的”。

The four Canadians’ cases had been under judicial review in China for two years before they were executed, Mr. Kamm said.

康原说，四名加拿大人被处决前，他们的案件在中国接受了两年的司法审查。

Canada’s relationship with China has deteriorated since late 2018, when the Chinese government jailed Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, two Canadians in China. That move came after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, an executive at the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, in Vancouver, at the request of the United States government.

加拿大与中国的关系自2018年底以来出现恶化，当时中国政府监禁了迈克尔·斯帕弗和康明凯(Michael Kovrig)这两名在中国的加拿大人。此前，应美国政府的要求，加拿大在温哥华逮捕了中国电信巨头华为的高管孟晚舟。

China’s detention of Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor was widely condemned in Canada as hostage diplomacy. In 2021, Mr. Spavor and Mr. Kovrig were released after Ms. Meng was allowed to return to China.

中国监禁康明凯和斯帕弗的行为在加拿大受到广泛谴责，被视为人质外交。2021年，在孟晚舟获准返回中国后，康明凯和斯帕弗获释。

In recent years, the former prime minister, Mr. Trudeau, and senior members of his cabinet have increasingly criticized China publicly over human rights issues. Concerns have also grown over Chinese interference in Canadian affairs, including allegations that candidates in an election had received secret, illegal funding from China.

近年来，前总理特鲁多及其内阁高级成员越来越多地在人权问题方面公开批评中国。人们对中国干涉加拿大事务的担忧也与日俱增，其中包括指控某次选举中的候选人接受了来自中国的秘密非法资助。

Ms. Joly, the foreign minister, had called China an “increasingly disruptive global power” and warned Canadian companies about the potential risks in doing business there.

外交部长赵美兰称中国是一个“日益具有破坏性的全球大国”，并警告加拿大公司在中国开展业务的潜在风险。

More recently, Canada has faced growing concerns that Chinese goods were flooding into Canada. Mr. Trudeau last year announced that Canada would impose 100 percent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, aligning Canada with the United States.

最近，加拿大越来越担心中国商品涌入加拿大。特鲁多去年宣布，加拿大将对中国电动汽车征收100%的关税，从而使加拿大与美国保持一致。

On Wednesday, Ms. Joly said that the details of the four Canadians who were executed were not being revealed at the request of their families. She said they had been facing criminal charges linked to drugs, according to China.

周三，赵美兰表示是应家人要求不公布四名被处决的加拿大人的详情。她说，据中国报道，他们面临的刑事指控与毒品有关。

The Chinese Embassy, without providing details, said that the cases were handled according to law. “The facts of the crimes committed by the Canadian nationals involved in the cases are clear, and the evidence is solid and sufficient,” it said. The embassy urged Canada to respect China’s judicial sovereignty and “stop making irresponsible remarks.”

中国大使馆表示，这些案件是依法处理的，但没有提供细节。声明称：“涉案加拿大公民犯罪事实清楚，证据确凿充分。”使馆敦促加拿大尊重中国司法主权，“停止发表不负责任的言论。”

At least one other Canadian faces the death penalty in China, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, who has been convicted of drug trafficking. He had initially been sentenced to 15 years in prison. But in 2019 he was handed a death sentence in a one-day retrial, one month after the Canadian authorities had arrested Ms. Meng, the Huawei executive.

至少还有一名加拿大人在中国面临死刑，此人名叫罗伯特·劳埃德·谢伦伯格，被判犯有贩毒罪，最初被判处15年有期徒刑。但2019年加拿大当局逮捕华为高管孟晚舟一个月后，他在为期一天的重审中被判处死刑。

“Foreigners, like every person in China, are at risk of all kinds of arbitrary detentions and unfair trials,” said Maya Wang, the associate China director at Human Rights Watch. “The universe of cases is really big and we only hear about some of them occasionally.”

“就像中国的每一个人一样，外国人面临着各种任意拘留和不公正审判的风险，”人权观察组织中国部副主任王松莲说。“案件的范围非常广泛，我们只是偶尔听到其中一些。”

After the release of the two Michaels, people had hoped for a thaw in relations, but that has not taken place on a substantive scale, said Lynette Ong, a professor in Chinese politics at the University of Toronto.

多伦多大学研究中国政治的教授王慧玲表示，在康明凯和斯帕弗获释后，人们曾希望两国关系解冻，但这并没有在实质层面实现。

The timing of these executions is a way for Beijing to keep up the pressure and keep up the leverage over Canada in bilateral discussions, Ms. Ong said.

王慧玲说，这个时候处决犯人是北京在双边谈判中对加拿大保持压力和影响力的一种方式。