- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Conservative
- Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan
- Alberta
- Voting Attendance: 67%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $170,231.20
- Government Page
- Jan/30/24 10:23:22 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling is calling for the release of an important democracy and human rights activist in Hong Kong. Ms. Chow Hang-tung, vice-chairwoman of Hong Kong Alliance, has been involved for many years in advocacy on human rights issues in China and Hong Kong. She has fought diligently for democracy and has encouraged Hong Kongers to participate in the pro-democracy social movement. She was arrested, charged under the national security law and sentenced to 22 months in prison as part of an effort to crush freedom and diversity of opinion in Hong Kong. She has also been awarded the outstanding democracy award by the Chinese Democracy Education Foundation.
Petitioners want to see the Government of Canada advocate for her release and to see all charges dropped, as well as advocate for the Hong Kong democracy movement and for the release of other unjustly detained political prisoners.
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- Jun/13/23 1:18:09 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition draws attention to the ongoing detention of Huseyin Celil. The petitioners note that although Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were released after 1,000 days of unjust detention, there are other Canadians detained in China, including Mr. Celil, who has been detained for well over 5,000 days.
Mr. Celil is a Canadian citizen and a Uyghur human rights activist who has been detained for supporting the rights of Uyghurs. The Chinese government has, sadly, refused to recognize Mr. Celil's Canadian citizenship and has denied him access to lawyers, family and Canadian officials. He was coerced into signing a forced confession, and he underwent an unlawful and unfair trial. The petitioners further note that evidence makes it increasingly clear that Uyghurs are being subjected to an ongoing genocide and that Canada has an obligation to act to respond to this genocide.
The petitioners want the Government of Canada to demand that the Chinese government recognize Mr. Celil's Canadian citizenship and provide him with consular and legal service in accordance with international law, and to formally state that securing the release of Mr. Celil is a priority of the Canadian government of equal concern as the unjust detention of the two Michaels was. The petitioners want the government to appoint a special envoy to work on Mr. Celil's case and to seek the assistance of the Biden administration and other allies in obtaining the release of Mr. Celil, actions that were taken in the previous cases referenced.
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- Jun/5/23 6:08:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition highlights the ongoing, horrific and unjust detention of Mr. Huseyin Celil.
The petitioners note that they were very pleased to see the release of the two Michaels who had been detained for 1,000 days in China. They note that Mr. Celil has been detained for over 5,000 days, that he is a Canadian citizen and a person of Uyghur ethnic origin who had been vocal on advocating for the human rights of Uyghurs. Of course, Uyghurs face ongoing genocide, as has been recognized by the House and most of the parties in this place.
The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to take a number of steps to support the human rights of Uyghurs and to seek the release of Mr. Celil: demand that the Chinese government recognize Mr. Celil's Canadian citizenship and provide him with consular and legal services in accordance with international law; formally state that the release of Mr. Celil from Chinese detainment and his return to Canada is a priority of the Canadian government of equal concern to the unjust detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor; appoint a special envoy to work on securing Mr. Celil's release; and seek the assistance of the Biden administration and other allies around the world in obtaining Mr. Celil's release.
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- May/15/23 4:36:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, next I would like to table a petition that calls for the release of Mr. Huseyin Celil. Mr. Celil is a Canadian citizen who has been unjustly imprisoned in China for over 5,000 days. He is a Canadian citizen and a Uyghur activist who has been detained in China as a result of his advocacy for justice and for the human rights of Uyghurs.
The petitioners note that he was taken from Uzbekistan and unlawfully sent to China. The Chinese government has refused to recognize Mr. Celil's Canadian citizenship and denied him access to lawyers, family and Canadian officials. He was coerced into signing a confession and underwent an unlawful and unfair trial.
Evidence, the petitioners note, now clearly shows that the Chinese government's treatment of Uyghurs meets most if not all of the criteria of genocide, as outlined in the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to demand that the Chinese government recognize Mr. Celil's Canadian citizenship and provide him with consular and legal services, in accordance with international law; to formally state that the release of Mr. Celil from Chinese detainment and his return to Canada are a priority of the Canadian government of equal concern as the unjust detentions of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor; to appoint a special envoy to work on securing Mr. Celil's release; and to seek the assistance of the Biden administration and other allies around the world in obtaining Mr. Celil's release, as was done in the other cases of arbitrary detention that were mentioned.
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- Apr/25/23 10:10:17 a.m.
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The next petition I am presenting deals with the ongoing arbitrary and illegal detention of Huseyin Celil. Mr. Celil is a Canadian citizen who has been detained in China, sadly, for substantially more time than Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor were detained. They were released after an unjust detention of 1,000 days. Mr. Celil, at the time of the writing of this petition, had already been in detention for more than 5,000 days. He is a Canadian citizen, an activist for Uyghur human rights and a father of four sons, the youngest of whom has sadly never met his father because Mr. Celil's wife was pregnant at the time of his detention.
The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to take the following actions to seek to address the situation: demand that the Chinese government recognize Mr. Celil's Canadian citizenship and provide him with consular and legal services in accordance with international law; formally state that the release of Huseyin Celil from Chinese detainment and his return to Canada are a priority of the Canadian government of equal concern as the unjust detentions of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor; appoint a special envoy to work on securing Mr. Celil's release; and seek the assistance of the Biden administration and other allies around the world in obtaining Mr. Celil's release, as was done in the case of the arbitrary detention of the two Michaels.
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- Feb/6/23 6:41:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am presenting is with respect to the ongoing detention of Mr. Huseyin Celil, a Canadian citizen who has been detained in China for well over a decade.
The petitioners share a bit of Mr. Celil's background. He is a Canadian Uighur human rights activist who was detained because of his work supporting the political and religious rights of Uighurs. He is a Canadian citizen. He was taken from Uzbekistan. This is happening in a context where this House has determined that the Government of China is committing an ongoing genocide against Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims.
The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to fight for the release of Mr. Celil, in particular to push the Government of China to recognize his Canadian citizenship and provide him with consular and legal services in accordance with international law, and to formally state that securing the release of Mr. Celil from Chinese detainment and his return to Canada is a priority of the Canadian government of equal concern as the unjust detentions of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. The petitioners want to see the government appoint a special envoy to work on securing Mr. Celil's release, and to seek the assistance of the Biden administration and other allies around the world in obtaining Mr. Celil's release.
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- Jan/31/23 10:16:46 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling speaks to the ongoing detention of Huseyin Celil, a Canadian of Uighur origin and human rights activist who is detained currently in China, and has been for well over a decade, for his action in support of the political and religious rights of Uighurs. Mr. Celil is a Canadian citizen who was taken from Uzbekistan into China, and he has been detained since. He has never had an opportunity to meet his youngest son, who is now well into his teenage years.
The petitioners note that evidence now makes clear that the Chinese government's treatment of the Uighurs meets most, if not all, of the criteria for genocide, as outlined in the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to take the following actions: to demand that the Chinese government recognize Mr. Celil's Canadian citizenship and provide him with consular and legal services in accordance with international law; to formally state that the release of Huseyin Celil from Chinese detainment and his return to Canada is a priority of the Canadian government of equal concern as the unjust past detentions of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor; to appoint a special envoy to work on securing Mr. Celil's release; and to seek the assistance of the Biden administration and other allies around the world in obtaining Mr. Celil's release, similar to what happened with the case of the two Michaels.
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- Jan/30/23 3:27:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the second petition I am tabling highlights the ongoing detention of Huseyin Celil, a Canadian citizen detained in China for over a decade and a half. The Chinese government has refused to accept Mr. Celil's Canadian citizenship and continues to deny access to lawyers, family members and Canadian officials. We must continue to be persistent in highlighting this case and calling for his release.
Petitioners want to see the Government of Canada demand the recognition of Huseyin Celil's Canadian citizenship and provide him with consular and legal services in accordance with international law, to formally state that the release of Huseyin Celil is a priority of the Canadian government of equal concern to the unjust detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, to appoint a special envoy to work on securing Mr. Celil's release and to seek the assistance of the Biden administration and other allies around the world in obtaining Mr. Celil's release.
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- Dec/1/22 10:16:24 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling deals with the case of the ongoing arbitrary detention in China of Huseyin Celil, a Canadian citizen of Uighur origin. Mr. Celil is a Canadian Uighur rights activist. He was originally detained in Uzbekistan for supporting the political and religious rights of Uighurs and was then illegally rendered to China. The Chinese government continues to deny his Canadian citizenship.
The petitioners note that they were pleased to see the release of the two Michaels, and they want to see the government as actively engaged on the case for Huseyin Celil as it was on those two previous cases.
The petitioners ask the Government of Canada to demand that the Chinese government recognize Mr. Celil's Canadian citizenship and provide him with consular and legal services in accordance with international law; to formally state that the release of Mr. Celil from Chinese detainment and his return to Canada is a priority of equal concern as the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor from unjust detention; to appoint a special envoy to work on securing Mr. Celil's release; and to seek the assistance of the Biden administration and other allies around the world in obtaining Mr. Celil's release, as done with the two Michaels.
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- Nov/30/22 3:59:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, next I am tabling a petition that draws attention to the situation of Huseyin Celil. Huseyin Celil has been detained in China for over 5,000 days. Petitioners note that they were very pleased to see the release of the two Michaels from unjust and arbitrary detention in China. They would like to see the Government of Canada make similar efforts to secure the release of Huseyin Celil.
The petitioners note that Celil is a Canadian citizen; that he was taken from Uzbekistan to China; that the Chinese government has continued not to recognize his Canadian citizenship and denied him access to lawyers, family and Canadian officials; and that he was coerced into signing a confession and underwent an unlawful and unfair trial. Evidence now makes clear as well that the Chinese government's treatment of Uighurs meets most, if not all the criteria for genocide, as outlined in the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Mr. Celil was active in promoting the human rights of Uighurs prior to his arrest and detention.
Petitioners call on the government to take a number of specific steps: to demand that the Chinese government recognize Mr. Celil's Canadian citizenship and provide him with consular and legal services in accordance with international law; to formally state that the release of Mr. Celil from Chinese detainment and his return to Canada are a priority of the Canadian government of equal concern as the unjust detentions of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor; to appoint a special envoy to work on securing Mr. Celil's release; and to seek the assistance of the Biden administration and other allies on working to obtain that release, as we have seen in the past.
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- Nov/28/22 3:27:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling highlights the continuing detention and human rights abuses faced by Huseyin Celil. Mr. Celil is a Canadian citizen. He has been detained in China for well over a decade, and the Chinese government has not recognized his Canadian citizenship. At times, sadly, there have even been mixed messages on that here in this place, but I think we have gotten that point squared away.
The Chinese government has continued to detain Mr. Celil, and petitioners have the following asks of the government. They want the government to demand the Chinese government recognize Huseyin Celil's Canadian citizenship and provide him with consular and legal services in accordance with international law. They also want the government to formally state that the release of Mr. Celil from Chinese detainment and his return to Canada are a priority of the Canadian government, of equal concern as the unjust detention of the two Michaels. The petitioners want to see the Government of Canada appoint a special envoy to work on securing Mr. Celil's release and then also seek the assistance of the Biden administration, as happened in the case of the two Michaels.
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- Oct/18/22 1:12:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition relates to another human rights issue involving the People's Republic of China. It deals with the ongoing, arbitrary and illegal detention of Canadian citizen Huseyin Celil.
The petitioners note the significant amount of public conversation and government conversation, rightly so, around the arbitrary and illegal detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. They also note that like the two Michaels, Mr. Celil is a Canadian citizen and is facing ongoing arbitrary detention.
Mr. Celil is a human rights activist detained in China for supporting the rights of Uighurs. He was taken from Uzbekistan, illegally rendered to China and he has been in detention there for over a decade and a half.
The petitioners have a number of asks of the government. They want to see the government push and demand that the Chinese government recognize Mr. Celil's Canadian citizenship and provide him with consular and legal services in accordance with international law. They want the government to formally state that the release of Mr. Celil from Chinese detainment and his return to Canada is a priority of the Canadian government, of equal concern as the unjust detentions of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.
The petitioners want the government to appoint a special envoy to secure Mr. Cecil's release and also to, as it has done with other cases, to seek the assistance of the Biden administration and other allies around the world in obtaining Mr. Cecil's release.
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- Sep/21/22 3:48:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the third petition that I am tabling highlights the ongoing detention of Mr. Huseyin Celil, who is a Canadian citizen in China.
The petitioners note that they are pleased to see the release of the two Michaels, but they want to see this government advocate for Mr. Celil and other detained Canadian citizens with the same level of intensity that was applied in terms of advocacy for the release of the two Michaels.
In particular, the asks of this petition are, first, that the Government of Canada demand that the Chinese government recognize Huseyin Celil's Canadian citizenship and provide him with consular and legal services in accordance with international law; second, that it formally state that the release of Huseyin Celil from Chinese detainment and his return to Canada is a priority of the Canadian government of equal concern to the unjust detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor; and third, that the government appoint a special envoy to work on securing Mr. Huseyin Celil's release. The petitioners also want the government to seek the assistance of the Biden administration and other allies around the world in obtaining Mr. Celil's release, again similar to the practice used in the case of the two Michaels.
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- Jun/16/22 10:30:01 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, by popular demand, the final petition I am tabling today is on the particular situation of a Canadian of Uighur origin, Huseyin Celil, who continues to be unjustly detained in China. The petitioners note that Canadians were very pleased to see the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor after 1,000 days of unjust detention, but note that there are at least 115 Canadians still being detained in China, including Huseyin Celil, who has been detained for over 5,000 days.
Mr. Celil is a Canadian Uighur human rights activist. He is being detained in China for supporting the political and religious rights of Uighurs. He is a Canadian citizen who was taken and sent to China while travelling on a Canadian passport to Uzbekistan. The Chinese government has refused to accept Mr. Celil's Canadian citizenship, and he has been denied access to lawyers, family and Canadian officials. He was coerced into signing a confession and underwent an unlawful and unfair trial.
The evidence makes it clear that the Chinese government's treatment of Uighurs meets most if not all of the criteria for genocide outlined in the UN convention and Canada must not remain silent. The particular ask of the petitioners in this case are that the Government of Canada demand that the Chinese government recognize Huseyin Celil's Canadian citizenship and provide him with consular and legal services in accordance with international law, formerly state that the release of Mr. Celil from Chinese detainment and his return to Canada is a priority of the Canadian government, of equal concern as the unjust detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, and appoint a special envoy to work on securing Mr. Celil's release.
Finally, the petitioners want to us to seek the assistance of the—
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- Jun/6/22 3:31:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today we have on the Hill with us Mr. Enes Kanter Freedom, who is an NBA player and a well-known human rights activist. In the process of welcoming him, I am pleased to present this first petition, which is calling on the House to formally recognize that Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims in China have been and are being subjected to an ongoing genocide.
Petitioners note the various forms in which this genocide is taking place, including forced sterilization, forced abortion and other acts of violence, such as arbitrary detention, separation of children from families, invasive surveillance, putting people in concentration camps and forced organ harvesting.
In addition to asking the government to recognize the Uighur genocide, petitioners want to see the government use the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act, the Magnitsky act, to sanction those responsible for the heinous crimes being committed against the Uighur people.
The second petition I am tabling is also in relation to Uighur human rights. In particular, it highlights the case of Mr. Huseyin Celil, who is a Canadian citizen of Uighur ethnic origin. He is currently detained in China. He faces arbitrary detention. He has been there for over a decade and a half. Petitioners were pleased to see the release of the two Michaels. They want to see the Government of Canada make similar efforts with respect to seeking the release of Mr. Celil, who is in a similar situation, facing ongoing arbitrary detention by the Chinese Communist Party.
In particular, the petitioners want the government to demand that the Chinese government recognize Mr. Celil's Canadian citizenship and provide him with consular and legal services in accordance with international law; formally state that the release of Mr. Celil from detainment and return to Canada is a priority for the Canadian government, of concern equal to the unjust detention of the two Michaels; appoint a special envoy to work on securing Mr. Celil's release; and seek the assistance of the Biden administration and other allies around the world in obtaining Mr. Celil's release.
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- May/11/22 4:13:25 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition I am tabling is on the ongoing detention of Huseyin Celil: a Canadian citizen who has been detained in China for more than a decade and a half and has never met his youngest son, who is now a teenager. His case has moved many Canadians, but the petitioners also note the need for it to get more attention from the government, on par with the attention that has been given to other consular cases of Canadians detained in China.
The specific asks of the petitioners are that the government demand that the Chinese government recognize Huseyin Celil's Canadian citizenship and provide him with consular and legal services, in accordance with international law; formally state that his release from Chinese detention, and his return to Canada, is a priority of equal concern to the unjust detention of the two Michaels; appoint a special envoy to work on securing Mr. Celil's case and seek the assistance of the Biden administration and other allies in attaining his release. That was something we saw in the case of the two Michaels, as well, but does not appear to have occurred in the case of Mr. Celil.
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- Apr/6/22 3:45:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition is seeking to bring more attention to the situation of Mr. Huseyin Celil. He is a Canadian citizen who has been detained in China for well over a decade now. The petitioners note, and are pleased by, the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. They want to see the government really confront the Huseyin Celil case at the same level, and with the same level of energy and intensity, as was brought to the discussion around the detention of the two Michaels.
The petitioners demand that the Chinese government recognize Huseyin Celil's Canadian citizenship and provide him with consular and legal services, in accordance with international law; they want to the government to formally state that the release of Huseyin Celil from Chinese detention, and his return to Canada, is a priority for the Government of Canada that is of equal concern as the unjust detention of the two Michaels; and they want the government to appoint a special envoy to work on securing Mr. Celil's release, as well as to seek the assistance of international partners, such as the Biden administration. The government had been active on the case of the two Michaels and seeking the support of international partners on that, and the petitioners want to see the government do the same with respect to the case of Mr. Celil.
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- Apr/4/22 6:34:42 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition I am tabling highlights the situation of Mr. Huseyin Celil, a Canadian who continues to be detained in the People's Republic of China. The petitioners note that they are happy to see that Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were released after 1,000 days of unjust detention, but there are at least 115 Canadians still being detained in China, which includes Mr. Celil. He is a Uighur human rights activist and Canadian citizen who was taken from Uzbekistan and sent to China. The Chinese government has refused to recognize the obvious fact that he is a Canadian citizen and has denied him access to family, lawyers and any kind of consular services.
The petitioners want to see the government elevate this case. There has been relatively less engagement on this case than some other consular cases. They want the government to demand that the Chinese government recognize Mr. Celil's Canadian citizenship and provide him with consular and legal services in accordance with international law, to formally state that the release of Mr. Celil from Chinese detainment and his return to Canada are a priority of concern equal to the unjust detentions of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, to appoint a special envoy to work on securing his release and to seek the assistance of the Biden administration and other allies around the world in achieving his release.
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- Mar/4/22 12:19:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a clear matter of international law that prisoners of war should be released when hostilities end. Petitioners in this case are following up on the terrible 44-day war in the Nagorno-Karabakh, or the Republic of Artsakh, noting the fact that there are still, today, Armenian prisoners of war who are detained by Azeri authorities. Various reports, including by Human Rights Watch, have detailed the deplorable conditions facing these prisoners of war.
The petitioners condemn this ongoing, illegal detention of prisoners of war and call on the Government of Canada to do all it can to advocate for the release of these captives, condemn the ongoing incitement to violence, denounce the aggressive rhetoric from Turkey and Azerbaijan, and provide humanitarian assistance to those who have been affected by this conflict.
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