Arabia. Harper also took aggressive action against perceived sponsors of terrorism such as Iran, closing the Canadian embassy and expelling the Iranian diplomats in 2012. Refugees and deportations of Iraq War resisters In 2012 the Conservative government introduced reforms to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act which limited refugee claims from those on a list of designated countries of origin, those considered safe by Canada for most persons. Other changes allowed for detention of mass arrivals, following the MV Sun Sea incident. These changes cleared an immigration backlog that had persisted for many years under the previous Liberal government, reducing the processing time from over 1000 days to less than 2 months. All 110 Conservative Party MPs voted against an opposition motion concerning conscientious objectors and the introduction of programs to allow objectors to seek refuge in Canada. On 13 September 2008, this refusal to set up a special program was reiterated by a Conservative Party spokeswoman after the first such conscientious objector (Robin Long) had been deported and sentenced to 15 months in jail. (See Canada and Iraq War resisters for details about two motions in Parliament concerning Canada and Iraq War resisters.) China Consistent in all recent Canadian governments is strong ties to China. In 2013, the Conservative administration approved the acquisition of Nexen by a Chinese firm. It also advanced, as of 2013, FIPA agreement, containing guarantees that Chinese buyer would have the legal right to sue Canada in private settlement of inhibition to its activities by that government (including provincial or municipal for whom the federal government would be liable). The actual extent or limit of these powers would not be publicly known and settlements would be private, in effect a "confidential lawsuit", for instance a future BC or Canadian government reversing a federal approval of the Northern Gateway pipeline. The move received criticism from many quarters, including the often supportive Financial Post and is the subject of a current lawsuit. In other respects, Conservative MPs have sometimes been sharply critical of China particularly over human rights policies and especially treatment of the Falun Gong. These positions are not materially different than those of other parties. Parliamentary democracy Prior to winning election, Stephen Harper openly favoured the alternative vote method of selecting both MPs and Senators. As the successor of the Western Canada-based Canadian Alliance (formerly the Reform Party of Canada), the party supported reform of