{"id":226349,"date":"2020-12-10T16:03:54","date_gmt":"2020-12-11T00:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?p=226349"},"modified":"2022-09-09T18:21:36","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T01:21:36","slug":"detention-of-canadians-kovrig-and-spavor-reaches-two-year-mark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2020\/12\/detention-of-canadians-kovrig-and-spavor-reaches-two-year-mark\/","title":{"rendered":"Detention of Canadians Kovrig and Spavor Reaches Two Year Mark"},"content":{"rendered":"

December 10, 2020 marks both international Human Rights Day and the two year anniversary of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig\u2019s detentions in China. The two Canadians were seized by Chinese police ten days after Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver. She is currently under house arrest in Canada while undergoing extradition proceedings to the United States on fraud charges related to Huawei\u2019s business with Iran. It is widely believed that Spavor and Kovrig were taken as hostages to facilitate Meng\u2019s release. At The New York Times, Javier C. Hern\u00e1ndez and Dan Bilefsky reported on Spavor and Kovrig\u2019s lengthy detention and the charges against them<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

Some former Canadian parliamentarians and diplomats as well as legal experts have argued that Canada\u2019s justice minister should intervene to free Ms. Meng, saying that could clear the way for the release of Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor. But Mr. Trudeau has rejected such a move, saying it would undermine the independence of Canadian courts and encourage China or other countries to arbitrarily arrest Canadians.<\/p>\n

[\u2026]David Mulroney, a former Canadian ambassador to China, said Beijing was not acting in good faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery step in the legal process against Ms. Meng is mirrored by a fake Chinese process during which China is retaliating,\u201d Mr. Mulroney said. \u201cMeng is a princess in their system \u2014 and they are saying: \u2018How dare Canada hold her? And we will take a few pawns as ransom for her.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u2026] The Communist Party has a history of holding foreigners on spurious charges as a way to extract concessions from companies and governments overseas. And while officials have denied that China takes part in \u201chostage diplomacy,\u201d some analysts have hinted that the fates of Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor might be linked to that of Ms. Meng. [Source<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

During a December 10 press conference, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Hua Chunying stated that Kovrig and Spavor had been \u201carrested, indicted and tried,\u201d a surprising statement as no trial had been announced. A November 30 article published by state media outlet Global Times used the same \u201carrested, prosecuted and tried\u201d formula<\/a>. The BBC has reported that Hua\u2019s statement was a \u201ctranslation error,\u201d albeit her second such error this month<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

However, Canadian diplomats in China indicated they had not been able to confirm with court authorities that a trial had taken place – and several hours later, Canada’s foreign ministry told the BBC that it had spoken directly with the foreign ministry and confirmed that “there has been no development in the cases of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor”.<\/p>\n

It is not the first time a foreign ministry briefing has sparked confusion. On 1 December, Ms Hua also said that the two men had been “put… on trial” – but again, Chinese courts later confirmed that their trials had not taken place, Canadian sources said [Source<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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For the past two years, we\u2019ve been working tirelessly to secure the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor – and we\u2018ll continue to do so until they\u2019re safe at home. We\u2019ll keep standing up for them and standing with their families. https:\/\/t.co\/Gb076K8BAs<\/a><\/p>\n

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) December 9, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n