Chinese embassy lashes out at Canada over Spavor, Kovrig cases
- Embassy accuses Canadian government of irresponsible comments about the detention of two men and demands the release of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou
- Meng’s case ‘completely different’ from those of Kovrig and Spavor
The Chinese embassy in Canada has urged the Canadian government to stop making “irresponsible remarks” about the detention of two Canadians in China.
Meng was arrested in Canada in December 2018 to face extradition to the US on fraud charges, while Kovrig and Spavor have been accused of spying in China.
“The Chinese side reiterates again that the Canadian side needs to take China’s position seriously, respect the rule of law and China’s judicial sovereignty, and stop making irresponsible remarks about the Kovrig and Spavor cases,” an embassy spokesman said.
“The facts of the two criminals are clear and the evidence is true and sufficient – there is no so-called arbitrary detention.”
Relations between Canada and China plunged after Meng’s arrest, with the subsequent detention of Kovrig and Spavor seen by critics as acts of “hostage diplomacy”.
Beijing has accused Canada of arresting Meng at the behest of Washington to hurt Chinese tech ambitions. It has also insisted the two Canadians face serious espionage charges, while Ottawa has dismissed their arrest as “politically motivated” arbitrary detention.
