Canada-China Relations Hit Bottom of Arrests (File)
Ottawa, Canada:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticized China’s detention of two Canadians for “political gain” on Monday following charges of spying on them.
His remarks came after the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of China announced on Friday that he had filed charges against former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor, “suspected of foreign espionage” and “disclosure. of state secrets. “
The decision, 18 months after their arrest in a conflict between the two countries, came just weeks after a Canadian judge decided that the procedures for the extradition of Chinese chief executive Huawei Meng Wanzhou to the United States would continue.
Canada-China relations have hit the bottom of the arrests.
During his daily briefing on Monday, Trudeau said: “This arbitrary detention of Canadian citizens is unacceptable and deeply worrying, not only for Canadians but for people around the world who see China using arbitrary detentions as a means for political ends. . “
Trudeau said “we deplore … a political decision made by the Chinese government” which continues to put pressure on Canada.
Beijing has also blocked billions of dollars in Canadian agricultural exports.
“Pawns in a larger geopolitical game”
Trudeau said last week that he was “disappointed” that Canadians were officially charged with spying, and his MP, Chrystia Freeland, said that she was “heartbroken and really angry” at the Beijing action.
Former Ambassador to China Guy Saint-Jacques urged Ottawa to take a more aggressive stance, “and no longer just speak softly diplomatically.”
In an interview with CBC public broadcaster, Kovrig’s wife Vina Nadjibulla agreed that more pressure on China was necessary because “words are no longer enough”.
But she said, “I wish we were strong, but not antagonistic. We cannot win a race down with China, we cannot become aggressive and confrontational because confrontation is not a strategy. “
Nadjibulla insisted that her husband and Spavor are innocent and “pawns in a bigger geopolitical game”.
It’s “heartbreaking,” she said, knowing that Kovrig is languishing in a cell that he described in his letters to herself and her family as a “concrete jungle.”
“Basically, he was confined to a single cell all this time. He did not go out. He did not see a tree or breathe fresh air for 560 days,” she said. .
“The allies are extremely worried”
Earlier on Monday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanded that China release the two Canadians and said in a statement that his country “rejects the use of these wrongful detentions to coerce Canada”.
Australia, Britain, France, Germany, the EU and others have also lobbied China over the detention of Canadians.
Trudeau thanked his allies for “denouncing” Beijing’s use of what observers called “hostage diplomacy”.
“Our allies around the world,” he said, “are extremely concerned for the fate of Canadians because they know very well that it may be their turn someday.”
Kovrig and Spavor were arrested in December 2018, nine days after Meng’s arrest in Canada on a U.S. warrant.
The United States wants to try her for fraud related to the alleged violations by the Chinese telecommunications giant of the American sanctions against Iran.
Meng, the eldest daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, is on bail and lives in a mansion in Vancouver, while the two Canadians remain in China’s opaque penal system.
“It is truly unfortunate that China continues to punish Canadians for a decision by our independent judiciary in the Meng case,” said Trudeau.
Former senior Canadian officials have offered a prisoner swap, intervening at the extradition hearing to release Meng in exchange for the repatriation of the two Canadians.
Nadjibulla said he had obtained legal advice that the Minister of Justice of Canada could intervene at any time to cancel Meng’s extradition, but “whether the minister should act is a second question”.
Trudeau responded to the idea bluntly: “No. We don’t envision that.”
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
