China detains third Canadian, Canadian Newspaper ‘National Post’ says

OTTAWA-BEIJING (December 19, 2018)- A third Canadian citizen has been detained in China,  Canada’s National Post newspaper reported today, citing the Canadian foreign ministry.

China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, told a daily news briefing in Beijing that she was unaware of the report.

Two Canadians – former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor – were detained after Canadian police arrested Huawei Technologies Co Ltd’s [HWT.UL] chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, on Dec 1.

Canada’s Global Affairs office told the National Post that they were aware of a detention but did not provide details and did not suggest a connection to Meng’s detention.

The newspaper did not identify the third person to be detained but a source who had spoken to the individual’s family told the newspaper that the individual was not a diplomat or an entrepreneur.

Global Affairs told media sources that consular officials are helping the family of the detained person. The Canadian government has said that there is also no explicit link between Meng Wanzhou’s arrest and the detentions of Kovrig and Spavor.

But Beijing-based Western diplomats and former Canadian diplomats have said they believe the detentions are a form of “tit-for-tat” reprisal by China, in response to Meng’s arrest.

U.S. prosecutors accuse Meng Wanzhou of misleading multinational banks about Iran-linked transactions, putting the banks at risk of violating U.S. sanctions.

Meng Wanzhou, who is the daughter of Huawei’s founder, has said she is innocent. She has been released on bail.

Meng Wanzhou’s father is the founder of Huawei, one of the world’s largest developers of telecommunications and related hardware and software technologies. The Trudeau government has been under some pressure to bar the company from developing its 5G network in Canada, due to security risks cited by some experts.

China has repeatedly called for Canada to correct its mistake and to release Meng or face unspecified consequences.

Both Kovrig and Spavor are being investigated on suspicion of endangering China’s state security, the Chinese government has said.

The Chinese govnerment and state-run media have lashed out against Canada for the arrest, which could dampen Prime Minster Justin Trudeau’s ambitions to launch free trade talks with the country.

In an op-ed in the Globe and Mail, Chinese ambassador Lu Shaye said Meng’s arrest was a “miscarriage of justice,” given that she wasn’t charged under Canadian law.

“The detention of Ms. Meng is not a mere judicial case, but a premeditated political action in which the United States wields its regime power to witch-hunt a Chinese high-tech company out of political consideration,” Lu said. “The reason behind all the bullying behaviours of the United States is that it pursues power politics against other countries relying on its huge advantage in national strength.”