VANCOUVER—Accusations of espionage against two Canadians detained in China are almost certainly a response to Friday’s approval of extradition proceedings against Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, say analysts.

Chinese state news agency Xinhua cited anonymous authorities in a Monday article claiming diplomat-on-leave Michael Kovrig stands accused of spying while on Chinese soil and stealing state secrets with the help of entrepreneur Michael Spavor, publicly linking their cases for the first time.

The announcement — which likewise appeared on the official news website of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission — comes just days after Canadian Minister of Justice David Lametti gave the green light to extradition proceedings for Meng.

The announcement “seems too closely timed to Canada’s announcement of (its) decision to proceed with Ms. Meng’s extradition hearing to be a simple coincidence,” said Charles Burton, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad.

Meng was arrested by Canadian law enforcement at the behest of U.S. authorities during a flight transfer at Vancouver International Airport on Dec. 1. The arrest hurled Canada headlong into a diplomatic conflict with an incensed Beijing. Less than two weeks after Meng’s arrest, Kovrig and Spavor were detained on suspicion of threatening Chinese national security — a move observers called an extralegal action intended to pressure Canada into releasing Meng.

Meng is being sought for extradition to the U.S. to face fraud charges related to violations of trade sanctions against Iran.





Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday it’s “unfortunate” China continues to push forward with the detentions of Kovrig and Spavor, who have been jailed without formal charges being laid and without access to a lawyer since December. Canada is a “rule of law” country and will act as such, Trudeau told reporters in Prince Edward Island.

According to Donald C. Clarke, a professor specializing in Chinese law at the George Washington University Law School in Wash, D.C., Monday’s announcement via Xinhua was intended to put Canada firmly in its place.

“I think it’s very clearly designed to be a response to remind Canada that Kovrig and Spavor are hostages,” Clarke said in an email.

The announcement stops short of detailing the accusations in any meaningful way, he noted, nor does it represent a formal laying of charges.

“So why make the announcement at all? It’s got to be more than coincidence.”

On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang dismissed suggestions there was any contradiction in decrying Meng’s mistreatment on one hand while continuing to imprison a pair of Canadians without charges on the other.

China has strictly observed its obligations as per the China-Canada Consular Agreement, Lu said, according to a translation of his remarks posted to the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website. Kovrig and Spavor have been permitted visits from Canadian officials roughly once a month.

Lu said measures taken against the pair were “compulsory” given the threat they’re suspected of posing to China’s national security — a narrative Beijing has aggressively advanced since the men’s arrest.

“I believe you are well aware that it is common practice for all countries in the world to deal with cases concerning national security in this way,” said Lu.

Meng’s treatment by Canada, meanwhile, constitutes “a grave violation of her legitimate rights and interests and also constitutes a serious political incident,” Lu said.

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Meng has been out on bail since Dec. 11 and is currently living in her family’s multimillion-dollar home in the Dunbar neighbourhood of Vancouver pending extradition proceedings in the B.C. Supreme Court.

A Sunday statement from her lawyers confirmed she had filed a civil suit against the RCMP, Canadian government and Canada Border Services Agency alleging her rights were violated during the course of her arrest.

Meng’s claims of mistreatment during her arrest — while potentially legitimate — are likely part of a larger legal strategy to affect the outcome of her extradition proceedings, legal experts told The Star on Sunday.

In a Monday morning statement, a spokesperson for International Crisis Group — the think tank for which Kovrig works — said staff are aware of the Xinhua report but have received no notice of formal charges against Kovrig.

“Michael’s work for Crisis Group has been entirely transparent and in the open, as all who follow his work can attest,” said Karim Lebhour, Crisis Group spokesperson. “Vague and unsubstantiated accusations against him are unwarranted and unfair.”

Former Canadian ambassadors to China David Mulroney and Guy Saint-Jacques said Monday the reported accusations against Kovrig and Spavor are a clear attempt to amplify pressure on the Canadian government toward Meng’s release.

Saint-Jacques previously told the Star that the Chinese judiciary is a far cry from the independent institution Canadians understand their own courts to be. When facing charges in Chinese courts, he said, “99.9 per cent of the time, you’re found guilty.”

Burton of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute noted that Lu, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, had urged Canada to release Meng and “avoid making more mistakes.” A statement from the Chinese government, meanwhile, suggested “further steps” in Kovrig and Spavor’s prosecution will be taken at “an appropriate time.”

“This suggests that their case continues to be regarded as a bargaining chip for Meng’s release by the Chinese authorities,” Burton said.

“Tragically, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig could be heading for life imprisonment in China, or even for one or both a sentence of death, depending on the outcome of Meng Wanzhou’s extradition process.”

Meng is scheduled to appear in court in Vancouver on Wednesday in relation to her extradition proceedings.

With files from The Canadian Press

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