Missing Canadians raise stakes in three-way dispute

‘Detentions’ add to US-China-Ottawa row

BEIJING: The apparent detentions of two Canadian men in China this week have raised the stakes in a three-way international dispute with the United States.

The Canadian government confirmed reports late on Wednesday that Michael Spavor, a China-based entrepreneur who organises tours to North Korea, had gone missing. His disappearance follows the detention of former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig in Beijing on Monday.

The two cases ratchet up pressure on Canada, which is holding a Chinese telecommunications executive wanted by the United States. The US is seeking the extradition of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies, who was arrested in Vancouver on Dec 1.

Canadian officials have not been able to contact Spavor “since he let us know he was being questioned by Chinese authorities”, Canadian Global Affairs spokesman Guillaume Berube said.

The Chinese government has not commented on Spavor’s disappearance. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday he had no information on Kovrig’s detention, which was reported by his employer, the International Crisis Group think tank.

Regional newspapers in Beijing and Liaoning province, where Spavor lives, reported separately that that the two are under investigation on suspicion of “committing acts endangering the national security of China.” Authorities could not be reached to confirm those reports.

The broadly defined charge encompasses both traditional espionage and other forms of information gathering such as interviewing political dissidents and contacting non-governmental organisations.

Another Canadian, Keven Garratt, spent 750 days in detention in 2014-16 and was given an eight-year prison sentence for espionage before being deported. Garratt’s detention was seen as a tit-for-tat response to Canada’s arrest of Chinese spy who was eventually extradited to the US.

Spavor is a fluent Korean speaker with longstanding ties to North Korea through his company, Paektu Cultural Exchange. He was instrumental in bringing NBA player Dennis Rodman to Pyongyang in 2013 and has organised a number of tours and joint cultural projects with the North since then.

Acquaintances said he was due in Seoul, the South Korean capital, on Monday, but never showed up.

At the root of the dispute is Canada’s arrest of Meng while on a layover at Vancouver airport. The US accuses Huawei of using a Hong Kong shell company to do business with Iran in violation of US sanctions.

The editor in chief of the Global Times, a Communist Party-run tabloid known for its provocative views, warned in a video on Wednesday night of “retaliatory measures” if Canada doesn’t free Meng. — AP