Manila Bulletin

China grants consular access to second detainee

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OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadian diplomats received consular access on Sunday to the second of two men detained by China over the past week, Canada’s foreign ministry said in a statement that gave few details.

John McCallum, Canada’s ambassador to Beijing, met Michael Spavor, the statement said. Spavor and Michael Kovrig were both picked up after Canada arrested a senior Chinese executive on a US extraditio­n request.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau - who said on Friday the detentions were unacceptab­le - told CTV his government was taking the situation very seriously.

“We have engaged with the Chinese officials to determine what exactly conditions are they being detained under? Why are they being detained?” he said in an interview aired on Sunday. McCallum met Kovrig for the first time in Friday.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday that China should free the two men.

Spavor, a businessma­n, and Kovrig, a former diplomat, were detained after Canadian police arrested Huawei Technologi­es Co Ltd’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, on Dec 1.

U.S. prosecutor­s accuse Meng of misleading multinatio­nal banks about Iranlinked transactio­ns, putting the banks at risk of violating US sanctions. Meng, who is the daughter of Huawei’s founder, has said she is innocent.

Trudeau told CTV that Canada would continue trying to build up trading ties with China.

“We need to do so in a way that is true to our values and stands up for Canadians’

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