Beijing blasts Canada’s ‘megaphone diplomacy’

MONTREAL: China sharply criticized Canada on Saturday, blaming its leaders for “irresponsible” statements about two Canadians accused of spying in China and calling on Ottawa to end its “Megaphone Diplomacy.”

The evidence against the two Canadians, former Beijing diplomat Michael Kovrig and North Korean consultant Michael Spavor, is “solid and sufficient,” a statement posted on the website of the Chinese embassy in Ottawa said.

Beijing has formally indicted the pair on accusations of espionage and providing state secrets.

They were arrested in December 2018 — a few days after the financial director of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, was detained in Canada at the request of the United States judicial authorities.

The charges against the two Canadians have been widely perceived in the West as retaliation for Meng’s arrest. China denies the allegation.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has repeatedly called the detention of the two men “arbitrary.”

“The accusation of so-called ‘arbitrarily’ detaining Canadian citizens is totally groundless,” the Chinese statement read.

“Chinese judicial organs will continue to handle the above cases strictly in accordance with law, and protect the two Canadians’ lawful rights,” it added.

Meng’s detention, on the other hand, was itself “arbitrary,” the statement continued, describing it as “a grave political incident concocted by the United States to suppress Chinese high-tech enterprises and Huawei, and Canada is its accomplice.”