Detention of Canadians raises stakes in dispute

China confirmed Thursday that it has detained two Canadian men, raising the stakes in a three-way dispute over a Chinese technology executive facing possible extradition from Canada to the United States.

Entrepreneur Michael Spavor and former diplomat Michael Kovrig were taken into custody Monday on suspicion of “engaging in activities that endanger the national security” of China, said foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang.

Lu said Canada was informed but declined to say whether the men have been provided with lawyers. He said the cases are being handled separately by local bureaus of the national intelligence agency in Beijing, where Kovrig was picked up, and the northeastern city of Dandong, where Spavor lived.

“The legal rights of the two Canadians are being safeguarded,” Lu told reporters at a daily briefing.

The two cases ratchet up pressure on Canada, which is holding Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Ltd. She was arrested Dec. 1 at the request of the United States, which wants her extradited to face bank fraud charges.

Despite the escalating frictions resulting from the detentions, trade talks between Beijing and the Trump administration remain ongoing. The two sides have taken pains this week to emphasize that their trade talks are entirely separate from the U.S. case against Meng and any retaliatory moves by Beijing.

Canadian officials have been unable to contact Spavor “since he let us know he was being questioned by Chinese authorities,” said Canadian Global Affairs spokesman Guillaume Berube. “We are working very hard to ascertain his whereabouts and we continue to raise this with the Chinese government.”

Kovrig is an analyst on northeast Asia for the International Crisis Group, a think tank, who took a leave of absence from the Canadian government. He lives in Hong Kong.

Spavor runs tours of North Korea along with sports, business and other exchanges through his company, Paektu Cultural Exchange. He has met leader Kim Jong Un and was instrumental in bringing former NBA star Dennis Rodman to the North’s capital, Pyongyang, in 2013.

Acquaintances said Spavor was due Monday in Seoul, the South Korean capital, but failed to arrive.

Associated Press Speaking during a friendly 2016 ice hockey match between visiting foreigners and North Korean players in Pyongyang, North Korea, entrepreneur Michael Spavor is the second Canadian man feared detained in China.