Australia decries China’s detention of two Canadians
Nation denounces China after public pressure
Following extensive public pressure, Australia has tentatively denounced the Chinese government’s detention of two Canadians in retaliation for Canada’s Dec. 1 arrest of Huawei CEO Meng Wanzhou
“The Australian Government is concerned about the recent detention of two Canadian citizens in China,” Australian foreign minister Marise Payne said in a Sunday statement published by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Payne added, “the Australian Government has conveyed this position to Chinese counterparts and we have been in regular contact with Canadian officials.”
On Dec. 1 Canadian authorities arrested Meng, Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer, as she changed planes at Vancouver International Airport. Meng is now facing extradition to the United States on charges that she allegedly violated U.S. trade sanctions against Iran.
The arrest prompted immediate condemnation from Chinese authorities alleging that Canada was violating Meng’s “human rights.” On Dec. 10, in what was widely viewed by analysts as a direct retaliation for Meng’s arrest, the Chinese government detained two Canadians living in China, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland has said the Canadians are victims of “arbitrary detention.” The circumstances of Spavor’s detention are as yet unknown, but Kovrig is being held in a small cell that is lit 24 hours, with no access to a lawyer or visitors.
This is in sharp contrast to Meng, who is currently living in a luxury Vancouver home after posting bail.
Just before Christmas, Canada received statements of support from the European Union, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the United States, all of them calling for the release of Spavor and Kovrig.
“Canada, a country governed by the rule of law, is conducting a fair, unbiased, and transparent legal proceeding with respect to Ms. Meng Wanzhou,” wrote the U.S. State Department in a Dec. 21 statement.
Nevertheless, Australia initially remained silent, prompting an open letter this week from a group of Australian scholars specializing in China.
The arrest of the Canadian citizens “raise serious concerns about legitimate research and business practices in China,” it read, adding that China’s actions could imperil “Australian research and business activities.”
In a further statement made to the ABC, signatory Rory Medcalf, head of the Australian National University’s national security college, said that Australians living in China could just as well be detained in a similar spat.
“If middle-sized democracies don’t stand together against offensive behaviour by China on the international stage, then one by one we’ll be subjected to similar punishment or bullying on those occasions when our interests clash with China’s,” he said.
Australia has much closer trade ties to China than any other country that has yet voiced its support for Canada. China is Australia’s single largest two-way trade partner, accounting for 25 per cent of the country’s total trade.