China sharply criticized Canada on Saturday, blaming its leaders for “irresponsible” statements about two Canadians accused of spying on China and calling on Ottawa to end its “megaphone diplomacy”.
In a statement published on the website of the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa, a spokesman for the Chinese representation said that the evidence against the two Canadians was “solid and sufficient”.
China has formally charged with “spying” and leaking “state secrets” Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat previously stationed in Beijing, and consultant and businessman Michael Spavor, a specialist in North Korea.
The two men were arrested in December 2018 a few days after the arrest in Canada, at the request of the American justice, of the financial director of the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, Meng Wanzhou.
The procedure against the two Canadians is widely perceived in the West as a reprisal, which China formally denies.
The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau has repeatedly called the detention of the two men “arbitrary”.
“The accusation of allegedly arbitrary detention of Canadian citizens is completely unfounded. Chinese judicial bodies will continue to deal with these cases in strict accordance with the law, “said the spokesman.
Describing Ms. Meng’s detention as a “serious incident” provoked by the United States to attack Chinese high-tech companies and Huawei, he added that she was the victim of arbitrary detention.
“Stop making irresponsible remarks about the cases of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor and put pressure on China using megaphone diplomacy,” he concluded by calling on Canada to “think about its mistakes” in the report. Meng Wanzhou case and to release her immediately.
About 20 Canadian personalities, as well as Mr. Kovrig’s wife, recently called on Mr. Trudeau to intervene to end the procedure for the extradition of the Huawei executive in order to facilitate the release of the two Canadians.
But the Prime Minister, who has regularly asserted the independence of the Canadian legal system, categorically ruled out this possibility Thursday, saying that such a decision would endanger other Canadians in China and around the world.
On probation in Vancouver, Ms. Meng is notably accused by Washington of having circumvented the American sanctions against Iran.
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