China Accuses Two Canadian Citizens Of Illegal Spying Amid Huawei Extradition

Amid the ongoing battle between Huawei and the U.S. government, the Washington Post reports that two Canadian citizens, namely Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, have been formally accused by the Chinese government with charges on stealing “state secrets” and spying.

The allegations come after a ruling from the Canadian court that extradition from Canada to the U.S. of Huawei CFO can be carried out.

On an announcement from the Chinese Communist Party Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission wrote:

The two men were held in custody in December, about two weeks after the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, Huawei CFO in Vancouver as requested by the U.S. government.

Meng was charged with fraud and violation of U.S. punishments for Iran. She is now facing extradition back to the U.S.

Spavor runs Paektu Cultural Exchange whose main aim is to encourage western tourism and external investment in North Korea. Spavor is said to be in a friendly relationship with Kim Jong Un, the president of North Korea. This is what makes Spavor’s charges sound strange as North Korea is the Chinese government’s close alley.

Kovrig is an advisor of the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank and a former diplomat in China. On the group's website is a clock listing the time Kovrig has been held and demands his release. Kovrig is said to have been kept for 85 days in a prison cell where the lights are on all day.

Karim Lebhour wrote in an email to Gizmodo:

The arrests between China, the U.S. and Canada happen with the New Cold War as the backdrop.

Western countries don’t want Huawei to develop its 5G networks since it has close ties with the government of China.

But Huawei argues back that its technology is safe and accuses the United States of spying its own citizens.

This issue is not going to be resolved anytime soon. So for the time being, any Canadians or Americans thinking of traveling to China may want to rethink their plans.