China to try Canadian victims of ‘hostage diplomacy’

Businessman Michael Spavor and former diplomat Michael Kovrig are scheduled go on trial on Friday and Monday respectively.

A protest in support of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig outside the trial of Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver. Picture: AFP

hina will put two ­Canadians on trial within days following their arrests more than two years ago in apparent retaliation for the detention of a top Huawei executive, the Canadian government said on Thursday.

Relations between Beijing and Ottawa have plunged since China detained former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor in 2018 — days after the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver.

Charges against the two ­Canadians — who have been ­accused of espionage — are ­widely perceived in the West as retaliation for Ms Meng’s arrest, although China has denied this.

Mr Spavor and Mr Kovrig are scheduled to go on trial on Friday and Monday respectively, Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said. He said Ottawa’s Beijing ­embassy had been notified.

Mr Garneau expressed concern about them going to trial now, renewing objections to their “arbitrary detentions” and saying Ottawa “remains deeply troubled by the lack of transparency surrounding these proceedings”. Canadian officials have demanded consular access to the pair and asked to attend the trials.

Mr Spavor is being held in Dandong, while Mr Kovrig was jailed in Beijing. China’s judicial system convicts most people who stand trial and the two men face up to life in prison if found guilty of “espionage” and “providing state secrets”.

Their court dates come as an extradition hearing for Ms Meng enters its final months. It is scheduled to wrap up in May, barring appeals. She was arrested on a US warrant during a stopover in Vancouver in December 2018, nine days before the two Canadians were detained.

The US wants the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei extradited to face trial on charges related to the Chinese telecom equipment maker’s alleged violations of US sanctions against Iran. Ms Meng is accused of having lied to the HSBC about Huawei’s relationship with subsidiary Skycom, putting the bank at risk of violating the sanctions as it continued to clear US dollar transactions for Huawei.

US President Joe Biden has called for the Canadian pair’s release, saying after a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month that “human beings are not bartering chips”.

Mr Trudeau has accused Beijing of concocting “trumped-up charges” against Mr Kovrig and Mr Spavor in an effort to put pressure on Canada to release Ms Meng, while affirming the independence of Canada’s judicial system in dealing with the US ­extradition request.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has gone further in describing their detention as “hostage diplomacy”. Ottawa recently unveiled a declaration signed by 58 countries against “arbitrary detention in state-to-state relations”, though it did not specifically mention China.