China says Canada is distorting facts over jailing of ‘Two Michaels’

Michael Spavor and Michael Korvrig were detained on spying charges following Canada’s arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou and released after she was freed

Recent Canadian media reports said Spavor blamed Kovrig for his detention after he shared information on North Korea, without knowing it would be passed on

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Michael Spavor is reportedly seeking compensation from the Canadian government over his detention. Photo: AP

Published: 6:00pm, 30 Nov 2023

China has accused Canada of distorting the facts over the jailing of two of its citizens following recent reports that one of the men said he had been arrested after unwittingly passing on intelligence about North Korea.

Michael Spavor, a businessman who had dealings with North Korea, and former diplomat Michael Kovrig were detained in late 2018 following Canada’s arrest of the Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou on a US warrant.

Kovrig and Spavor were freed in September 2021 – hours after Meng was given permission to leave Canada following a plea deal with the US authorities.

The case prompted accusations in Canada and other Western countries that China was engaging in “hostage diplomacy”.

“Chinese judicial authorities handled the case in strict accordance with the law. The false accusation against China of ‘arbitrary detention’ was a complete distortion of facts and blame-shifting,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular press conference on Wednesday.

“Stories made up by the Canadian side have been debunked by facts over time. This is the result of Canada’s own doing.”

Wang also said: “We urge the Canadian side to respect facts, deeply reflect upon its mistakes and stop misleading public opinion, and smearing China.”

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