Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, detained since the end of 2018 in China and who were allowed to return to Canada a few days ago, have been released on bail for health reasons, the Chinese Ministry of Affairs said on Monday. foreigners.
A spokeswoman for the ministry made the comment as Beijing sought to downplay the link between their release and the return to China of a long-detained Huawei Technologies executive.
MM. Spavor and Kovrig were arrested in December 2018, days after Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada at the behest of U.S. authorities.
Many countries have called China’s action a “hostage policy,” while China has accused Ottawa of arbitrary detention. The two Canadians were jailed for more than 1,000 days.
Ms. Meng opposed the US request for extradition. She landed in China on Saturday after reaching a deal with the US Department of Justice, which led to a prisoner exchange.
” Completely different “
“Meng Wanzhou’s case is completely different from that of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in nature,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters in a daily briefing on Monday.
The two men were suspected of endangering national security, Ms. Hua added.
Mr. Spavor, an entrepreneur, had been sentenced to 11 years in prison on charges of espionage. Mr Kovrig had not yet been convicted, but was facing similar charges.
China released the two Canadians on bail after “diagnosis by professional medical institutions, and with the guarantee of Canada’s Ambassador to China,” Hua said.
Ms. Hua did not respond to questions from journalists who wanted to know whether the release of the prisoners was completely independent and what were the health reasons mentioned.
A spokesperson for the Canadian Embassy in Beijing directed questions to Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa.
Ms. Meng has reached a deal with U.S. federal prosecutors, who will drop fraud charges against her next year. In return, she accepts responsibility for misrepresenting the company’s business dealings in Iran.
Her return to China was broadcast live on the country’s central broadcaster, CCTV, as she wore a dress the same red as the Chinese flag and thanked the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, and the ruling Communist Party. .
On Monday, Ms. Hua said Ms. Meng had been the victim of “political persecution” and was able to return to China thanks to “tireless government efforts.”
In contrast, the exit of the two Michael’s was reported by the state tabloid. Global Times and, although the news spread online, it was not relayed by more authoritative state media agencies like CCTV or Xinhua.
Huawei is the world’s largest supplier of network equipment for telephone and Internet companies. The company has been a symbol of China’s progress to become a global technological powerhouse – and a concern for security in the United States.
The government of the former US president Donald Trump cut Huawei’s access to U.S. components and technology, and subsequently banned suppliers around the world from using U.S. technology to produce components for Huawei.
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