Canadian diplomats in China have conducted consular visits this week with two Canadians held by Chinese security services for nearly a year, according to Global Affairs Canada officials.
Canadian embassy staff conducted back to back consular visits with Michael Kovrig on Tuesday and Michael Spavor on Monday.
Kovrig, who took a leave of absence from Global Affairs Canada to work as the North East Asia analyst for the non-governmental think tank International Crisis Group, and Spavor, a China-based Canadian entrepreneur, were detained separately by Chinese authorities on Dec. 10, 2018.
Their arrests came days after Canadian officials arrested Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of telecom giant Huawei, at the request of U.S. authorities.
Meng, who is also the daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei, is fighting extradition to the United States over allegations she was involved in violating sanctions on Iran.
A Canadian court released Meng on bail while she awaits the results of her extradition hearing.
Chinese officials said Kovrig and Spavor are being investigated for “endangering national security.”
While the two men receive regular monthly consular visits by Canadian diplomats, they have been denied access to lawyers and their family members since their arrest last year.
“The Canadian government remains deeply concerned by the arbitrary detention by Chinese authorities of these two Canadians since December 2018 and continues to call for their immediate release,” said a statement by Global Affairs.
China is demanding Meng’s unconditional release and has been ratcheting up diplomatic and economic pressure on Canada.
China has also placed restrictions on various Canadian exports to China, including canola and meat. In January, China handed a death sentence to a convicted Canadian drug smuggler in a sudden retrial.
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