China May Have Made Its First Move Against Canada

Former diplomat reportedly detained in China, after Canada arrests tech exec Meng Wanzhou
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 11, 2018 11:37 AM CST
Tit for Tat? China Detains Former Canadian Diplomat
In this courtroom sketch, Meng Wanzhou, left, the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies, speaks to her lawyer, David Martin, during a bail hearing at British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver, British Columbia, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018.   (Jane Wolsak/The Canadian Press via AP)

China has been threatening retaliation ever since news broke that Canada had detained Chinese tech exec Meng Wanzhou. Now it appears that Beijing has taken its first action. Reuters reports that a former Canadian diplomat named Michael Kovrig has been detained in China. Kovrig works for a think tank called International Crisis Group, but he previously worked in Canada's foreign ministry and was posted in China between 2012 and 2016, reports the BBC.

"We are doing everything possible to secure additional information on Michael's whereabouts as well as his prompt and safe release," says a statement from his employer. Reports of the detention surface as a judge in Vancouver continues to assess whether Meng, who was arrested at the request of US authorities, should be released on bail. She faces extradition to the US on charges that she violated American sanctions on Iran as the CFO of the tech firm Huawei. (Meng insists she's not a flight risk.)

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