Third Canadian detained in China: Reports

A third Canadian citizen has been detained by Chinese authorities, Canadian media reported on Wednesday, as the row between Beijing and Ottawa over the arrest of a Chinese tech executive escalates.

In Beijing on Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said in a daily press briefing she was not aware of the new case.

“I have not heard anything about the situation you have asked about,” Hua said in response to a question concerning the third Canadian citizen being detained in China.

China detained two Canadian citizens last week, accusing them of activities “that endanger China’s national security”. The first was Michael Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat who is currently a senior adviser on Northeast Asia for International Crisis Group. Michael Spavor, a businessman based in the Chinese city of Dandong with connections to North Korea, was also detained.

Canada’s Global Affairs office told the National Post that they were aware of detention but did not provide details and did not suggest a connection to Meng’s detention.

Meng was arrested in Vancouver on December 1 at the request of the United States and has been released on bail.

Beijing was infuriated by the arrest, warning that Canada would face grave consequences if Meng was not released.

The newspaper did not identify the third person to be detained but a source who had spoken to the individual’s family told the newspaper that the individual was not a diplomat or an entrepreneur.

Canada’s embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on the report.

The Canadian government has said that there is also no explicit link between Meng’s arrest and the detentions of Kovrig and Spavor.