China gave Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a very public dressing down on Monday, telling the Canadian leader he should “stop making irresponsible remarks” after he said Beijing’s decision to charge two Canadians with spying was linked to his country’s arrest of a Chinese tech executive.
The spying charges are “completely different” from the case of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, a foreign ministry spokesman said, according to the Associated Press.
Meng was arrested on U.S. charges connected to possible violations of trade sanctions on Iran in a case that has infuriated Beijing, caused a diplomatic uproar and added to tensions between China and the United States.
Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were detained in what was widely seen as an attempt to smear Canada after Meng’s December 2018 arrest in Vancouver.
As Breitbart News reported, charges against them were announced Friday after a Canadian judge ruled Meng’s extradition case can proceed to its next stage, moving her closer to eventually being sent to America to face trial.
China’s state-run Global Times insisted there is “abundant evidence” against the two Canadians, and efforts to “politicize” their cases by linking them with Meng’s are “baseless accusations” that are “confusing right with wrong,” assertions that continue to be tested in the court of public opinion.
Trudeau, speaking to reporters in Ottawa, begged to differ. He said Chinese authorities “directly linked” the cases of Kovrig and Spavor with Meng. He called on Beijing to end their “arbitrary detention.”
“There is no such thing as arbitrary detention,” retorted the ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian.
“China urges the relevant Canadian leader to earnestly respect the spirit of the rule of law, respect China’s judicial sovereignty and stop making irresponsible remarks,” Zhao said.
Meng is living in a mansion she owns in Vancouver, where she reportedly is working on a graduate degree. Kovrig and Spavor are being held at an undisclosed location and have been denied access to lawyers or family members.
China has also sentenced two other Canadians to death and suspended imports of Canadian canola.
Zhao said visits by foreign diplomats to prisoners were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
AP contributed to this report