SecondThe Chinese court sentenced Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison on suspicion of espionage. The trial was regarded as China’s retaliation against the arrested. Meng WanzhouIn December 2018, the chief financial officer and chief financial officer of the founder of the Chinese telecom company Huawei, and the daughter of the founder of the Chinese telecom company Huawei. A few days after Meng was arrested, Spavor and former Canadian diplomat Kovrig Mingkai were detained by the Chinese police at the same time.
A court in the northern Chinese city of Dandong ruled on Wednesday that Spavor was “guilty of espionage and illegal disclosure of state secrets to other countries”. In a brief notice from the court, Spavor will be expelled from China. It was initially unclear whether this was related to a certain point in time after his detention ended. In addition, the court also ordered the confiscation of 50,000 yuan of property.
Canadian Ambassador to China Dominic Button condemned the verdict “in the strongest form.” The judicial process is neither fair nor transparent. Patton called on China to immediately release Michael Spavor and Michael Cumming Kai. When the verdict was announced in Dandong, the ambassador was present. Later, he talked with reporters via video at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing. He delivered three text messages from the convicted Spavor. He is grateful for his support, is in good health, and wants to go home.
Spavor meets Kim Jong-un in person
Spavor once ran a company in Dandong on the border with North Korea, providing intermediary services for tourism, cultural exchanges and business relations with North Korea. Canadians have very good contacts in North Korea.He has a ruler Kim Jong Un Meet in person. A photo shows him talking with Kim on a private yacht. This is related to the visit of American basketball player Dennis Rodman to Kim Jong-un, which is the arrangement of Spavor.
The former Canadian diplomat, Kovrig Mingkai, is still awaiting his verdict. China accused him of cooperating with Spavor in spying activities. Kang Mingkai is a member of the think tank of the International Crisis Organization and has also worked in North Korea. The trials of the two were conducted in secret and ended in March. Canadian diplomats cannot access it except to read the verdict. China has not provided any details or evidence regarding the allegations against Spavor and Kovrig.
This is the second verdict against a Canadian in China this week. On Tuesday, the Liaoning Provincial Court rejected the appeal of Robert Schellenberg, who was convicted of drug trafficking, and upheld his death sentence. The Canadian government also related the case to the extradition trial of Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver. Schellenberg was originally sentenced to 15 years in prison in November 2018. A few weeks after Meng was arrested, his sentence was increased to the death penalty.
Huawei manager Meng Wanzhou is now under house arrest in Canada. Canadian authorities arrested her for an extradition request from the United States while staying at the airport in 2018. The United States hopes to bring her to court for suspected bank fraud.The U.S. Attorney’s Office accused a subsidiary of HSBC in the UK for business Huawei In Iran, this puts the bank at risk of being fined for violating US sanctions against Iran. Her lawyer argued that, among other things, former US President Donald Trump regarded them as a bargaining chip in the trade dispute with China.
