At his daily morning press conference, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stopped short of criticizing Beijing over its formal charging of two Canadian citizens with espionage, noting Ottawa is engaging in “plenty of action behind the scene in firm ways.”
The response comes after Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were officially charged earlier in the day by Chinese courts of spying or foreign groups or another country. Both have been in detention since December 2018 after the arrest of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. CFO Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver.
Trudeau, when asked about Ottawa’s response, reiterated he was “disappointed” with Beijing’s choice to push the legal process against the two Michaels to the next stage, calling the arrests “arbitrary.”
He also added that Ottawa will continue to “engage directly with China as well as work with allies across the world” for a solution, but again noted Canada will reassure Beijing that the Canadian legal system – likely nodding to the Meng legal process – is “independent” and “outside the reach of political interference.”
“Chinese have directly linked the legal proceedings of the two Michaels to the judicial process facing Ms. Meng, which is very disappointing,” Trudeau said when pressed. “...At each step of this process, we have always used strategy and tactics that would maximize our chance of returning the two Michaels. There has been public and private effort to overcome this challenge, and we will continue to use a wide range of strategies to bring them back.”
There have been increasing calls for Ottawa to take a different approach on China given the number of actions Beijing has taken against Canada, which also include economic sanctions like the banning of canola and red meat shipments from Canadian suppliers.
When asked, Trudeau again noted that Ottawa under the Liberal government in the last five years have taken the detention of Canadians everywhere overseas “very seriously” and has put more resources into these diplomatic efforts. No specific details of Ottawa's next steps were provided, however.
At a later news conference, deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland took a harsher tone, saying she is "heartbroken" and "angry" when she learned of the latest moves by Beijing.
"I would like to start by speaking to the families of the two Michaels, as well as the two Michaels themselves,” a visibly upset Freeland said. “We think of you every day. We work for you everyday... They were placed in situation through no action of their own.
“What I think is really important to focus on today - and with regards to China – is to communicate really clearly how important the two Michaels are to Canada, that they are a priority for Canadian foreign policy in general... They are not forgotten, and we will continue to work very, very hard for their release.”
In recent weeks, in addition to Washington, governments in London and Canberra have increased taking a harsher stance on Beijing in both asking for an independent inquiry into the source of COVID-19 - as well as reconsidering or outright rejecting Huawei's involvement in the 5G networks in their respective countries.
