A federal unit that tracks foreign interference has identified what appeared to be a co-ordinated information campaign by Chinese state media outlets to control the domestic narrative around the return of the “two Michaels” to Canada.
Rapid Response Mechanism Canada found the effort also seemed intent on fostering confusion or doubt in Canada and internationally about what Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were doing in China before they were detained in late 2018.
The Canadian Press used the Access to Information Act to obtain the unit’s analysis of the September 2021 events, the latest window into a tense geopolitical drama that played out between Ottawa and Beijing over almost three years.
Several portions of the document, considered too sensitive to release, were blacked out.
Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, a senior executive of Chinese firm Huawei Technologies, in December 2018 at the request of the United States, where she faced charges related to American sanctions against Iran.
The move clearly angered Beijing, and two Canadians working in China – Kovrig and Spavor – were arrested soon after on accusations of endangering national security, a move widely seen as retaliation against Ottawa.
Kovrig and Spavor were both convicted of spying in 2021 in closed Chinese courts. Canada and many allies said the process amounted to arbitrary detention on bogus charges in an unaccountable justice system.
The U.S. worked…
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