One of the Canadian men detained in China has been granted another consular visit from Canadian officials.
Due to privacy reasons, Global Affairs said it couldn’t provide any more information, including details on which officials met with Michael Kovrig on Saturday.
This is his third visit with Canadian representatives, after he spoke with them on Dec. 14 and Jan. 10.
Kovrig and Michael Spavor have been in Chinese custody since mid-December. China has accused the men of endangering national security.
Kovrig served as a diplomat in Beijing and Hong Kong until 2016, but is on a leave of absence from the Canadian foreign service and had no diplomatic status to protect him. He was working in China for the International Crisis Group, an NGO that does field research on violent conflict.
Generally, consular visits can include assessing the well-being of the person, clarifying the nature of the detention, providing guidance on the legal process in the country, seeking access to medical attention if needed and providing a communication link to the family.
Global Affairs said they are continuing to provide support to Kovrig and his family, and are seeking further access to him while he is in prison.
The statement reiterated the government’s position of being “deeply concerned” by the “arbitrary” detention of the two men by the Chinese. Ottawa has repeatedly called for their release.
Several of Canada’s allies have spoken out against China’s behaviour. Those countries include Australia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has yet to pick up the phone to speak with his Chinese counterpart, despite sharp barbs from President Xi Jingping’s envoy to Canada, who warned Canadian officials against using microphone diplomacy.
Some have been critical of the government’s approach to securing the release of the Canadians.
Things deteriorated further with last week’s firing of Canada’s ambassador to China John McCallum.
McCallum commented twice on the extradition case of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. He suggested there might be legal arguments why she should not be extradited to the U.S. He apologized for those comments later, but it caused further upsets in Canada’s relations with China, and raised concerns about the government’s efforts to win the release of Spavor and Kovrig.
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