China accuses detained Canadians of stealing state secrets
Source: Associated Press
China accuses detained Canadians of stealing state secrets
By ROB GILLIES and CHRISTOPHER BODEEN
March 4, 2019
TORONTO (AP) China accused two detained Canadians on Monday of acting together to steal state secrets, just days after Canada announced it will proceed with a U.S. extradition request for a senior Chinese tech executive.
China arrested the two Canadians on Dec. 10 in what was widely seen as an attempt to pressure Canada to release Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies, who was arrested in Vancouver on Dec. 1 at the request of U.S. authorities.
Mengs arrest set off a diplomatic furor and has severely strained Canadian relations with China.
The U.S. is seeking the extradiction of Meng, who is also the daughter of Huaweis founder, to face charges she misled banks about the companys business with Iran.
Chinas official Xinhua News Agency cited unidentified Chinese authorities as saying former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig violated Chinese laws by acting as a spy and stealing state secrets and intelligence with the help of Canadian businessman Michael Spavor. It was the first time the two mens cases have been linked.
-snip-
Read more:
https://apnews.com/633bc2ba9c4e4c9497dc372a59ea856e