Five hundred and fifty-seven days after Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were first detained by Chinese authorities, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today he is “disappointed” that China has now formally charged the two men with spying.
Five hundred and fifty-seven days after Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were first detained by Chinese authorities, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today he is “disappointed” that China has now formally charged the two men with spying.
Asked what his government would do to secure the release of these Canadian nationals, Trudeau said Canada would continue to work “behind the scenes in very direct and firm ways.”
“We take very, very seriously the situation of Canadians in difficulty overseas. Over the past years, we’ve had a number of successes in liberating Canadians,” he said at a press conference in Chelsea, Que.
“We will continue to use all of our expertise to return these two Michaels to Canada.”
China formally announced the charges shortly after midnight eastern time, but Trudeau did not mention the two men in his prepared opening remarks this morning.
His only comments on the matter came when he was asked by the press to respond to China’s latest action.
Watch: Trudeau is ‘disappointed’ the China charged two Canadians
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government has employed a “range of tactics and actions” to help Canadians experiencing consular challenges around the world and that Canada is using “public and private measures” to bring home Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, the two Canadians detained in China and charged with spying. 3:33
Kovrig was charged by Beijing on suspicion of spying for state secrets and intelligence. Spavor was charged in Dandong, a city near the North Korean border, on suspicion of spying for a foreign entity and illegally providing state secrets.
The charges were announced by China’s highest prosecutor’s office in brief social media posts. CCTV, a state-owned broadcas