OTTAWA: An ex-diplomat has been allegedly arrested in China, provoking trouble in Ottawa and Washington, since Beijing is upset over the detained chief technology executive.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in a statement, said, “We are aware of the situation of a Canadian detained in China. We have been in direct contact with the Chinese and Ottawa is taking his arrest “very seriously.”
The United States was quick to react, calling on Beijing to stand by its commitments to human rights.
Robert Palladino, Deputy State Department’s spokesperson told that they have urged China to end all forms of arbitrary detentions and to respect the protections and freedom of all individuals under China’s international human rights and consular commitments.
However, there has been no immediate formal word from China regarding the arrest of Michael Kovrig, a Chinese-speaking expert who served as a Canadian diplomat in Hong Kong, Beijing and at the UN.
But the arrest came after the detention of the chief financial officer of telecoms giant Huawei Meng Wanzhou by Canada on the US extradition request.
China would not tolerate any “bullying” of its citizens abroad and demanded Meng’s release, China said earlier on Tuesday.
Last year, Kovrig went to work for the International Crisis Group (ICG), which is known for its field research on peaceful solutions to global conflicts and resolve them.
-Harleen Sandhu
