Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig could face harsh punishment after the United States slapped a crippling ban on the Chinese technology company.
By Gerry Shih Gerry Shih China Correspondent Email Bio Follow May 16 at 7:31 AM BEIJING — China on Thursday formally leveled grave espionage charges against two detained Canadians, raising the prospect of harsh punishment for the men caught in a spiraling three-way feud over the Trump administration’s treatment of the technology company Huawei.
In the last six months, the timing of Chinese action against Canadian citizens has reinforced suspicions that Beijing is targeting a close American ally in retaliation for what China says is an unfair American effort to hobble Huawei and jail one of its executives — a campaign that it says is aided and abetted by the Canadian government.
The U.S. move, which administration officials said was motivated in part by faltering trade discussions with China, was likely seen as deeply hostile by Chinese leaders and a stark reminder by Washington of China's dependence on the American supply chain. Chinese officials were alarmed and outraged in 2016 when the Commerce Department similarly put ZTE on the “Entity List,” which threatened to put that Chinese tech giant out of business practically overnight.
The Huawei chief financial officer has since been undergoing extradition proceedings in a Canadian court, which is deciding whether to send her to the United States to face bank fraud charges. China has urged Canadian authorities to release Meng and has repeatedly issued implicit warnings that Canada would pay a steep human price if she were handed over.Weeks after Meng’s arrest, China revisited a 15-year prison sentence for Canadian Robert L.
Since December, Kovrig and Spavor have been kept in cells at undisclosed locations with lights on round the clock and without access to lawyers or family members, people familiar with the matter say. The two have been allowed short consular visits once a month, during which they are not allowed to discuss the cases against them with Canadian diplomats.
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