Britain announced on Monday that it had joined a Canadian-led initiative to condemn and deter state-sponsored arbitrary detention of foreign nationals for political purposes. By joining the initiative, the UK government is “doing more to safeguard the rights of British people abroad,” the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) said in a press release. The […]

A company owned by Chinese police in Beijing collects detailed personal information as part of the Canadian visa-application process, raising security concerns for travelers applying for a visa to Canada and other countries. Beijing Shuangxiong Foreign Service Company, which operates the Canadian visa-application centre in China’s capital, is owned by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, […]

The president of the International Crisis Group has used a high-level U.N. Security Council meeting attended by China’s foreign minister to appeal for the release of Canadian Michael Kovrig, the think-tank ‘s northeast Asia expert. Robert Malley told a virtual council meeting Tuesday that the Crisis Group strives to be “an impartial conflict resolution organization,” […]

Canada should apply sanctions against the Chinese officials involved in the detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor and encourage other countries to make similar moves to curb Beijing’s aggression, says author Jonathan Manthorpe. “I think it would be a very sound move to tell Beijing we know who these people are, and we are […]

It has been a year now since Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were seized and detained by Chinese authorities in Beijing. The move came shortly after Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese telecom firm Huawei, was arrested by Canadian authorities in Vancouver at the request of the United States. The two have been […]

OTTAWA—Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Aug. 2 she met her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, to discuss tensions following Canada’s December arrest of a Huawei Technologies executive on a U.S. warrant, and the subsequent detention of two Canadians by China. “The fact that we were able to speak and discuss these issues face-to-face, directly with […]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he will discuss the Chinese regime and global issues with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington D.C. Thursday ahead of next week’s G20 leader’s summit. He and Trump will spend time discussing the challenge the regime poses to global trade, as well as their countries’ economies, Trudeau said outside a […]

Since seizing power in 1949, the party-state in Beijing has caused the deaths of tens of millions of innocent Chinese nationals. Three deadly campaigns were the Great Leap Forward (1958-1962), the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), and the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. The violence unleashed in mid-1999 by then-regime leader Jiang Zemin against adherents of the […]

OTTAWA—U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa today to discuss the new trilateral North American trade pact, with both parties making it clear that relations with the Chinese regime would be at the top of those talks. While the ratification of the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) was expected, the talks […]

The group has launched a new campaign, #StandUpToChina, in support of the canola and other industries that have been dealt a blow since China suspended imports of their products.

OTTAWA—Eight days after Chinese authorities imprisoned Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, a senior Canadian foreign ministry official urged Canadian students to apply for a program to study in China. Sarah Taylor, the director-general of the north-Asia bureau at Global Affairs Canada, made the pitch for the 45-year-old Canada-China Scholarship Exchange Program during a Dec. 18 […]

The federal government says Canadian Michael Kovrig has received his third meeting with consular officials since his December detention in China on charges of endangering Chinese national security. A statement by Global Affairs Canada says the officials met today with the former Canadian diplomat, who was on leave from his job at the time of his arrest. The statement says the government continues to be deeply concerned by what it calls the "arbitrary" detentions of Kovrig and fellow Canadian Michael Spavor, who was also detained in December on similar allegations. Canada has demanded the release of both men and it is trying to get more consular access to them.

NATO's chief is calling on China to treat two Canadians detained in the country "fairly and with due process."

Nearly 150 former diplomats and scholars from around the world have demanded the release of two Canadian citizens being detained in China. In an open letter published by different media, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is urged to immediately release former Canadian diplomat and International Crisis Group North East Asia adviser Michael Kovrig and Paektu Cultural Exchange […]

TORONTO—China has sentenced a Canadian citizen to death following the appeal of his earlier 15-year imprisonment sentence. Robert Schellenberg, accused of attempting to smuggle 220 kilograms (485 pounds) of methamphetamine from China to Australia in 2014, appealed his case in December. But the court ordered a retrial and suggested that a harsher punishment may be […]

Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig, being held in China on suspicion of endangering national security, is not entitled to diplomatic immunity, China's foreign ministry said on Jan. 14. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Jan. 11 chastised China over the detention of two Canadians following the arrest of a senior Chinese executive at the request of the United States. Trudeau also accused China of "not respecting the principles of diplomatic immunity" in one of the cases. Asked about Trudeau's comments, China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that the "relevant Canadian person" should "earnestly study" the Vienna Convention before speaking, so as to "not become a laughing stock".

Canadian consular officials in China were again able to visit Michael Kovrig on Jan 10, according to Global Affairs Canada. Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat who now works as an adviser to the International Crisis Group, and entrepreneur Michael Spavor have been detained in China for over a month for allegedly endangering national security. Both […]

The Canadian government has confirmed that more Canadian citizens have been detained in China since a Huawei executive was arrested in Canada last month. A Canadian government spokesperson confirmed in a written statement that 13 Canadian citizens have been in China’s custody since Dec. 1, when Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested while passing […]

China's foreign ministry said on Dec. 20 that a Canadian woman is undergoing "administrative punishment" for working illegally.

BEIJING—A third Canadian has been detained in China but the incident does not appear to be linked to the detention of two other citizens over the last week, a Canadian government official in Ottawa said on Wednesday. The official said Canadian authorities were aware of the detention but gave no details. “There is no reason […]

The arrest and detention of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou has again affirmed China’s disrespect for the rule of law and given new grounds for cooperation between Canada and the United States

When it comes to Canada’s relationship with Beijing, national security should be of the utmost concern, warns former defence minister Peter MacKay. “I’m not comfortable in many ways in having the Chinese more and more integrated into our technology system,” said MacKay, who served as minister of justice, minister of defence, and minister of foreign […]

With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set to travel to China on Dec. 3, family and friends of Canadians currently detained in China are asking him to request their release during his visit. On Nov. 27, the Falun Dafa Association of Canada (FDAC) issued a letter to the prime minister asking him to urge the Chinese […]

OTTAWA—Conservative MP Scott Reid is hoping Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will raise the issue of a Canadian citizen detained in China during the APEC summit, following a “tradition” where Reid made a similar request when then-Prime Minister Jean Chrétien attended APEC 15 years ago. Reid recently wrote a letter to Trudeau suggesting that when he […]

A Canadian citizen remains imprisoned in China for her spiritual beliefs, but her mother is determined to seek justice from within the Chinese judicial system. Sun Qian’s mother has attempted to file charges in China against Beijing police authorities for imprisoning and torturing her daughter. So far, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate in Beijing has refused to allow […]

This week across Canada and around the world, thousands are gathering in front of Chinese embassies and consulates to mark 18 years since the Chinese Communist Party launched a campaign of violence and hatred to “eradicate” the spiritual discipline of Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa. “The Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of Falun Gong is […]

Starting June 25 and continuing for the next few days, rallies appealing for the rescue of a Canadian citizen detained in China are being held in several cities across the country. Falun Gong practitioners and supporters are staging protests in front of the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa and the Chinese consulates in Vancouver and other […]

OTTAWA—A Calgary MP has presented a petition in the House of Commons calling for the release of Canadian citizen Sun Qian, who was detained in Beijing in early February. On June 12, MP Tom Kmiec, the Conservative’s deputy foreign affairs critic, presented petitions he said were signed by over 200 of his constituents and others […]

Sun Qian, a Canadian citizen detained in China, has been held in handcuffs and leg shackles continuously, day and night, since May 5, her sister says. Sun, a Vancouver resident and Canadian citizen, was arrested in Beijing on Feb. 19 for her practice of Falun Gong and detained at Beijing First Detention Centre. According to […]

Malaysian police said Wednesday that they have detained four Westerners —including two Canadians —suspected of posing naked at the country's highest peak last month, just days before an earthquake killed 18 climbers on the mountain.