OTTAWA — A third Canadian has been detained in China but federal sources say the government has no reason to believe the case is linked to the recent detention of two other Canadians in the country.
Consular officials are providing assistance to the family of the individual, Global Affairs Canada said Wednesday. The department declined to provide further information due to provisions under the Privacy Act.
"Global Affairs Canada is aware of a Canadian citizen detained in China," department spokesperson Maegan Graveline said in a statement.
The latest detention comes after Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of tech giant Huawei, was arrested in Vancouver on Dec. 1 at the request of the United States, where she is wanted on fraud allegations.
Days later, two Canadians were detained in Beijing for allegedly endangering China's national security.
Federal sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Ottawa doesn't believe the latest case is connected to the arrests of entrepreneur Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat on a leave of absence from Global Affairs. Both men remain in custody on suspicion of endangering China's national security.
Meng has since been released on bail and is to return to court in February for what most legal observers predict could be a long, drawn out legal process.
For its part, China has now granted Canada access to both Spavor and Kovrig.
Global Affairs Canada said John McCallum, Canada's ambassador to China, met with Kovrig on Friday and Spavor on Sunday.
Spavor is director of the Paektu Cultural Exchange and one of the few people from the West to have met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He also helped arrange a visit to North Korea by former basketball star Dennis Rodman.
Kovrig served as a diplomat in China until 2016 and has been working for the International Crisis Group, a non-governmental agency focused on ending conflicts.
