Category: Michael Kovrig

Michael Kovrig: ‘It’s Fantastic to Be Back in Canada’

Michael Kovrig expressed his gratification for finally being back in Canada as he arrived in Toronto Saturday afternoon, after having been arbitrarily detained in Chinese prisons for over 1,000 days. “It’s fantastic to be back in Canada, and I’m immensely grateful for everybody who worked so hard to bring [me and Michael Spavor] back home,”…


Trudeau Links Global Campaign on Arbitrary Detention Declaration to China

OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada spearheaded an international declaration denouncing state-sponsored arbitrary detentions because of China’s decision to imprison Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. Trudeau made the connection for the first time Friday during a federal election campaign appearance in Windsor, Ont. In February, when the federal government announced that it had created a…


Leaders Trade Barbs on ‘Two Michaels,’ China Human Rights in English Debate

A question on where the next prime minister will stand when it comes to the “trade off” between Canada’s economic growth and recognizing the Chinese regime’s human rights violations sparked fiery exchanges among party leaders during the English debate on Thursday night. Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau was quick to jump in the moment NDP Leader…


US, Canada Demand Release of 2 Michaels on 1,000th Day of Arbitrary Detention in China

The United States and Canada on Sunday both called on Beijing to immediately release the two Canadian citizens, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who have been detained in China for 1,000 days in what many countries are labeling as “hostage politics.” Spavor and Kovrig were arbitrarily detained by the Chinese regime shortly after Canada arrested…


‘Unbelievable,’ Says Tory Candidate of China Ship Deal While ‘2 Michaels’ Remain Imprisoned

The fact that a federal shipbuilding contract ended up going to a Chinese state-owned conglomerate is “unbelievable,” especially when Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor continue to be arbitrarily imprisoned in China, says Conservative candidate Pierre Paul-Hus. Paul-Hus, a Conservative MP and his party’s shadow minister for public safety before the election was called,…


Trudeau Condemns Chinese Court’s 11-year Sentence in Canadian’s Espionage Case

BEIJING—Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said a Chinese court’s sentencing of Canadian businessman Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison for espionage on Wednesday was “absolutely unacceptable” and called for his immediate release. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also condemned the sentencing in a statement, saying that proceedings against Spavor and another Canadian charged…


Canada Condemns China After Court Sentences Michael Spavor to 11 Years in Prison

OTTAWA—Canada will continue to fight for the release of Michael Spavor and other Canadians arbitrarily detained in China, Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau promised on Wednesday after a Chinese court sentenced the entrepreneur to 11 years in prison. Garneau in a news conference said the government condemns “in the strongest possible terms” the prison sentence,…


O’Toole Warns Canadians Not Safe in China After Court Upholds Death Sentence

OTTAWA—Federal Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole accused Beijing of using the death penalty for political purposes on Tuesday after a Chinese court upheld the sentence of a Canadian sentenced to death in a drug case. O’Toole also reopened the door to a Canadian boycott of next year’s Winter Olympics in China, warning the Chinese government’s recent…


‘Free Michael Kovrig’: Hungarian Music Group Wants Former Bandmate Back Home in Toronto

With the 1,000th day of the Chinese regime’s imprisonment of former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig coming up on Sept. 4, a Hungarian band with which Kovrig was lead singer is pushing for his return and assuring him that “we’re gonna get you home.” Known as Bankrupt, the Budapest-based band recently wrote a song to raise awareness…


American Recounts Being Tortured and Drugged in China’s ‘Black Jails’

After being injected with an unknown substance, forced to take unidentified pills, and badly beaten, an American from San Francisco thought he was not going to make it out alive from China’s secretive black jails. Warren Rothman said he was taken to four different black jails—ordinary places that are turned into unofficial jails by Chinese…