Beijing’s ambassador to Ottawa has accused critics of China’s detention of two Canadian citizens of “white supremacy”, in a newspaper article in which he asserted China’s right to “self-defence” after a senior executive at Huawei was arrested in Vancouver.
Michael Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat, and Michael Spavor, a North Korea expert, were detained in China last month after Beijing threatened to retaliate against Ottawa for arresting Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou at the request of the US.
Chinese ambassador Lu Shaye lashed out at Canadian “elites [who] completely dismissed China’s law and presumptuously urged China to immediately release their citizens”, in an article published by The Hill Times, an Ottawa newspaper.