China may have detained second citizen, says Canada foreign minister

• Michael Kovrig, who works for thinktank, being held in Beijing
• Move follows arrest of Chinese Huawei executive in Canada

Leyland Cecco in Toronto and agencies Beijing
Thu 13 Dec 2018 00.13 GMT

A second Canadian citizen may have been held by Chinese officials following the detention of former diplomat Michael Kovrig, according to Canada’s foreign minister Chrystia Freeland.

The Globe and Mail has named the individual as Michael Spavor. He lives in China and runs the Paektu Cultural Exchange, a company that brings tourists and hockey players into North Korea. He was largely responsible for facilitating one of Dennis Rodman’s trips to North Korea, in which the famous former NBA player met with Kim Jong-un.

After Kovrig was detained on Monday, another citizen contacted officials, saying he had been questioned by Chinese authorities.

“We have not been able to make contact with him since he let us know about this,” Freeland said at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon. “We are working very hard to ascertain his whereabouts and we have also raised this case with the Chinese authorities. We are in touch with his family.”

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