Michael Spavor, a writer and entrepreneur, dropped out of contact with the Canadian government after telling them he was being questioned by the Chinese authorities.<\/b>
\nBEIJING \u2014 China appeared to intensify its punitive campaign against Canada over the arrest of a top Chinese technology executive as a second Canadian working here was questioned by security officials and then dropped out of contact with his government.
The second case involves Michael Spavor, a writer and entrepreneur who operates a cultural organization that promotes trips into North Korea. He gained prominence for helping arrange the visits there by Dennis Rodman, the former N. B. A. star. During one of those visits, Mr. Spavor met the country\u2019s reclusive leader, Kim Jong-un, and in appearances in Beijing he would fondly speak about their friendship, though the extent of it was not clear.
Mr. Spavor posted notes on Twitter and Facebook on Sunday that he planned to travel to South Korea on Monday for several days of consulting work. He did not appear, as planned, at a lecture organized there by the Royal Asiatic Society, according to members of the group.
Chrystia Freeland, Canada\u2019s foreign minister, disclosed the second case, and during a news conference Wednesday, warned the administration of President Trump not to further politicize what started as a legal matter: Canada\u2019s arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei, the Chinese technology company that the United States has accused of violating sanctions against trade with Iran.
Ms. Freeland revealed the new case a day after China said that a former Canadian diplomat who was detained in Beijing had been employed by an organization that was \u201cnot registered in China legally.\u201d
The Beijing News, a state-owned newspaper, later reported the state security agency was investigating the former diplomat, Michael Kovrig, on \u201csuspicion of activities that endanger China\u2019s national security.\u201d The report signaled the possibility that Mr. Kovrig, now a researcher with the International Crisis Group, could be prosecuted on more serious charges.
Ms. Freeland said the Canadian government was deeply concerned about Mr. Kovrig, who was detained on Monday night in Beijing, and was seeking access for to offer him consular assistance. She said that as a diplomat he had been an employee of the Foreign Ministry.
\u201cThe fact that he is an employee of my department means a lot of us know him and that adds another layer of concern,\u201d she said. \u201cWe care and we work and fight hard for every Canadian detained abroad.\u201d
Discussing the second case involving Mr. Spavor, Ms. Freeland said he had reached out to Canadian officials \u201cbecause he was being asked questions by Chinese authorities.\u201d
\u201cWe have not been able to make contact since he raised those concerns,\u201d she said.
The opacity surrounding the two cases sharply contrasted with the public proceedings that unfolded over three days in a Vancouver courtroom after the arrest of Ms. Meng. After three days of court hearings, where she was represented by lawyers, Ms. Meng was released on bail Tuesday evening, pending further deliberations on whether she should be extradited to the United States.
\u201cI am in Vancouver and back to my family,\u201d she wrote on Wednesday afternoon Beijing time in a post on Weibo, China\u2019s social media platform. \u201cI am proud of Huawei and I am proud of my motherland.\u201d
In the state news media, China had explicitly warned Canada of retaliatory steps if it did not release Ms. Meng immediately. Her release on bail appeared to have done little so far to defuse the tensions. Ms. Freeland said that Chinese officials, apparently in diplomatic contacts with their counterparts, had not framed Mr. Kovrig\u2019s arrest as a \u201creprisal.\u201d
\u201cIt is important to stress that,\u201d she said, adding that relations between Canada and China were important for Canada.
Ms. Freeland also appeared to take Mr. Trump to task for his suggestion, in an interview with Reuters, that he would willingly intervene in Ms. Meng\u2019s case if it would help resolve the trade disputes that have soured relations over the last year.
\u201cOur extradition partners should not seek to politicize the extradition process or use it for ends other than the pursuit of justice,\u201d she said. She said she had spoken to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the case earlier in the week, and had stressed that Canada was a \u201crule of law country.\u201d
She added that it was up to Ms. Meng\u2019s lawyers whether they decided to choose to raise the comments as part of their effort to block extradition. Then it would be up to the Canadian judicial process to weigh the significance of Ms. Meng\u2019s lawyers\u2019 defense.
Citing comments by Canada\u2019s Ministry of Justice, she said that if the Canadian courts decided that the legal threshold for extradition was met, then the Canadian attorney general would make the decision on whether Canada should proceed.<\/p>\n