– A Canadian, reported to be a former diplomat, has been detained in China and his current employer says it is working for his prompt release.<\/b>
\nAKIPRESS. COM – A Canadian, reported to be a former diplomat, has been detained in China and his current employer says it is working for his prompt release.
The International Crisis Group said it was \u00ab\u00a0aware of reports\u00a0\u00bb of Michael Kovrig’s detention, BBC reports.
Prime Minister Trudeau said Canada is in direct contact with Chinese authorities concerning the case.
The news comes days after Canada arrested a top executive of the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei.
Mr Trudeau said the case is being taken \u00ab\u00a0very seriously\u00a0\u00bb. Canada’s foreign affairs ministry gave no further details about the incident or its talks with China.
Tensions between Canada and China have been high over the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer and daughter of its founder, on Saturday 1 December.
Federal public safety minister Ralph Goodale told journalists in Ottawa that the government is \u00ab\u00a0deeply concerned by the situation\u00a0\u00bb.
The minister said there is currently no \u00ab\u00a0explicit indication\u00a0\u00bb of any link between her arrest and Mr Kovrig’s reported detention.
Mr Kovrig had previously worked as a diplomat in Beijing, Hong Kong and at the UN in New York.<\/p>\n