Beijing – China’s foreign ministry denied knowledge Wednesday of the detention of a former Canadian diplomat but said the organization he was working for, the…
Beijing – China’s foreign ministry denied knowledge Wednesday of the detention of a former Canadian diplomat but said the organization he was working for, the International Crisis Group, is not registered in China and so any of its work in the country would be illegal.
“Once its staff become engaged in activities in China, it has already violated the law,” ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a daily news briefing when asked about the case of Michael Kovrig, a Hong Kong-based analyst whose employer said he was taken into custody Monday night by the Beijing Bureau of Chinese State Security.
“I do not have information to provide you here,” Lu said about Kovrig, who previously worked as a Canadian diplomat in China and elsewhere. “If there is such a thing, please do not worry, it is assured that China’s relevant departments will definitely handle it according to law.”
Chinese law makes it extremely difficult for foreign non-governmental organizations to register because they have to find a local sponsor, said James Zimmerman, a lawyer in Beijing and former chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China.
“In my view (Kovrig’s custody) is purely for strategic reasons,” Zimmerman told The Associated Press.
Kovrig’s detention came after Canada detained a top executive of network gear and cellphone supplier Huawei Technologies on Dec.
