China attacked Canada for signing a declaration denouncing the arbitrary detention of foreign citizens, describing the measure as a “despicable and hypocritical act”, as relations between the two countries remain strained.
Earlier this week, Canada and 57 other nations, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany and Sweden, jointly signed a declaration condemning the use of arbitrary detention for political purposes.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, China’s Foreign Ministry said Beijing had conveyed its frustration to Ottawa over the joint statement.
“Canada conspired with some countries to issue a so-called declaration against arbitrary detention and deliberately allowed relevant people to slander the arbitrary detention of Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in China,” said spokesman Hua Chunying.
Although the joint statement makes no mention of men, Canada has tried for nearly two years to gain global support for its campaign to secure the release of the two Canadian citizens arrested by China in 2018.
Kovrig and Spavor have been accused of endangering national security, but Canada says China is conducting hostage diplomacy.
Canada has previously said that it believes the arrests are a retaliation for Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou detention in December 2018. Meng is currently living in Vancouver while fighting extradition to the U.S. on charges of fraud.
“Canada’s so-called declaration looks more like a confession in which the Canadian side admits its mistake in the Meng Wanzhou case,” said Hua. “On the one hand, the Canadian side argues that it adheres to the rule of law, but, on the other hand, it acts as an accomplice to the USA and arbitrarily detains Chinese citizens.”
Although not mentioned in the statement, China had previously called the document “a reckless attack designed to provoke” and warning that Canada’s efforts “will recover in the worst possible way”.
Canada’s Foreign Minister Marc Garneau called the document “the country’s agnostic” and rejected the idea that it targets any particular nation.
“This illegal and immoral practice puts citizens of all countries at risk and undermines the rule of law,” he said in a statement.