Ottawa and Washington on Friday stepped up pressure on Beijing, calling for the immediate release of two Canadians detained in apparent retaliation for the arrest in Vancouver of a top Chinese tech executive on a US warrant. The European Union also said it was backing Canada in the detentions dispute, in which Ottawa has been caught up in the rivalry between Beijing and Washington. “We are deeply concerned by the arbitrary detention by Chinese authorities of two Canadians earlier this month and call for their immediate release,” Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement. The Canadians were arrested for what China has said is suspicion of “harm to national security” — a phrase often used by Beijing when alleging espionage. That is very worrying to us.”Canada’s ambassador to China, John McCallum, was able to meet Kovrig last Friday, officials in Ottawa said.

Source: Egypt Independent December 21, 2018 23:26 UTC