A case at the center of a diplomatic standoff between the US, Canada, and China has ended. The case involves espionage charges for Michael Spavor, a Canadian national. China alleges that Spavor was probing into and illegally providing state secrets to foreign actors. As the countries await the verdict, there is still no word from Spavor himself. Spavor has spent more than two years in Chinese custody.
Spavor ran a Dandong-based nonprofit and is one of two Canadians detained by Chinese authorities in December 2018, both of whom have not been released due to espionage offenses. Their detention is seen as retaliation for Canada’s arrest of a senior executive from Chinese tech giant Huawei. The other Canadian, Michael Kovrig, is set to stand trial in Beijing Monday.
