Second Canadian may have been detained in China

A second Canadian may have been detained in China in a potential act of retribution that threatens to intensify the diplomatic row between Washington, Beijing and Ottawa following the arrest of Huawei's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in Vancouver.

The Canadian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday night identified the national as Michael Spavor, the founder of the Paektu Cultural Exchange, a Canadian owned-China based company that helps to facilitate trips to North Korea.

He is said to have deep ties with the Pyongyang government.

Spavor was "being investigated" on suspicion of "activities that endangered China's national security", CNN cited the information published by Chinese state media and attributed to the State Security Bureau of Dandong, a city in the country's northeast.

Spavor, who has not been heard from for 24 hours, had contacted Canadian consular officials in Beijing after being questioned.

"We have been unable to make contact (with Spavor) since he let us know he was being questioned by Chinese authorities," Canadian government department Global Affairs spokesman Guillaume Berube said.

"We are working very hard to ascertain his whereabouts and we continue to raise this with the Chinese government," he added.

Spavor is based in Dandong, near the Chinese border with North Korea and had previously assisted in helping former NBA player Dennis Rodman travel to Pyongyang to meet Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader.

News of his disappearance came shortly after Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland acknowledged that Chinese authorities had arrested Michael Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat who currently works for the non-profit organization International Crisis Group as its northeast Asia senior adviser.

Kovrig was also accused of engaging in "activities that harm China's national security" and was "under investigation", according to an article in Chinese state-run newspaper Beijing News.

Experts are concerned that Kovrig and Spavor were being held as retaliation for Canada's arrest of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver earlier this month. Meng was apparently arrested at the request of Washington.

The Americans are seeking her extradition on suspicion of violating US sanctions on Iran. Meng was released on Tuesday on bail while a Canadian court decides whether to extradite her to the US to face charges there.

The Canadian government has so far been unwilling to publicly link Meng's arrest with the detention of Spavor.

--IANS

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