The Two Michaels on Trial

Diplomats from 23 countries came out for Kovrig's trial today

 

This morning was the second of the "Two Michaels" trials -- Canadians Michael Spavor in Dandong in northeastern China, and then today Michael Kovrig in Beijing.

Diplomats from 23 countries came to the courthouse to attend the proceedings -- but were shut out on claims that it is a national security case. Kovrig was formally charged last June for allegedly spying and conspiring with businessman Spavor.

Last Friday diplomats from eight countries tried to attend Spavor's trial but were also denied entry, along with journalists in both cases.

Yang criticized the US during the Alaska talks

Both men have been held practically incommunicado since December 2018 in deplorable conditions and then were suddenly put on trial because officials from the United States were meeting with their Chinese counterparts in Alaska, the first meeting since the start of the Biden administration.

China probably hoped to gain more concessions from the US, but the two-day meeting ended in lots of verbal posturing and not much accomplished. May we add that for all of Director of of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Yang Jiechi's attacks on the US, his daughter Alice graduated from Yale...

But back to the urgent matter at hand.

Marc Garneau, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs said in a statement: "We are deeply troubled by the total lack of transparency surrounding these hearings and we continue to work towards an immediate end to their arbitrary detention.

"The eyes of the world are on these cases and proceedings and I want to thank our international partners for their continued support and solidarity."

Esteemed legal scholar Jerome Cohen wrote about the Spavor trial, saying it would be ridiculed by all democratic nations.

Spavor (right) and Kovrig were suddenly on trial

While questioning why diplomats and reporters were not allowed into the courtroom, and how was the trial conducted, did Spavor have any interpretation access or were there any witnesses called to testify, Cohen asks and adds:

"Is the handling of this case designed to demonstrate that China has stood up to the world judicially in a blatant exercise of a newly empowered 'sovereignty' that rejects conventional contemporary standards? What can its leaders be thinking? Are we back to the days of Chinese-Western conflicts over Imperial China's criminal prosecutions of Western sailors at the end of the 18th century or early 19th century?"

To Cohen the whole affair is terribly archaic.

Spavor's trial ended in less than three hours and no verdict was announced, while Kovrig's spanned the whole day before a verdict would be given at a later date. 

Meanwhile China's Foreign Ministry criticized the gathering of diplomats outside the courthouse. 

"Be it a few or dozens of diplomats trying to gather and exert pressure, it is an interference in China's judicial sovereignty... and not something that a diplomat should do," said foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.

Guy Saint-Jacques says this is a political case

Former Canadian ambassador to China Guy Saint-Jacques said he expected the proceedings to be short.

"China does not even try to make this look like a real trial as evidence is not shared with the defence and the judge does not even take the time to review it," he said before Kovrig's hearing. "It just confirms that the process is preordained by the Communist party and this is a political case."

Saint-Jacques seems to be hinting the end result is not going to be good for both Michaels even though they have suffered more than enough already.

We can only hope they still have the will to keep hoping.

 

Vancouverite Finally Free

Kevin Garratt hugging his wife Julia in Vancouver

We were relieved this morning to read the news that Vancouverite Kevin Garratt was released after spending two years in a Chinese jail on suspicion of spying.

The move comes soon after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Beijing earlier this month and raised the Garratt case with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and a week before Prime Minister Li Keqiang comes to Canada next week.

Earlier this week Garratt was formally sentenced and then released on bail. According to his family, he was deported from China yesterday and was back in Canada.

Garratt in front of the coffee shop at Dandong

In August 2014, Garratt and his wife Julia were detained in Dandong, a city near the Chinese border with North Korea where the couple had a cafe called Peter's Coffee Shop which they operated as part of a Christian aid mission.

Chinese officials later said they were being held on "suspicion of stealing and spying to obtain state secrets".

"Kevin Garratt and his wife... are suspected of collecting and stealing intelligence materials related to Chinese military targets and important Chinese national defence scientific research programs, and engaging in activities that endanger China's national security," the Foreign Ministry said in a short statement at the time.

Their son Simeon said in Vancouver at the time that the charges "sound ridiculous". "Military secrets? It sounds like something out of a movie or something. Those are the accusations, but I have no idea where they are coming from or how it even came about."

Justin Trudeau shakes hands with Xi Jinping earlier this month

There were also concerns that China's relationship with then Prime Minister Stephen Harper wasn't good, which made Garratt's situation harder to bring up and resolve.

Soon Julia Garratt was released on bail and allowed to leave China, but in January Chinese authorities announced Garratt would be tried on the charges. And now he's finally free.

He had originally said that God had told them to go to Dandong to spread Christianity into North Korea.

But after this two-year long wait and finally returning back to Canada, what's Garratt's next move?

Nevertheless, his release demonstrates Trudeau's ability to sway the Chinese, and scores the respect of Canadians for finally successfully dealing with this case which has been left idle for some time.

Chasing Out Foreign Devils

The coffee shop the Garratts own in Dandong, Liaoning province

It is worrying to see China becoming aggressive again in its stance on foreigners and foreign companies in the country.

Officers from the National Development and Reform Commission raided the Shanghai office of Mercedes-Benz on Monday morning, looking for evidence the German luxury car maker, along with BMW, Audi and Chrysler were engaged in monopoly practices in charging high prices for spare parts and after sales services.

It is believed the NDRC probe is meant to force foreign car makers to slash prices of their vehicles which are selling for three times the price of other markets, like the United States.

But why, if people can afford them? And the cut in prices will affect wages of locals who are in joint ventures building these vehicles. Sounds like shooting oneself in the foot, does it not?

Do the wealthy care what the prices are? As the saying goes, if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it.

And in China, where status symbols reign supreme, the uber rich really want to prove how wealthy they are by what they drive.

Julia and Kevin Garratt are accused of spying in China

The other worry is a Canadian couple who own a coffee shop on the border between China and North Korea. They were detained over allegation of spying, according to Beijing authorities.

Kevin and Julia Garratt are under investigation for "suspected theft of state secrets about China's military and national defense research:, according to a Xinhua report.

The couple are originally from Vancouver and run a coffee house in Dandong, Liaoning province. They have lived in China for about 30 years and are Christian activists. Notice the "t" in "Peter" looks more like a cross...

Their son Peter says the charges are ridiculous, saying the coffee house is popular with expats because of the Western food they serve, while locals like to come here to practice their English.

Peter said he was questioned by police about what his parents did other than run the coffee shop and he replied his mother used to teach English at the university and his father works for North Star Aid, which helps the elderly in North Korea.

He added his parents were not trying to proselytize anyone and that they were obeying the law. Peter has no idea where these accusations of espionage come from and believes his parents will be cleared of the charges.

Does he have any understanding of the Chinese legal system? When they trump up charges like these, they will bend over backwards to find any shred of evidence to prove their accusations.

Just look at infamous web celebrity Guo Meimei.

Guo Meimei showed off inexplicable wealth on weibo

The 23-year-old cause outrage back in 2011 when she claimed to work for a subsidiary of the Red Cross Society of China, and at the same time flaunted pictures of her posing next to luxury sports cars and carrying luxury bags on her weibo account.

Last month she was detained on gambling-related charges and she confessed on television the other day, apologizing for her luxurious lifestyle and damaging the reputation of the charity.

"I like to show off. I have the vain mindset of a little girl," said Guo.

In a CCTV report, Guo admitted to operating a gambling venue in Beijing, and had sex with various men for no less than 100,000 yuan per encounter. Her personal assistant revealed how Guo was a compulsive gambler and would frequent Macau's casinos...

Did she really set up an illegal gambling den in Beijing? She's 23 years old and it seems more probable she made money prostituting her body to pay for her high life than to have the ability to set up an illegal business.

So the Garratts have to be careful -- they may think they are innocent, but not when the Chinese government seems to have an anti-foreigner agenda in mind...