China: 2 Canadians in prisoner swap freed for health reasons

By HUIZHONG WU
Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China’s Foreign Ministry says two Canadians detained in late 2019 who were allowed to return to Canada were released on bail for health reasons. A ministry spokesperson made the comment as Beijing sought to downplay the connection between their release and the return to China of a long-detained executive of Huawei Technologies. Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were detained in December 2019, days after Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, was arrested in Canada at the request of U.S. authorities. Meng fought the U.S. demand for extradition from Canada. She landed in China on Saturday after reaching a deal with the U.S. Justice Department.