Arrests fuel anxieties among Canadian expats in China

BEIJING: The arrest of a third Canadian in China has heightened anxiety even in an expatriate community accustomed to some level of fear and uncertainty.

Beijing on Thursday confirmed it arrested Canadian Sarah McIver for "working illegally" in the country, following the detention of two other Canadians on national security grounds.

While Canadian authorities said the latest detention appears to be a routine visa case, it has nonetheless exacerbated concerns among Canadian expatriates in China -- fearful that they too might be detained over a legal technicality.

"I think most Canadians that are here are living in fear at some level, a fear of losing what they have here, a fear of getting arrested, fear of retribution," said Shanghai-based Ricky Ng-Adam, founder of CoderBunker, a community of software developers.

"It’s a constant fear," he said, adding that some of his compatriots self-censor their social media postings and try to keep a low profile.

Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and China-based business consultant Michael Spavor were detained on December 10 and accused of engaging in activities that "endanger China’s national security".

Kovrig is a senior adviser at the International Crisis Group think tank, while Spavor facilitates trips to North Korea, including visits by former NBA star Dennis Rodman.

Though no link has officially been made between the three detentions, suspicions are mounting that China is holding at least two of the Canadian nationals in retaliation of Canada’s arrest of Meng Wanzhou, a top executive at Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

The ambiguity surrounding the arrests has also added to the unease, said Canadian Adrian Wu, who frequently travels to China for both work and leisure.

"Even though the third person arrested is not related to the cases of the first two, people see the headlines and immediately think ‘a Canadian got taken’," he said.

Ottawa has repeatedly said Meng’s arrest was not political but rather part of a judicial process in keeping with an extradition treaty with Washington.

Meng was released on bail last week in Vancouver pending her US extradition hearing on fraud charges related to sanctions-breaking business dealings with Iran.

Ottawa and Washington on Friday stepped up pressure on Beijing and called for the immediate release of Kovrig and Spavor.