Chinese telecom giant Huawei rejoiced on Tuesday after a judge on British Columbia’s Supreme Court granted bail to Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s CFO and the daughter of its founder. Still, Beijing hasn’t released any information about jailed former diplomat Michael Kovrig, who was arrested in China recently and is believed to be in the government’s custody.
In a statement issued Wednesday, International Crisis Group, Kovrig’s employer at the time of his arrest, confirmed that it hasn’t received any information about Kovrig’s whereabouts and is “concerned for his health and safety,” according to Bloomberg.
“Crisis Group has received no information about Michael since his detention and is concerned for his health and safety. We are making every effort to learn more and to secure consular access to Michael from the Chinese authorities,” ICG said.
Kovrig’s primary duties involve interviewing Chinese officials to accurately reflect their views in the ICG’s research. The organization insisted that Kovrig didn’t do anything illegal, or otherwise threaten Chinese National Security.
“Michael did not engage in illegal activities nor did he do anything that endangered Chinese national security,” Crisis Group Chief
Instead, the agency’s executive officer said Kovrig was doing what all of the company’s analysts do.
“He was doing what all Crisis Group analysts do: undertaking objective and impartial research. Developing policy recommendations that aim to prevent and end deadly conflict”
Offering one clue as to the circumstances surrounding Kovrig’s arrest, China said Wednesday that he had been detained by Beijing because of his employment at a company that was “not registered in China legally,” citing a law passed in 2016 that the New York Times said has had “a chilling effect on the work of foreign charities, universities and nonprofit groups in the country.” That statement was China’s first official comment on the situation. Still, no information about Kovrig or his whereabouts was released.
“In this case, if I.C.G. personnel conduct activities in China, then that will already violate Chinese law,” Lu Kang, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said at a regularly scheduled briefing on Wednesday.
Asked directly if the International Crisis Group was registered in China, Mr. Lu said: “It is not registered in China legally.” The spokesman did not mention Mr. Kovrig by name or his group by its full name, only its acronym.
“If I.C.G. said its personnel was conducting activities in China, then according to the Chinese N.G.O. law of 2016, then they will be violating Chinese law because they have not registered in China,” Mr. Lu said.
The group did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its legal status in China. Earlier Wednesday, its president said Mr. Kovrig had not engaged in illegal activities.
Kovrig, a fluent Mandarin speaker, has been employed by the ICG as an in-house analyst since February 2017. Prior to that, he served as a diplomat for the Canadian government between 2003 and 2016, with stints in Hong Kong and Beijing.
