Canada demands China release detained Canadians

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland

(Image credit: Martin Quellet-Diotte/Getty Images)

published 23 December 2018

Canada on Saturday formally demanded China release two Canadians detained by Beijing in apparent retaliation for Canada's arrest of a Chinese tech executive on the United States' behalf.

"We are deeply concerned by the arbitrary detention by Chinese authorities of two Canadians earlier this month and call for their immediate release," said Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland. "We also believe this is not only a Canadian issue," she added. "It is an issue that concerns our allies."

The U.S., United Kingdom, and European Union issued supporting statements. A message from the U.S. State Department emphasized that Canada is abiding by its extradition agreements with the United States and expressed "deep concern" over the two Canadians' detention.

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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.