Prisoner swap Canadians freed for health reasons, says China

Michael Kovrig, centre, was detained with fellow Canadian Michael Spavor in December 2019 (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Two Canadians detained in late 2019 who were allowed to return to Canada in a prisoner swap were released on bail for health reasons, China’s foreign ministry has said.

A ministry spokeswoman made the comment as Beijing sought to downplay the connection between their release and the return to China of a long-detained Huawei Technologies executive.