After years of denying the imprisonment of the two Michaels for espionage had anything to do with the arrest of Meng for fraud, China seemed to have dropped the charade. This was hostage diplomacy, and it looked to have paid off.
“I am shocked at what happened yesterday, genuinely shocked,” said Stephanie Carvin, associate professor of international relations at Carlton University. “China has been doing everything it can to try and make the case that the two incidents are completely separate. By letting the two Michaels go, even before Michael Kovrig had his sentence handed down, it just shows exactly what this is about.”
Only an academic “expert” could be “genuinely shocked” about China’s machinations.
