On Feb. 21, 2021, 800 days after the Chinese government locked up Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, Don Valley North MP Han Dong, a Liberal, called China’s Toronto Consul General, Han Tao, to discuss the case, which he shouldn’t have done.
Dong testified later that he could not remember the details of the conversation, but a CSIS transcript of the call said that he encouraged the Chinese to keep the two Michaels in jail, because releasing them would help the Conservatives. Two CSIS agents were so rattled by this and upset about Liberal inaction that they told Global News about it. Global ran a story. Dong denied it and sued Global, and on June 21 a judge ruled that the case can proceed, which was bad news for Global.
