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China Investigating Canadian Couple on Suspicion of Espionage 2 Canadians Investigated in China Over Spying Claims
(about 17 hours later)
BEIJING — A Canadian couple who live in a Chinese city on the North Korean border are being investigated on suspicion of espionage, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. BEIJING — A Canadian couple with ties to a Christian organization that provides humanitarian assistance to North Koreans have been detained in China, family members said Tuesday.
Kevin and Julia Dawn Garratt are “suspected of collecting and stealing intelligence material in Dandong about Chinese military targets and important national defense research projects, and engaging in activities threatening to Chinese national security,” the ministry said in a reply to faxed questions. Dandong is a city in northeastern China, across the Yalu River from North Korea. The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not say whether they had been detained, but confirmed they were under investigation for possible espionage.
The ministry did not say whether the couple had been detained, but family members said they had been unable to reach them. Repeated calls to a coffee shop that the Garratts run in Dandong went unanswered. The authorities are investigating the couple, Kevin and Julia Dawn Garratt of Vancouver, British Columbia, on allegations of stealing intelligence material “about Chinese military targets and important national defense research projects, and engaging in activities threatening to Chinese national security” in the northeastern city of Dandong, the ministry said in a reply to faxed questions.
The announcement of the investigation of the couple, who are originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, comes a week after the Canadian government publicly accused China of hacking Canada’s top scientific research agency, which Beijing angrily denied. Family members said they had been unable to reach them since Monday night. Repeated calls to a coffee shop that the Garratts run in Dandong, across the Yalu River from North Korea, went unanswered.
While China has in the past used its vague state secrets law to prosecute naturalized, Chinese-born citizens of foreign countries, for such accusations to be levied against non-ethnic Chinese expatriates is much more unusual. The move comes at a time of growing antipathy toward the West on the part of Beijing and the Chinese state news media, some of it due to disputes involving cyberespionage. The announcement came a week after Canada publicly accused China of hacking its top scientific research agency. Beijing angrily denied that.
Officials from the Office of State Security in Liaoning Province notified the Canadian Embassy in Beijing about the case on Monday. The Foreign Ministry said the authorities had “fully ensured the various rights” of the couple. While China has used its notoriously vague state secrets law to prosecute naturalized, Chinese-born citizens of foreign countries, it is unusual for such accusations to be levied against nonethnic expatriates.
“We’re aware that two Canadians have been placed under investigation in China,” said a Canadian Embassy spokeswoman, who asked not to be identified in accordance with embassy policy. “We’re gathering information and monitoring the developments, and obviously consular officials here stand ready to provide any assistance if necessary. To protect the private and personal information of the individuals, we’re not commenting any further on this case.” “The idea that foreigners are spies and therefore should be dealt with severely hasn’t had prominence in China for some time,” said Charles Burton, a professor at Brock University in Ontario and a former Canadian diplomat in China. “But certainly under the new leadership, the Communist Party is less sympathetic to Western notions of rule of law.”
The Garratts have lived in China on and off since 1984 and moved to Dandong about six years ago, said their son Simeon Garratt, 27, who returned to Canada in 2009. The couple run Peter’s Coffee House, named for their younger son; the restaurant is known in Dandong for its Western fare and for a popular weekly discussion group for people studying English. “It’s a great opportunity to learn,” Liu Ziyu, who graduated from high school this summer and has frequently attended the “English Corner” discussion group for the past few years, said in a telephone interview. Officials at the Office of State Security in Liaoning Province notified the Canadian Embassy in Beijing of the case on Monday. The Foreign Ministry said the authorities had “fully ensured the various rights” of the couple.
With views of North Korea visible from its windows, the coffee shop quickly became a hub for the city’s expatriate English teachers and other foreigners, some of whom would gather privately for church services. The Garratts made no secret of their Christian faith. The elder Mr. Garratt’s Facebook page features a shot of his Bible next to a cup of coffee, and some of his “liked” pages belong to ministries and other Christian organizations. The Garratts have lived in China on and off since 1984 and moved to Dandong about six years ago, said their son Simeon Garratt, 27, who returned to Canada in 2009. They run Peter’s Coffee House, named for their younger son; the restaurant is known for its Western fare and for a discussion group for people studying English. “It’s a great opportunity to learn,” Liu Ziyu, who frequently attended the discussion group, said by phone.
But the couple’s younger son, Peter Garratt, 21, said Christianity was kept separate from their work, as proselytizing is banned in China. “They don’t try to hide it, but they’re not doing anything against the law,” he said by telephone from Dandong, where he is spending his summer vacation working at the coffee shop, which is now closed. The coffee shop became a hub for the city’s expatriate English teachers and other foreigners, some of whom had come with religious ambitions.
Peter Garratt last communicated with his parents on Monday night, while they were out for dinner. His father promised to send a photo of the meal. “That was the last time I heard from them,” he said. The Garratts made no secret of their Christian faith, which drew them to Dandong. In a sermon posted on the website of the Terra Nova Church in Surrey, British Columbia, Mr. Garratt, 54, framed the couple’s life in China in biblical terms: “God said, in a prayer meeting, go to Dandong and I’ll meet you there, and he said start a coffee house.” He added, “We’re trying to reach North Korea with God, with Jesus, and with practical assistance.”
On Tuesday morning, messages and calls started coming, but it was not until he read the news accounts that he realized the seriousness of the situation, Peter Garratt said. “At first I thought it was a joke,” he said. “I have no idea where these accusations are coming from.” In Dandong, the Garratts worked with North Star Aid, a humanitarian group focused on delivering food to North Koreans. According to the sermon, dated last November, they were cooperating with house churches in China to send clothes and other aid to North Korea and operated a special “training house” outside Dandong for North Koreans who crossed the border.
He said that no one from the Chinese government had contacted him but that his cellphone had suddenly started having problems. Still, he was able to reach his siblings in Canada to try to figure out their next steps. China looks askance at those seeking to assist North Koreans in the highly sensitive region. “If this couple was deeply involved in the North Korean refugee issue and then sending people back in to do missionary work, that is not something the Chinese want foreigners actively engaged in on that border,” said John Delury, an assistant professor of Chinese and East Asian studies at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea.
Reached by telephone in Vancouver, his older brother, Simeon, dismissed the accusations. The couple’s younger son, Peter, 21, said they had been careful not to violate government restrictions on proselytizing. “They don’t try to hide it, but they’re not doing anything against the law,” he said by phone from Dandong.
“My parents have loved China ever since they visited on their honeymoon,” he said. “If you knew them, it would be the most absurd thing you could ever imagine.” He said he had last spoken to his parents on Monday night, while they were out for dinner.
On Tuesday, Peter was summoned for questioning by the state security bureau and told to pick up some clothes and toiletries for his parents, he said.
Reached by phone in Vancouver, Simeon, one of three Garratt siblings back in Canada, said: “My parents have loved China ever since they visited on their honeymoon. If you knew them, it would be the most absurd thing you could ever imagine.”