China | Weekend profile

Michael Kovrig, former hostage of the Chinese state

Three years after his release, the Canadian tells his story to The Economist

Photograph: Courtesy of Michael Kovrig

THE GOGGLES were bothersome. They fogged up when worn with glasses, rendering the world fuzzy when Michael Kovrig wanted to send his accusers the clearest possible message. It was late March 2021. After more than two years locked up in the Beijing State Security Detention Centre the Canadian former diplomat had been placed in handcuffs and leg irons and driven to a windowless courtroom for a one-day trial, charged with procuring state secrets.

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