Exclusive: Two Canadians confess guilt, granted bail for medical reasons before leaving China: source
独家：两名加拿大人认罪，离开中国前因医疗原因获准保释：来源
Two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, confessed their guilt for crimes they committed in China and were released on bail for medical reasons before they departed China on a plane to Canada on Friday, the Global Times learned from a source close to the matter on Sunday.
《环球时报》周日从一位知情人士处获悉，两名加拿大人迈克尔·科夫里格和迈克尔·斯帕沃尔承认了他们在中国犯下的罪行，并在周五乘飞机离开中国前往加拿大之前因医疗原因被保释。
After the confirmation from related departments and diagnosis of professional medical institutes and under the guarantee of the Canadian ambassador to China, Beijing No.2 Intermediate People's Court and the High People's Court of Liaoning Province decided to release them on bail in accordance with law, the source said.
经有关部门确认和专业医疗机构诊断，并在加拿大驻华大使的担保下，北京市第二中级人民法院和辽宁省高级人民法院决定依法取保候审。
Spavor, who was sentenced in August to 11 years in prison for espionage and illegal provision of China's state secrets to foreign entities, was found to have taken photos and videos of Chinese military equipment on multiple occasions and illegally provided some of those photos to people outside China. He also had personal property of 50,000 yuan ($7,700) confiscated and will be expelled.
今年8月，斯帕沃尔因间谍罪和向外国机构非法提供中国国家机密罪被判处11年有期徒刑。他被发现多次拍摄中国军事装备的照片和视频，并将其中一些照片非法提供给境外人士。他还被没收个人财产5万元（7700美元），并将被开除。
The photos and videos Spavor took during his stay in China have been identified as second-tier state secrets.
斯帕沃尔在中国期间拍摄的照片和视频已被认定为二级国家机密。
Spavor was a key informant of Kovrig and provided him with information over a long period. Sources told the Global Times that from 2017 to 2018, Kovrig entered China under the disguise of the forged identity of a businessman and had collected a large amount of information on China's national security through his contacts in Beijing, Shanghai and Jilin in Northeast China.
斯帕沃尔是科夫里格的关键线人，长期向他提供情报。消息人士告诉《环球时报》，2017年至2018年间，科夫里奇以伪造的商人身份伪装进入中国，并通过其在中国东北北京，上海，吉林等地的人脉，收集了大量有关中国国家安全的信息。
Kovrig wrote analysis reports based on this information, which included several confidential state secrets and intelligence.
科夫里希根据这些信息撰写分析报告，其中包括几项机密的国家机密和情报。
A court in Beijing opened the trial of former Canadian diplomat Kovrig over espionage charges on March 22. The verdict was said to be announced at a chosen time in accordance with the law.
北京一家法院3月22日开庭审理加拿大前外交官科夫里希的间谍罪指控。据说判决将依法在选定的时间宣布。
The Global Times learned during the process, the relevant departments detained, arrested the two Canadians in accordance with the laws and released them on bail based on the people's court's decision. Their legal right to defense and other litigation rights are fully protected.
《环球时报》了解到，在此过程中，有关部门依法对两名加拿大人进行了拘留，逮捕，并根据人民法院的判决取保候审。他们的合法辩护权和其他诉讼权利得到充分保障。
The two confessed to their crimes and wrote confession and repentance letters in their own handwriting. According to relevant authorities, the two defendants should strictly abide by the decision on bail. In case of violation, China can resume the trial of the alleged criminal acts.
二人对自己的罪行供认不讳，并亲笔写下认罪悔过书。据有关机关称，两名被告应严格遵守保释决定。在违反的情况下，中国可以恢复对被指控的犯罪行为的审判。
The two Canadians flew home the same day as Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's senior executive, was freed after reaching a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the US Department of Justice in a case of federal charges against her for bank and wire fraud and returned home after being held for nearly three years in Vancouver.
这两名加拿大人是在华为高管孟晚舟与美国司法部就联邦指控她银行和电汇欺诈的案件达成暂缓起诉协议(DPA)后获释，在温哥华被关押近三年后回国的同一天乘飞机回国的。
Some Western media outlets and politicians claimed the release of the two Canadians is "hostage diplomacy," however, the incident of Meng is entirely different from the cases of the two Canadians in nature, and experts said that Meng's was indeed a "political hostage" taken by the US and Canada given the mounting evidence.
一些西方媒体和政界人士称释放两名加拿大人是“人质外交”，然而孟晚舟事件与两名加拿大人的事件性质完全不同，专家称，鉴于越来越多的证据，孟晚舟确实是被美加劫持的“政治人质”。
"First, the case of Meng is a typical political maneuver by Canadian politicians as it's a political incident cooked up by the US and Canada, but the criminal facts concerning the case of two Michaels are evident with many evidence showed by the Chinese courts, so these two Canadians are not so-called hostages at all," Yao Peng, deputy secretary-general of the Canadian Studies Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday.
中国社会科学院加拿大研究中心副秘书长姚鹏周日对《环球时报》表示：“首先，孟晚舟案是加拿大政客的典型政治伎俩，因为这是美国和加拿大炮制的政治事件，但两名迈克尔案的犯罪事实很明显，中国法院出示了很多证据，所以这两名加拿大人根本不是所谓的人质。”
That the two Canadians left China after they were released on bail is in line with legal procedures, Peng Qinxuan, an expert from the Wuhan University Institute of International Law, told the Global Times on Sunday. It is also common practice in the US to grant bail with certain guarantees and money to make sure the defendant will not cause danger to the society if granted bail.
周日，武汉大学国际法学院专家彭钦轩告诉《环球时报》，两名加拿大人保释后离开中国符合法律程序。在美国，保释也是一种常见的做法，保释时要有一定的担保和金钱，以确保被告在获得保释后不会对社会造成危险。
Ironically, as soon as the two Canadians touched down in Canada, the Canadian intelligence eagerly welcomed them, which proved their identities and activities of spies are not made up by China.
具有讽刺意味的是，这两名加拿大人在加拿大一着陆，加拿大情报部门就急切地欢迎他们，这证明了他们的间谍身份和活动不是中国编出来的。
"Welcome home, Michaels," Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) wrote on Twitter. "CSIS joins all Canadians in welcoming you back to Canada."
“欢迎回家，迈克尔斯，”加拿大安全情报局(CSIS)在推特上写道。“CSIS与所有加拿大人一起欢迎你们回到加拿大。”
The so-called "hostage diplomacy" - a phrase boasted by the Canadian government, is an excuse that it has prepared to coax understanding within Canada as the Canadian government has never had the initiatives to resolve Meng's case because the US is behind the incident, Yao said.
姚说，所谓的“人质外交”--加拿大政府吹嘘的措辞--是一个借口，它准备好在加拿大内部哄骗理解，因为加拿大政府从来没有主动解决孟某的案件，因为美国是事件的幕后黑手。
While the release of Meng and the return of the two Canadians may signal a new beginning for China-Canada relations, some experts remained cautious about mending the fences effectively since the bilateral ties reached a freezing point over the past few years.
尽管孟晚舟的获释和两名加拿大人的回归可能标志着中加关系的一个新的开端，但一些专家对有效修补关系仍持谨慎态度，因为两国关系在过去几年中已达到冰点。
Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University stressed that it remains to be seen how far Ottawa will align itself with Washington in its strategic competition with Beijing.
中国外交大学国际关系学院教授李海东强调，渥太华在与北京的战略竞争中与华盛顿结盟到什么程度还有待观察。
Li pointed out that in the short run Canada is unlikely to shake off the binding on diplomacy with the US which recognizes China as a strategic competitor, so its China policy highly depends on the US' China policy.
李瑞环指出，短期内加拿大不太可能摆脱对美外交的束缚，因为美国承认中国是一个战略竞争对手，加拿大的对华政策高度依赖于美国的对华政策。
The bias on ideology and values are influencing Canada's diplomacy with China, which also limits the efforts of the Trudeau government to significantly improve its China policy, the Chinese expert noted.
这位中国专家指出，意识形态和价值观上的偏见正在影响加拿大的对华外交，这也限制了特鲁多政府大幅改善对华政策的努力。
Serving as a lapdog of the US government, the Trudeau administration had also faced harsh criticism domestically for its handling of the case of Meng, and China-related matters also became an issue that the Conservative Party of Canada, the opposition party, tried to capitalize on to pressure Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's ruling Liberal Party, according to experts.
专家表示，作为美国政府的宠儿，特鲁多政府在处理孟晚舟一案上也面临国内严厉批评，而与中国有关的问题也成为反对党加拿大保守党试图利用的一个问题，向总理贾斯廷特鲁多领导的执政党自由党施压。
During recent Canada's election, Trudeau won enough seats in the 44th general election but still formed a minority government.
近期加拿大大选期间，特鲁多在第44届大选中获得足够席位，但仍组建少数派政府。
"With the constraints of opposition parties, the anti-China vibes have a negative impact on China-Canada relations," Yao said.
“在反对党的制约下，反华情绪对中加关系产生了负面影响，”姚说。
Also on Saturday, when Meng made her way home to China, the Communist Party of Canada sent congratulations for her release and return.
同样在周六，当孟晚舟回国时，加拿大共产党对她的获释和回国表示祝贺。
Still, her return means the biggest political obstacle to bilateral relations has been removed, Yao said, noting that under the common vision of economic and trade exchanges, response to climate change and epidemic prevention and control, China-Canada relations are expected to gain some momentum but possibility of repair is only built under the premise that Canada maintains strategic autonomy in its policy with China.
姚说，尽管如此，她的回归意味着两国关系的最大政治障碍已经消除。她指出，在经贸往来，应对气候变化和疫情防控等共同愿景下，中加关系有望获得一些势头，但修复的可能性只有在加拿大对华政策保持战略自主性的前提下才有。
