No verdict has been released from the closed-door trial of Canadian businessman, Michael Spavor, who was locked up and charged with espionage by Chinese authorities in December of 2018 in what many see as retaliation for Canada's arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou just 9 days before. Also arrested on the same day was Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig, who is being held at a different location than Spavor.
The media was unable to cover the trial and was barred from entering the courthouse, The Times reports.
Back in June of 2020 a spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affair, Zhao Lijian, said that the release of Huawei's Meng Wanzhou back to China could improve the fate of the Canadians.
The same month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was "disappointed" with Communist China's decision to charge the two Canadians and told the media his government took the situation "very seriously", saying his government was working "behind the scenes in many direct and firm ways that has resulted in many positive outcomes in the past."