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the two Michaels
DCHP-3 (Sep 2024)
The term the two Michaels is not the preferred term by the two individuals affected. However, this term has been embraced by the Canadian media landscape and politicians alike.
Recommendation: do not actively use or promote the term.
Recommendation: do not actively use or promote the term.
expression — Politics
a shorthand for Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, two victims of Chinese authorities.
Type: 1. Origin — The term is a Type 1 Canadianism - Origin - as the two individuals impacted are Canadian and the case has been covered most prominantly by Canadian news outlets. As displayed in Chart 1 (see below), there is a significant difference between the use of the term in Canada as opposed to other internet domains.
The term the two Michaels refers to two Canadian citizens - Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor - who were both unjustly detained by the Chinese government in what may be called two cases of modern-day state-sponsored kidnapping. The backstory to the kidnappings seems to be the US government's request for Canadian government assistance to detain the CFO of Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in Vancouver International Airport on 1 December, 2018. The arrest of Michael Korvig and Michael Spavor happened nine days later. They were finally released almost three years later (see the 2022 quotation), on the same day that Meng was released from Canadian detention, on 24 September, 2021 (see The Canadian Encyclopedia reference for more details).
The term appears to have been coined rather quickly, in early 2019 (see the first quotation from January 2019), as Korvig and Spavor's detainment began to attract considerable attention from the public.
The term the two Michaels refers to two Canadian citizens - Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor - who were both unjustly detained by the Chinese government in what may be called two cases of modern-day state-sponsored kidnapping. The backstory to the kidnappings seems to be the US government's request for Canadian government assistance to detain the CFO of Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in Vancouver International Airport on 1 December, 2018. The arrest of Michael Korvig and Michael Spavor happened nine days later. They were finally released almost three years later (see the 2022 quotation), on the same day that Meng was released from Canadian detention, on 24 September, 2021 (see The Canadian Encyclopedia reference for more details).
The term appears to have been coined rather quickly, in early 2019 (see the first quotation from January 2019), as Korvig and Spavor's detainment began to attract considerable attention from the public.
Quotations
2018
[Spokesperson Lu Kang confirmed that entrepreneur Michael Spavor and former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig were taken into custody on Monday and that they are being handled separately [the term had not been established yet].]
2019-Dec
And as Meng awaits her extradition trial while living in her Vancouver mansion, the two Michaels are being held in harsh conditions, highlighting the gap between the two countries’ legal systems and standards for treatment of prisoners.
2019-Jan
Guy Saint-Jacques, former Canadian ambassador to China, suggested the primary motivation behind the men’s detentions is political. Saint-Jacques served as ambassador between 2012 and 2016, when Kovrig also worked for the embassy.“I think the expectation of the Chinese side is to continue to put pressure on us so at some point we’ll just say … ‘Ms. Meng will be allowed to go back to China,’” he said in a December interview.“I’m pretty sure if this were to happen, the two Michaels would be deported shortly afterwards.”Former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans said Tuesday he was “totally confident” Kovrig’s detention was motivated purely by politics. Neither Kovrig nor ICG pose any kind of threat to China’s national security, he said. Evans had served as chief executive of the ICG.
2020
A former Canadian ambassador to China says this weekend’s revival of consular access to the “two Michaels” who have been detained since 2018 is good news for their families, but should not be viewed as a breakthrough.
2022
The two Michaels were imprisoned for 1,020 days. They were freed on the same day as Meng — 24 September 2021.
References
- The Canadian Encyclopedia • Meng Wanzhou Affair (Two Michaels Case)
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