TORONTO — The son of two Canadians being detained in China on suspicion of stealing state secrets says the allegations against his parents don’t make any sense.
Simeon Garratt says his parents were out for dinner with friends in the Chinese city of Dandong — near the border with North Korea — where they own a coffee shop, when they were detained Monday night.
He says Chinese authorities have told his family that his parents are being held in an undisclosed location and his brother, who lives in Dandong, hasn’t been allowed to speak with them yet.
Garratt says the situation is extremely confusing because his parents — who have lived in China for the past 30 years — have never been in a position to have access to Chinese state information.
China’s official Xinhua News Agency says Kevin Garratt and Julia Dawn Garratt are being investigated by the state security bureau on suspicion of stealing state secrets about China’s military and national defence research.
A spokesman for the department of Foreign Affairs says Canadian officials are in contact with local Chinese authorities and are providing assistance to the detained couple.