{{Short description|Canadian consultant (born 1976)}} {{Use Canadian English|date=January 2022}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Michael Spavor | image = Michael-Spavor-2010 (cropped).jpg | alt = | caption = Spavor in August 2010 | birth_name = Michael Peter Todd Spavor | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1976}} | birth_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada | death_date = | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = {{hlist|Consultant|director}} | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = | website = {{URL|https://web.archive.org/web/20201007065756/http://paektuculturalexchange.org/|paektuculturalexchange.org}} (until 2020) }}
'''Michael Peter Todd Spavor''' (born 1976)<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Pollard |first1=Martin Quin |last2=Ljunggren |first2=David |last3=Ljunggren |first3=David |last4=Scherer |first4=Steve |last5=Scherer |first5=Steve |date=March 19, 2021 |title=Trudeau condemns Canadian's trial held behind closed doors in China |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/china/one-two-canadians-accused-by-china-spying-set-begin-trial-2021-03-19/}}</ref> is a Canadian consultant who has worked extensively in North Korea. He is the director and founding member of Paektu Cultural Exchange, an NGO that facilitates sports, cultural, tourism and business exchanges involving North Korea.<ref name="BBC2018">{{Cite web |date=December 13, 2018 |title=Michael Spavor: The detained Canadian close to Kim Jong-un |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46552644 |access-date=December 18, 2018 |website=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=September 26, 2021 |title=Huawei CFO gets hero's welcome; Canadians land quietly |language=en |work=National Post |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/huawei-cfo-gets-heros-welcome-canadians-land-quietly |access-date=September 30, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 11, 2021 |title=Cocktails with Kim Jong Un: the Canadian jailed in China for spying |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210811-cocktails-with-kim-jong-un-the-canadian-jailed-in-china-for-spying |access-date=September 30, 2021 |website=France 24 |language=en}}</ref>
In December 2018, while he was living and working in Dandong on the Chinese side of the China–North Korea border, Spavor was taken into custody, along with Michael Kovrig, by Chinese officials.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 30, 2020 |script-title=ja:北朝鮮交流事業のマイケル・スパバ氏 中国でのVIP待遇から一転スパイ罪（1/2） |language=ja |work=KoreaWorldTimes |url=https://www.koreaworldtimes.com/topics/news/7493/ |accessdate=July 5, 2020}}</ref> The arrest was widely interpreted as retaliation for Canada's arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Clarke |first=Donald |date=December 17, 2018 |title=China is holding two Canadians as hostages. It's not even denying it. |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2018/12/17/china-is-holding-two-canadians-hostages-its-not-even-denying-it |access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref><ref name="NYTSentenced">{{Cite news |last1=Buckley |first1=Chris |last2=Bilefsky |first2=Dan |last3=Sherlock |first3=Tracy |date=August 10, 2021 |title=China Sentences Canadian Businessman to 11 Years in Prison |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/10/world/asia/china-canada-spavor-kovrig.html |access-date=October 1, 2021}}</ref> On August 10, 2021, Spavor was sentenced to 11 years in prison for espionage.<ref name="NYTSentenced" /><ref name="sentenced">{{Cite news |last=Crossley |first=Gabriel |date=August 10, 2021 |title=Chinese Court Convicts Canadian Michael Spavor on Charge of Espionage |agency=Reuters |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-08-10/chinese-court-convicts-canadian-michael-spavor-on-charge-of-espionage |access-date=August 10, 2021}}</ref> On September 24, 2021, Spavor was released after the dropping of Meng Wanzhou's extradition request as part of her deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |date=September 24, 2021 |title=China releases detained Canadians Kovrig, Spavor after extradition against Meng Wanzhou dropped |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/china-releases-detained-canadians-kovrig-spavor-after-extradition-against-meng-wanzhou-dropped/ |access-date=September 25, 2021 |archive-date=September 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925005810/https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/china-has-released-detained-canadians-kovrig-spavor-pm-1.5598969 |url-status=live }}</ref> Canadian officials initially claimed the espionage charges were "unfounded". However, in 2023, Spavor alleged that he may have unwittingly been used by Michael Kovrig for espionage, saying Kovrig had passed on information relating to North Korea from Spavor to Canadian intelligence agencies.<ref name="auto2">{{cite news | url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-spavor-kovrig-china-intelligence-background/ | title=Spavor blames fellow prisoner Kovrig for Chinese detention, alleges he was used for intelligence gathering | newspaper=The Globe and Mail | date=November 18, 2023 }}</ref> In 2024, Spavor received 7 million dollars from the Canadian government in a settlement over his detention in China.<ref name="auto3">{{cite news | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/spavor-government-settlement-1.7136196 | title=Michael Spavor reaches settlement with federal government over detention in China | newspaper=CBC}}</ref>
== Early life and education == Michael Spavor was born in Toronto, Ontario. He has a degree from the University of Calgary in international relations, focusing on the Korean Peninsula and East Asian Studies, and has studied International Trade and Political Science at Kangwon National University in South Korea.<ref name="paektusan" /> Spavor is fluent in Korean, including the North Korean dialect,<ref name="Reuters2018">{{Cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Josh |last2=Ljunggren |first2=David |date=December 13, 2018 |title=Detained in China: Canadian businessman known for ties to North Korean leader |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-icg-businessman/detained-in-china-canadian-businessman-known-for-ties-to-north-korean-leader-idUSKBN1OC0LU |access-date=December 18, 2018}}</ref> and French.<ref name="paektusan">{{Cite web |title=About PCE - DPRK Academic Exchanges | DPRK Cultural Exchange | DPRK Investments |url=http://paektuculturalexchange.org/about-pce/ |publisher=Paektuculturalexchange.org |accessdate=February 8, 2018 |archive-date=September 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927025741/http://paektuculturalexchange.org/about-pce/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Career == Spavor's ties with North Korea go back to at least 2001,<ref name=Reuters2018/> when he first visited the country. In 2005, he became the managing director of a Vancouver-based NGO and spent six months working as a teacher at an affiliated school in Pyongyang. In the same year, he met American defector James Joseph Dresnok in Pyongyang.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Michael Spavor |title=Interview with the late Joe Dresnok's two sons about their father's death and legacy. (And my chance meeting with him) | the Paektu blog |url=http://paektuculturalexchange.org/interview-with-the-late-joe-dresnoks-two-sons-about-their-fathers-death-and-legacy-and-my-chance-meeting-with-him-the-paektu-blog/ |publisher=Paektuculturalexchange.org |accessdate=February 8, 2018 |archive-date=January 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131044912/http://paektuculturalexchange.org/interview-with-the-late-joe-dresnoks-two-sons-about-their-fathers-death-and-legacy-and-my-chance-meeting-with-him-the-paektu-blog/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Spavor is friends with Kenji Fujimoto, Kim Jong-il's Japanese former sushi chef, whom he first met in Japan in early 2016 and again in April 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Michael Spavor |title=PART 3: FINDING FUJIMOTO: How Fujimoto and I first met | the Paektu blog |url=http://paektuculturalexchange.org/part-3-finding-fujimoto-how-fujimoto-and-i-first-met-the-paektu-blog/ |publisher=Paektuculturalexchange.org |accessdate=February 8, 2018 |archive-date=February 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208125214/http://paektuculturalexchange.org/part-3-finding-fujimoto-how-fujimoto-and-i-first-met-the-paektu-blog/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In South Korea, Spavor attended Kangwon National University and worked for the Korea Tourism Organization and Seoul Tourism Organization. He also was a council member of the Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch from 2010 to 2013, giving lectures and leading cultural excursions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=An |first=Sonjae |date=2013 |title=2013 COUNCIL THE KOREA BRANCH OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY |journal=Transactions |volume=88 |page=4 |url=http://anthony.sogang.ac.kr/transactions/VOL88/Vol88.pdf}}</ref> He gained attention for restoring and living in a hanok in Bugahyeon-dong in western Seoul,<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 16, 2010 |title=Hanok, built by nature |work=G-Korea |agency=Arirang |issue=2 |url=http://www.arirang.com/Tv2/TVCommon_NoStaff_Archive.asp?PROG_CODE=TVCR0524&MENU_CODE=101090&view_seq=2520&Page=3&sys_lang=Eng |accessdate=October 6, 2020 |archive-date=May 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517002121/https://www.arirang.com/Tv2/TVCommon_NoStaff_Archive.asp?PROG_CODE=TVCR0524&MENU_CODE=101090&view_seq=2520&Page=3&sys_lang=Eng |url-status=dead }}</ref> and appeared in a music video for the K-pop group SES.<ref name="10mag">{{Cite news |last=Carruth |first=David |date=July 2010 |title=North of the Border |publisher=10 Magazine |issue=10 |url=https://issuu.com/10magazine/docs/10mag-2011july |accessdate=October 6, 2020}}</ref>
From 2010 to 2013, Spavor worked for the Pyongyang Project, a Canadian non-profit that organized educational exchanges in North Koreans and provided scholarships for North Korean students overseas, and in 2015 he founded Paektu Cultural Exchange.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Jeong-ho |date=December 14, 2018 |title=DEC 14 2018 TRANSLATING CHINA POLITICS He built a career on North Korea. Now China's come for him |url=https://www.inkstonenews.com/politics/who-michael-spavor-second-canadian-detained-china/article/2177982 |accessdate=May 9, 2019}}</ref>
Spavor has strong personal ties with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.<ref name=Reuters2018/> In September 2013, Spavor facilitated the second visit of Dennis Rodman to North Korea and became one of the few Westerners to have met Kim while in the city of Wonsan. Spavor later organized Rodman's 2014 visit.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fifield |first=Anna |date=March 25, 2017 |title=North Korea's leader is a lot of things – but irrational is not one of them |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/north-koreas-leader-is-a-lot-of-things--but-irrational-is-not-one-of-them/2017/03/25/67b458d8-0da8-11e7-aa57-2ca1b05c41b8_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |accessdate=February 8, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=December 1, 2013 |title=The Canadian behind Dennis Rodman's travels in North Korea |url=http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/kim-jong-un-meet-the-nhl/ |publisher=Macleans.ca |accessdate=February 8, 2018}}</ref> Spavor has been involved in the financial development of Wonsan, which is a high priority for Kim Jong-un, who has invested at least $150 million into the city.<ref name="Reuters2018" />
In January 2016, Spavor and Paektu Cultural Exchange sought a European Order for Payment against the betting company Paddy Power for failing to fulfill their contractual obligations after they pulled sponsorship for a basketball event to be held in North Korea.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mark Paul |date=January 22, 2016 |title=Paddy Power's Pyongyang problem |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/retail-and-services/paddy-power-s-pyongyang-problem-1.2505728 |publisher=Irishtimes.com |accessdate=February 8, 2018}}</ref>
In March 2016, Spavor organized the Pyongyang International Friendship Ice Hockey Exhibition (PIFIHE), bringing around 20 foreign hockey players<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dunbar |first=Jon |date=March 21, 2016 |title=Ideological barrier melts down with skating, shooting and body checks |publisher=The Korea Times |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/sports/2017/12/663_200822.html |access-date=May 9, 2019}}</ref> to North Korea, including two Canadian residents of South Korea, for a series of games and other workshop events.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dunbar |first=Jon |date=March 3, 2016 |title=Canadian brings hockey to North Korea |publisher=The Korea Times |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/sports/2017/12/663_199651.html |access-date=May 9, 2019}}</ref>
In 2017, during a qualifying match between the North and South Korean women's ice hockey teams for the 2018 Winter Olympics, Spavor was assaulted by South Korean security officials as he tried to display the North Korean flag.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cheng |first=Eun-Young Jeong and Jonathan |date=February 15, 2018 |title=At the Olympics, It's Not Just North Koreans Rooting for North Korea |newspaper=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/at-the-olympics-its-not-just-north-koreans-rooting-for-north-korea-1518687475 |via=www.wsj.com}}</ref>
Outside of sports exchanges, Spavor also played a role in the restoration of the Ryongwang Pavilion in Pyongyang, spending four years on the project alongside the Prince Claus Fund and North Korea's National Administration for the Protection of Cultural Heritage.<ref>{{Cite web |title=4-Day Pyongyang, Mass Games, Trade Fair, DMZ & Film Festival Tour |url=http://paektuculturalexchange.org/september2018pyongyang/ |website=Paektu Cultural Exchange |accessdate=October 6, 2020 |archive-date=February 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222172910/http://paektuculturalexchange.org/september2018pyongyang/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Spavor is often consulted by analysts and journalists for insights into North Korea.<ref name="Reuters2018" /> He has, however, been reluctant to comment on politics and human rights in North Korea.<ref name="BBC2018" />
== Detention in China == {{Main|Detention of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig}} In December 2018, China detained Spavor and Michael Kovrig, another Canadian national, on charges of endangering state security. The arrests came shortly after Canada had arrested Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei, in what turned into an escalating diplomatic row between the two countries.<ref name="Reuters2018" />
Spavor and Kovrig were reportedly held in isolation without being allowed outdoors, kept under lighting and surveillance 24 hours a day, with 6 to 8 hours of interrogations per day.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vanderklippe |first=Nathan |date=April 10, 2019 |title=Two Canadians detained in China for four months prevented from going outside, official says |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-two-canadians-detained-in-china-are-prevented-from-seeing-the-sun-or/ |accessdate=May 9, 2019}}</ref> China allowed three consular visits as of February 1, 2019.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 1, 2019 |title=Detained Canadian Michael Spavor gets third consular visit in China |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-detained-canadian-michael-spavor-gets-third-consular-visit-in-china/#comments |accessdate=May 9, 2019}}</ref> During Spavor's detention, his friends noticed suspicious activity on his social media accounts, leading them to believe Chinese interrogators were accessing his accounts.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hotham |first=Oliver |date=January 2, 2019 |title=DPRK consultant's social media activity hints at invasive Chinese interrogation |url=https://www.nknews.org/2019/01/dprk-consultants-social-media-activity-hints-at-invasive-chinese-interrogation/ |accessdate=May 9, 2019}}</ref>
In mid-December 2018, a GoFundMe campaign was started to raise funds for Spavor to help with any legal and travel costs following his release,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Small |first=Kaylen |date=December 18, 2018 |title=GoFundMe campaign created for Michael Spavor, Canadian detained in China |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4775472/gofundme-michael-spavor-detained-china/ |accessdate=May 9, 2019}}</ref> but three weeks later on January 7, 2019, the crowdfunding platform terminated the campaign.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bronskill |first=Jim |date=January 7, 2019 |title=Friend worried about detained Canadian after fundraising effort shut down |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/spavor-gofundme-friend-worried-1.4969141}}</ref> Though the campaign had raised {{Currency|14000|CAD}} before being terminated, GoFundMe gave less than $500 to the designated beneficiary (Spavor's brother).<ref name="globeandmail">{{Cite news |date=January 6, 2019 |title=GoFundMe pulls campaign for Michael Spavor, detained Canadian, after thousands raised |publisher=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-gofundme-pulls-campaign-for-michael-spavor-detained-canadian-after/}}</ref> Though GoFundMe did not give an explanation, Spavor's friend speculated the reason might be Spavor's past promotion of tourism in North Korea, a country under US sanctions.<ref name=globeandmail/>
Andrei Lankov, an expert on North Korea, expressed surprise over Spavor's arrest in this "hostage game", saying that Spavor "is from very humble origins [and] definitely not the son of a CEO of a major Canadian company".<ref name="edit_Seco">{{Cite web |last=Berlinger |first=Joshua |date=December 13, 2018 |title=Second Canadian detained in China as diplomatic spat intensifies |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/12/asia/canada-china-spavor-intl/index.html |access-date=December 18, 2018 |website=CNN}}</ref> Friends describe Spavor as "only pursuing his love for Korea"<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dunbar |first=Jon |date=December 20, 2018 |title=China, release our friend |publisher=The Korea Times |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2018/12/197_260673.html |accessdate=May 9, 2019}}</ref> and "not really interested in politics... more passionate about things on a smaller scale{{snd}} people-to-people interactions, and friendship among citizens of different countries, regardless of geopolitical climate or issues".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zwetsloot |first=Jacco |date=December 30, 2018 |title=My life at a Korean law firm (part 44) |publisher=The Korea Times |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2018/12/727_261173.html |access-date=May 9, 2019}}</ref>
In the lead-up to the first high-level diplomatic talks between Chinese officials and American officials working for Joe Biden, Spavor's trial date was announced. On March 19, 2021, a two-hour closed court hearing for Spavor ended with no immediate verdict and Dandong Intermediate people's court stating that it would set a date to release a decision later. Because the case involved Chinese national security law, the chargé d'affaires at the Canadian Embassy in China was denied entry to provide consular assistance. Diplomats from the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Australia, Sweden and Germany also sought access but were denied.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 18, 2021 |title=Michael Spavor's trial in China ends without a ruling |work=CBC News |agency=Thomson Reuters |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/spavor-kovrig-michaels-trial-spying-1.5955938 |access-date=March 19, 2021}}</ref>
On August 10, 2021, a Chinese court sentenced Spavor to 11 years in prison and said that he would be deported, though it was unclear when.<ref name="sentenced" /> With Meng Wanzhou's case dropped, Spavor was released shortly after on September 24, 2021 and returned to Canada.<ref name="auto" />
=== Government settlement and allegations of intelligence sharing === According to a report by ''The'' ''Globe and Mail'' in November 2023, Spavor sought a multimillion-dollar settlement against the federal government for involving him in espionage activities without his knowledge. Spavor alleged that he provided Michael Kovrig with intelligence on North Korea, which Kovrig then secretly gave to the Canadian government and its Five Eyes allies without Spavor's permission, leading to their arrest and detention.<ref name="auto">{{Cite news |date=2023-11-18 |title=Spavor blames fellow prisoner Kovrig for Chinese detention, alleges he was used for intelligence gathering |work=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-spavor-kovrig-china-intelligence-background/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=2023-11-19}}</ref> According to the report, a "highly placed source" told The Globe that Kovrig was "considered an intelligence asset, as a diplomatic officer at the Global Security Reporting Program (GSRP) within the Canadian embassy in Beijing, and later when based in Hong Kong at International Crisis Group."<ref name="auto" />
A watchdog report criticized the GSRP operating in a "distinctly grey zone", putting its officers and their contacts at risk and might breach global diplomatic conventions.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fife |first1=Robert |last2=Chase |first2=Steven |title=Global Affairs unit ran afoul of Vienna Convention, national-security watchdog review finds |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-national-security-watchdog-slams-diplomatic-intelligence-collection/ |access-date=10 March 2024 |work=The Globe and Mail |date=20 December 2023 |language=en-CA}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Opinion: Canada's Global Security Reporting Program needs an overhaul, not mere tinkering |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-canadas-global-security-reporting-program-needs-an-overhaul-not-mere/ |website=The Globe and Mail |access-date=10 March 2024 |language=en-CA |date=21 December 2023}}</ref><ref name="Guardian21Dec2023">{{cite news |last1=Cecco |first1=Leyland |date=21 December 2023 |title=Canada intelligence operation put diplomats in legal 'grey zone' – report |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/21/canada-intelligence-program-danger-report-china-detention |access-date=8 March 2024 |work=The Guardian |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
In December 2023, ''The'' ''Globe and Mail'' reported that the Canadian government has offered {{CAD|3 million}} each to Kovrig and Spavor, while Spavor's lawyer is seeking $10.5 million.<ref name="web">{{Cite news |date=2023-12-26 |title=Ottawa ready to pay financial settlements to the two Michaels over their ordeal in Chinese prisons |work=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ottawa-ready-to-pay-financial-settlements-to-the-two-michaels-over/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=2023-12-26}}</ref> Spavor reached a $7 million settlement deal with the Canadian government in March 2024.<ref>{{cite web|date= March 6, 2024 |title=Michael Spavor reaches settlement with federal government over detention in China|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/spavor-government-settlement-1.7136196|access-date=March 6, 2024|website=CBC|language=en}}</ref>
==== Reactions ==== In a statement, Global Affairs Canada denied that Kovrig was involved in espionage.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-18 |title=Suggestion Kovrig, Spavor involved in espionage perpetuating 'false narrative,' GAC says after report |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/article/suggestion-kovrig-spavor-involved-in-espionage-perpetuating-false-narrative-gac-says-after-report/ |access-date=2023-11-19 |website=CTV News |language=en}}</ref> Kerry Buck, a retired diplomat and senior fellow at the University of Ottawa's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, also rejected claims of espionage, saying that "GSRP diplomats write diplomatic reports. As with all diplomatic reports, they are read by people in Ottawa, including the CSIS. [...] In no world does this make GSRP diplomats 'spies'."<ref name=Guardian21Dec2023/>
In response to the report, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin argued that the Canadian position on the Michaels detention being arbitrary had been "debunked by facts over time" and that the allegations were "a complete distortion of facts and blame-shifting".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-30 |title=China says Canada is distorting facts over jailing of 'Two Michaels' |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3243367/china-says-canada-distorting-facts-over-jailing-two-michaels |access-date=2023-12-01 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20210301044623/https://www.freemichaelspavor.com/ ''Free Michael Spavor'']}}
{{Authority control}} {{Meng Wanzhou and the 2 Michaels}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spavor, Michael}} Category:1976 births Category:2010s missing person cases Category:Canadian consultants Category:Canadian people imprisoned abroad Category:Canadian people taken hostage Category:Formerly missing Canadian people Category:Living people Category:Missing person cases in China Category:People from Toronto Category:Foreign nationals imprisoned in China Category:University of Calgary alumni