The Weekend Intelligence: Black boxes (part one): Michael Kovrig on how he became a political...

Michael Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat and researcher for the International Crisis Group, details his 1,019-day detention by Chinese authorities following the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver. This experience provides a rare, firsthand perspective on the inner workings of China’s security apparatus, which Kovrig describes as a system designed to render individuals powerless against the state. Beyond the personal trauma of isolation and interrogation, the account highlights the broader geopolitical shift where foreign nationals are increasingly treated as pawns in high-stakes diplomatic disputes. Kovrig’s narrative underscores the transition of China’s political climate toward heightened suspicion of foreign research, effectively criminalizing standard diplomatic reporting and turning the act of asking questions into a perceived threat to national security.