UPDATE 4-China charges Canadian with spying, stealing state secrets -Xinhua

(adds comment from China's Foreign Ministry and Garratt's
lawyer)
TORONTO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Canada said on Thursday it was
monitoring developments closely after China indicted a Canadian
citizen detained since 2014 on charges of spying and stealing
state secrets.
Kevin Garratt was detained in August 2014 near China's
sensitive border with North Korea along with his wife, who was
also detained for months before being released last year.
Xinhua state news agency said Garratt was indicted in
Dandong, a city in China's northeast where the Garratts had
operated a cafe since 2008.
"During the investigation, Chinese authorities also found
evidence which implicates Garratt in accepting tasks from
Canadian espionage agencies to gather intelligence in China,"
Xinhua reported.
The Garratts ran a Christian coffee shop on the sensitive
border with North Korea. China strictly regulates religious
activities within its borders but its Foreign Ministry said on
Friday that the case had nothing to do with Garratt's faith.
"China's judicial authorities will handle the case strictly
according to law and Kevin Garratt's legal rights will be fully
guaranteed," ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters.
The case has inflamed tension between Ottawa and Beijing.
The arrest happened less than a week after Canada accused
Chinese hackers of breaking into a key computer network.
"Canada finds the indictment of Kevin Garratt by China
concerning," said foreign ministry spokesman Francois Lasalle.
The indictment was announced the day after Canadian Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau and senior cabinet ministers attended a
lavish party in Ottawa hosted by China to mark the 45th
anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
Diplomatic ties began under former Prime Minister Pierre
Trudeau, Justin Trudeau's father. China invited Justin Trudeau
for a state visit shortly after he won power in October.
Garratt's son, Simeon Garratt, a Vancouver resident, said he
was waiting for an update from his family's legal team in China.
"We don't really have any more word on it other than that.
We haven't had access to anything to this point. It's a waiting
game to be honest," Garratt said in an interview.
He said his mother was still not able to leave China. Julia
Garratt was released in February but barred from leaving.
James Zimmerman, a Beijing-based lawyer for the Garratt
family, declined to comment and said he was waiting to receive
official documents from the court.
Brock University professor Charles Burton, a former Canadian
diplomat who served two tours in China, said the indictment
could signal the start of a process to expel the couple.
The main opposition Conservative Party demanded Ottawa act
to secure Garrett's release.
"It is the height of irony, that as the Prime Minister ...
(was) celebrating with Chinese diplomats at an event in Ottawa
last night, Kevin Garratt sat in a Chinese jail," it said in a
statement.