China | Weekend profile

Michael Kovrig, former hostage of the Chinese state

Three years after his release, the Canadian tells his story to The Economist

Photograph: Courtesy of Michael Kovrig

THE GOGGLES were bothersome. They fogged up when worn with glasses, rendering the world fuzzy when Michael Kovrig wanted to send his accusers the clearest possible message. It was late March 2021. After more than two years locked up in the Beijing State Security Detention Centre the Canadian former diplomat had been placed in handcuffs and leg irons and driven to a windowless courtroom for a one-day trial, charged with procuring state secrets.

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A chinese family crossing Darien Gap jungle

How to escape from China to America

We travel with Chinese migrants on the deadly journey to America’s border

A consumer selects milk at a supermarket in Nanjing, China

Why China is awash in unwanted milk

Dairy farmers are dumping the stuff, as some call for culling cows


A collage of President Xi and a hammer and sickle

Worries of a Soviet-style collapse keep Xi Jinping up at night

China’s Communists have now been in power longer than the Soviets


A missile test by China marks its growing nuclear ambitions

America worries that it is looking to surpass its own capabilities one day



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A rainbow appears to come down on pumpjacks drawing out oil and gas from wells near Calgary, Alberta.

Why is Canada’s economy falling behind America’s?

The country was slightly richer than Montana in 2019. Now it is just poorer than Alabama

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

A by-election loss puts Justin Trudeau on the ropes

For how much longer can the Liberal leader hold on?


Canada’s Conservatives are crushing Justin Trudeau

Pierre Poilievre is even winning over the young and the unionised


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Policy lessons from North America’s second-largest economy

Our podcast on markets, the economy and business. This week, we speak to deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland about the biggest challenges facing Canada’s government

Vancouver pioneered liberal drug policies. Fentanyl destroyed them

So-called harm-reduction measures have become a rod for Justin Trudeau’s back

1843 magazine | Canadian Sikhs thought they were safe to protest against India. Then one of them was gunned down

Sikhs campaigning for an independent state believe they are in the Indian government’s sights