Answers from Canadian businessman who has not been detained in Chinese prisons for five years
Wang Yan vividly recalled the last time she heard her husband's voice, five years ago.
It was December 13, 2019, when Canadian citizen Li Yonghui went to a public square in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China, to exercise while he was talking to his wife in Canada via his cell phone.
Wang recalled: “Suddenly, the phone ended, like someone caught his phone. I called other families (in China) and no one knew what was going on.”
Lee was caught by city police, who accused him on social media of allegedly “allegedly illegally collecting public funds” through his company Qingyidai, a platform for people to lend.
Li Yonghui, a Canadian businessman who has been detained in China since 2019, saw this undated photo provided by his family.
Canadian News/Wang YAN
Li has been detained since then and has never been tried or sentenced.
Now, his family has taken a rare step to openly speak out to seek his case.
Canadian Global Affairs said it realized that China has about 100 Canadians.
However, it is not common for their families to speak out or urge them to make decisions about their situation in Canada.
Chinese authorities began cracking down on online lenders in 2019, but Wang kept her husband’s innocence in running youth, which Chinese media described as the largest such platform in Hebei.
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“Of course, we believe he is innocent, but if he does violate some law or rules, please try him and sentence him to him to sentence him to him.”
“We have no doubt about this…but nothing has happened in a few years.”
Wang said Lee has not visited the Herbie Detention Centre, except for his lawyers and staff at the Canadian Embassy.
Lee's daughter, Wandi Li, was 21 years old when she was arrested. She regretted that she “basically grew up in an adult life without him.”
“My father, he has this habit that is not really about himself,” Wandi Li recalls the last conversation before their arrest. “He just asked me what was going on in my life,” she said.
“I’m the youngest in my family, so there’s always this tendency to make me different from what’s going on.”
In an email response to the question, Canada Global Affairs said it was aware of Lee's detention and provided consular assistance, but no additional details were released due to privacy concerns.
Lee's family commented after Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said last month that four Canadians have been executed by Chinese authorities recently, all Canadians have been executed as dual citizenship, and all Canadians have been charged with drug-related crimes.
Former Chinese detainee Michael Kovrig said via email that he would advise the detainees' relatives to “get an excellent Chinese lawyer.”
He said he would also urge the Canadian government to advocate for detainees and contact human rights groups, but this could be confronted with Chinese authorities.
“Understand that if you make a decision, the court may sentence a relatively harsh sentence,” he said. “What they want is repentance and confession, and they may be willing to provide a easier sentence for this.”
“This will be negotiated by lawyers.”
Kovrig and fellow Canadian Michael Spavor were detained in China in 2018 and held for more than 1,000 days, accused of surveillance at the Canadian government said the Canadian government said it was a false effort to force Canada to release Huawei Chief Executive Meng Wanzhou.
Wang said she could not comment on China's recent executions because she was unfamiliar with the circumstances of the cases.
But as Lee's detention continues, their families are paying more attention and health issues have emerged. She said her husband had high blood pressure and his guard refused to let him see a dentist.
Kovrig said the king was not allowed to speak to her husband, which was consistent with others he saw in Chinese detention.
He said that while conditions may vary between detention centers, Chinese facilities often “do not meet the basic standards of the UN Nelson Mandela rules”, referring to the UN minimum treatment standards for prisoners.
“Detainees are usually limited to just one cell, with limited access to the outdoor area to move,” he said. “There are very limited books to read. No media. No writing material. Maybe there are some TV at night. Sleeping in a hard bed in a crowded cell with multiple roommates.
Kovrig said detention could also mean ongoing surveillance, limited bathroom facilities and “zero privacy.”
Wandi Li said she was hopeful about her father's safety return to Canada.
“Our hope is that this word does solve it, and that's hope because if more people know this, maybe the government in China will be a little more rocking to decide the case and release my father,” she said.
Wang Yan said she knew the risks of speaking out, but all she wanted was movement and certainty.
“We have no choice,” she said.
& Copy 2025 Canadian Press
