Chinese authorities had to take "compulsory measures" against two Canadian citizens suspected of "endangering national security," China's Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

China-based social entrepreneur Michael Spavor and former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig were taken into custody on Monday, ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told journalists in Beijing.

Spavor, who ran a non-profit organization that organized cultural and sports exchanges with Pyongyang, was arrested by the State Security Bureau of Dandong City, Liaoning Province, near the border with North Korea, Lu said.

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Kovrig, who was on an unpaid leave of absence from Global Affairs Canada to work as an expert on North-East Asia for the International Crisis Group, was arrested by the Beijing Bureau of Chinese State Security, Lu said.

“These cases are still under investigation,” Lu said. “The Beijing State Security Bureau and the Liaoning State Security Department have respectively informed the Canadian Embassy in China of these cases.”

The “legitimate rights and interests” of the two detained Canadians are guaranteed by Chinese law, Lu said.

But Lu would not say whether they’ve been given access to lawyers and consular assistance.

Ottawa is 'seized' by these cases

Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland speaks with the media during a news conference in Ottawa, Wednesday December 12, 2018. (Adrian Wyld/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Other than receiving faxed notifications of the arrests of these Canadians, the federal government has had no news from either Kovrig or Spavor, officials said Wednesday.

The Canadian government is “seized” by these cases and has raised them directly with Chinese authorities, Canadian officials said.

They are also providing consular assistance to the families of both detained Canadians, officials said.

News of their disappearance broke after a Vancouver court on Tuesday granted bail to Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese telecom giant Huawei. She is awaiting the outcome of extradition proceedings to the U.S. on fraud charges linked to possible violations of U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, talks with a member of her private security detail after they went into the wrong building while arriving at a parole office, in Vancouver, on Wednesday December 12, 2018. (Darryl Dyck/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

“We ask the Canadian side to immediately correct its mistake and release Ms. Meng Wanzhou,” Lu said.

Freeland reiterated Wednesday that as “a rule-of-law country” Canada had no choice but to act on the U.S. request to arrest and extradite Meng, that her case in Canada’s eyes it’s a purely legal matter.

However, in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump torpedoed Canada’s insistence that the matter should not be politicized when he indicated that he was willing to intervene on Meng's behalf if it would serve national security interests or help get a better trade deal with China.

“Whether the Meng Wanzhou case is a legal matter or political matter, the Canadian government knows it better than anyone else,” Lu said Thursday.

Who is Michael Kovrig?

Canadian officials say they are deeply concerned by the reported arrest of former Canadian diplomat and North East Asia expert Michael Kovrig in China. (International Crisis Group)

Kovrig, who speaks fluent Mandarin, was a great foreign service officer and was promoted to the position of first secretary in the political section of the Canadian embassy in Beijing, said former Canadian ambassador in China Guy Saint-Jacques.