AFRICA
China Grows Angry Towards the U.S. Over the Arrest of Huawei CFO
The arrest of a high-profile business executive has put a strain on the already deteriorating China-U.S. relations. Wanzhou Meng, 46, is not only the chief financial officer of Huawei—one of the biggest tech companies in China—but also the daughter of its founder. On December 1st, Meng was arrested during a trip from Hong Kong to Mexico and has been detained in Vancouver since then.
Meng was accused of “conspiracy to defraud multiple financial institutions”. According to authorities, Huawei has been evading U.S. sanctions on Iran through a shell company in Hong Kong. The Supreme Court of British Columbia was informed that from 2009 to 2014, Meng used a Huawei subsidiary named Skycom to dodge sanctions while misrepresenting it as a separate company. Canadian prosecutors claimed that Meng was aware of the accusations and had for months trying to avoid the U.S. government.
Meng denied the charges. Having spent over a week in detention, she recently returned to the Canadian court where she was expected to face a bail hearing.
Her lawyer, David Martin, said he planned to call two witnesses to draw up a “comprehensive community custody plan” in order for Meng to be released. Meng would pay for the monitoring expenses, he said.
Martin also put forward documents proving how Meng currently suffered from a number of serious health problems including hypertension and difficulty eating solid food. Therefore, he argued, she should be released on bail and rest in her Vancouver home instead.
In an affidavit, Meng expressed her willingness to give up her passports to authorities while she waited for the court’s decision on her extradition to the U.S. She would also pledge her two Vancouver homes as collateral.
“My father founded Huawei and I would never do anything that would cause the company reputational damage,” she said. “I believe breaching my bail conditions would cause such damage.”
Meng’s case took place amidst a series of trade disputes between China and the U.S. On December 8th, Trump and Beijing agreed on a 90-day truce, but as China grew increasingly angry about the incident, the Saturday efforts are expected to be undone soon.
After the arrest, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Yucheng Le met with both the US and the Canadian ambassadors and pushed strongly for Meng’s immediate release. Calling the case “extremely nasty,” Le insisted that Meng had never broken any laws and that her detainment was a severe violation of her rights.
“China will respond further depending on US actions,” he warned.
In a statement released by the ministry, China argued that detaining Meng while she was changing planes was “unreasonable” and “ignored the law.”
“China strongly urges the Canadian side to immediately release the detained person… otherwise Canada must accept full responsibility for the serious consequences caused,” the statement said.
Canada for its part tried to ensure China that Meng would be given due process. Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland also claimed that the case had “no political involvement” and Meng would be granted consular access during her trial.
Featured image via Alexander Bibik/Reuters