VANCOUVER\u2014Chinese officials are demanding that Canada release Huawei Technologies\u2019 chief financial officer, who was arrested in Vancouver over the weekend and faces possible extradition to the United States.<\/p>\n
Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters Thursday that the Chinese government also wants Canadian officials to reveal the reasoning behind Meng Wanzhou\u2019s arrest Saturday.<\/p>\n
A profile of Huawei\u2019s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou is displayed on a Huawei computer at a Huawei store in Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec. 6. Canadian authorities said Wednesday that they have arrested Meng for possible extradition to the United States.
\nA profile of Huawei\u2019s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou is displayed on a Huawei computer at a Huawei store in Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec. 6. Canadian authorities said Wednesday that they have arrested Meng for possible extradition to the United States. (NG HAN GUAN \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)<\/p>\n
He also said Meng\u2019s legal rights must be ensured, adding that neither Canadian nor American officials had so far responded to China\u2019s concerns.<\/p>\n
The comments come after China\u2019s embassy in Ottawa issued a statement Wednesday calling Meng\u2019s arrest a serious violation of human rights.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Canada) arrested a Chinese citizen (who did not violate) any Canadian or American law,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will closely follow the development of the issue and take all measures to resolutely protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read more:<\/p>\n
Canadian authorities arrest CFO of Huawei Technologies at U.S. request<\/p>\n
Huawei CFO arrested in Vancouver for possible extradition to the U.S.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a clerk at the B.C. Supreme Court said Meng appeared in court Wednesday and a bail hearing is scheduled for Friday.<\/p>\n
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\nCanadian Justice Department spokesman Ian McLeod said the U.S. is seeking Meng\u2019s extradition, but couldn\u2019t provide further details about the case because a publication ban is in effect at Meng\u2019s request.<\/p>\n
Meng was changing flights in Canada when she was detained \u201con behalf of the United States of America\u201d to face \u201cunspecified charges\u201d in New York, Huawei said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe company has been provided very little information regarding the charges and is not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms. Meng,\u201d the statement said. \u201cThe company believes the Canadian and U.S. legal systems will ultimately reach a just conclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n
In April, China appealed to Washington to avoid damaging business confidence following a Wall Street Journal report that U.S. authorities were allegedly investigating whether Huawei violated sanctions on Iran amid spiralling technology tensions.<\/p>\n
That same month, Washington barred Huawei rival ZTE Corp. from exporting U.S. technology in a separate case over exports to Iran and North Korea.<\/p>\n
In its statement Wednesday, Huawei said the company complies with all laws and regulations in the countries where it operates, including applicable export control, sanction laws and regulations of the United Nations, the United States and the European Union.<\/p>\n
Huawei, the biggest global supplier of network gear used by phone and internet companies, has been the target of deepening U.S. security concerns. Under U.S. President Donald Trump and his predecessor, Barack Obama, Washington has pressured European countries and other allies to limit the use of its technology.<\/p>\n
The U.S. sees Huawei and smaller Chinese tech suppliers as possible fronts for Chinese spying and as commercial competitors. The Trump administration says they benefit from improper subsidies and market barriers.<\/p>\n
David Mulroney, a former Canadian ambassador to China, said U.S. and Canadian business executives could face reprisals in China.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s something we should be watching out for. It\u2019s a possibility. China plays rough,\u201d Mulroney told The Associated Press. \u201cIt\u2019s a prominent member of their society and it\u2019s a company that really embodies China\u2019s quest for global recognition as a technology power.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mulroney said Canada should be prepared for \u201csustained fury\u201d from the Chinese and said it will be portrayed in China as Canada kowtowing to Trump. He also said the Iran allegations are very damaging to Huawei and said China will push back hard.<\/p>\n
U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, a Republican member of the Senate armed services and banking committees, applauded Canada for the arrest.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmericans are grateful that our Canadian partners have arrested the chief financial officer of a giant Chinese telecom company for (allegedly) breaking U.S. sanctions against Iran,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Meng is a prominent member of Chinese society as deputy chairwoman of the Huawei board and the daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
VANCOUVER\u2014Chinese officials are demanding that Canada release Huawei Technologies\u2019 chief financial officer, who was arrested in Vancouver over the weekend and faces possible extradition to the United States. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters Thursday that the Chinese government also wants Canadian officials to reveal the reasoning behind Meng Wanzhou\u2019s arrest Saturday. A profile of Huawei\u2019s chief financial officer… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2691"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2692,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2691\/revisions\/2692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}