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Huawei executive gets bail in case rattling China ties
VANCOUVER, Dec 12, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A Canadian court granted bail on
Tuesday to a top Chinese telecom company executive wanted in the United
States in a case that has rattled relations between China and the North
American allies.
The conditional release granted to Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial
officer of Huawei, came hours after the detention of a former Canadian
diplomat in Beijing further stoked tensions.
Meng, who faces a US extradition bid on charges related to alleged
violations of Iran sanctions, was granted Can$10 million (US$7.5 million)
bail, ordered to surrender her passport and will be subjected to electronic
monitoring.
“The risk of (Meng’s) non-attendance in court can be reduced to an
acceptable level by imposing the bail conditions proposed by her counsel,” a
judge in Vancouver said, prompting the courtroom packed with her supporters
to erupt in cheers.
She was expected to be released shortly, and will be allowed to stay at a
luxury home owned by her husband, Liu Xiaozong, in Vancouver.
Her December 1 arrest in Vancouver has shaken China’s relations with Canada
and the United States, and raised concerns that it could derail a US-China
trade war truce.
US officials have said the arrest was unrelated to the trade talks, but US
President Donald Trump told Reuters he “would certainly intervene” in the
case if it can help strike a deal with China.
Huawei is a strategically key company for China’s global high-tech
ambitions, but some of its services have been blocked in the United States,
Australia, New Zealand and Britain over security concerns.
Meng, who is the daughter of Huawei’s founder, is accused of lying to
bankers about the use of a covert subsidiary to sell to Iran in breach of
sanctions. If convicted, she faces more than 30 years in prison.
The extradition process, scheduled to start on February 6, could take
months, even years, if appeals are made in the case.
Her lawyer, David Martin, argued that she was not a flight risk because it
would otherwise “embarrass China itself”. She had also cited health reasons
for requesting bail.
During a break in the proceedings, Martin said Meng looked forward to a
break to spend with family, read novels and maybe apply to a doctorate
program while the extradition case played out after “working hard for 25
years”.
Huawei said in a statement it was confident that the courts would “reach a
just conclusion” in the case and stressed that the company complies with all
laws and sanctions.
– Former diplomat detained –
While Meng secured her release, the International Crisis Group think thank
said its North East Asia senior adviser, former Canadian diplomat Michael
Kovrig, was detained by Chinese state security in Beijing on Monday night.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau voiced concern over the detention.
“This has our attention at the very highest level of our government,” said
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland.
China had warned Canada of “grave consequences” over Meng’s arrest as it
demanded her release, although Canada said no link between the two cases had
been established.
But a former Canadian ambassador to Beijing, Guy Saint-Jacques, said
Kovrig’s detention was likely linked to Meng’s case.
“There is no coincidence in China,” Saint-Jacques told AFP. “In this case
it is clear the Chinese government wants to put maximum pressure on the
Canadian government.”
– ‘He loves China’ –
Kovrig, a Mandarin speaker, was a political officer at the embassy from
2014-2016 who met with dissidents and travelled to China’s restive far west
Xinjiang region, Saint-Jacques said.
He took an unpaid leave from the embassy because he “loves China” and
wanted to continue to work in the country, the former ambassador said.
“It’s easy to concoct espionage accusations against someone in China,” he
said.
“When I learned the news this morning it deeply saddened because Michael
was a good political officer, but he is not a spy at all,” Saint-Jacques
said.
The US State Department called on China to “end all forms of arbitrary
detentions.”
China’s state security and foreign ministries did not immediately respond
to faxed questions.
Brussels-based ICG said in a statement that it has received no information
about Kovrig since his detention and is concerned about his health and
safety.
“Michael did not engage in illegal activities nor did he do anything that
endangered Chinese national security,” ICG president Robert Malley told AFP.
“He was doing what all Crisis Group analysts do: undertaking objective and
impartial research.”
BSS/AFP/GMR/1119 hrs