(Newswire.net— December 9, 2018) — The Chinese Foreign Ministry has urged Canada to immediately release the deputy president and financial director of Huawei Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested 7 days ago.
“China strongly urges the Canadian side to immediately release the detained person, and earnestly protect their lawful, legitimate rights, otherwise Canada must accept full responsibility for the serious consequences caused,” Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng said on Saturday.
Chinese news agencies urged Ottawa to immediately release Huawei’s CFO or to bear severe consequences. The exact nature of those consequences was not disclosed.
The Canadian envoy in Beijing was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign affairs where the Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng, handed over a “strong protest” note, Reuters reports.
Meng was arrested a week ago in Vancouver while waiting for a connected flight to Mexico. She was aware that she is under investigation in the US and avoided the country, however neglected to consider that Canada has special relations with its neighbor. Now, Meng is awaiting legal check on whether to be extradited to the US.
The daughter of Huawei founder and company’s CFO was probed for several months under the suspicion that she was selling tech equipment to Iran despite the US sanctions. Beijing, however, like many other places never agreed on the sanctions imposed by Washington and does not feel obligated to comply.
Chinese tech giant stated their CFO is arrested on assumptions that she is linked to the bank that tried to trade with Iran. Beijing accused Washington of a dirty political scheme in order to provoke China, but Ottawa is now stuck ‘between hammer and anvil’ waging consequences that will surly come. The only question is whether those consequences will come from Beijing or from Washington.
Meng, appeared on Friday before a court in Vancouver. The Canadian prosecutor asked for detention on grounds that she intends to escape from the country because she is being charged in the United States. If found guilty in the US, Meng could be sentenced to 30 years in prison.
“The ability to talk about free trade will be put in the ice box for a while. But we’re going to have to live with that. That’s the price of dealing with a country like China,” said David Mulroney, former Canadian ambassador to China, said on Friday.
Experts, however, say that Beijing’s retaliation would be beyond trade freeze given the fact that Canada is home to millions of Chinese citizens. Nearly half of Vancouver residents are from China, and no one knows for sure the extension of the possible consequences but they all agree that Canada will suffer.