Canada on Friday launched the extradition of Huawei Technologies Co (華為) chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou (孟晚舟) to the US — the latest move in a case that has roiled relations between the North American neighbors and China.
Beijing was quick to react, saying that Ottawa’s action amounted to a “severe political incident.”
The 47-year-old businesswoman was changing planes in Vancouver in December last year when she was detained at Washington’s request on suspicion of contravening US sanctions on Iran — sparking arrests of Canadians in China that were seen as retaliatory.
Photo: AP
“Today, Department of Justice Canada officials issued an Authority to Proceed, formally commencing an extradition process in the case of Ms Meng Wanzhou,” the government said in a statement.
Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder Ren Zhengfei (任正非), is due in court on Wednesday, when prosecutors are to present the evidence against her and lay out detailed arguments for her extradition.
The decision, the statement said, followed a “thorough and diligent” review that found sufficient evidence to warrant putting the matter before a judge.
At the end of the process — which could last months, or even years — the Canadian attorney general is to have the final say on whether to hand Meng over.
Beijing yesterday voiced its “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to Canada, which obstinately moves forward the so-called judicial extradition process.”
The US and Canada were “abusing their bilateral extradition treaty to apply arbitrary coercive measures against Chinese citizens, in violation of their rights and legitimate interests,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lu Kang (陸慷) said in a statement.
“This is a severe political incident,” he added.
China had “solemnly protested” to the Canadian authorities for Meng’s release, and called on the US to drop its arrest warrant and extradition request, Lu said.
Meng has been released on bail pending the outcome of the hearings.
China is furious over the US charges against Meng, saying that they are the product of “strong political motivations” and an attempt to undermine its flagship telecom.
Huawei has strenuously denied any wrongdoing.
Nine days after Meng’s arrest, Chinese authorities detained two Canadians — former diplomat Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor — in what was widely seen as an act of retaliation.
A third Canadian, meanwhile, had his sentence for drug trafficking upped from 15 years in prison to death row.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has insisted on a strict hands-off approach to the issue, with the Canadian Department of Justice saying on Friday that “Canada is a country governed by the rule of law.”
Trudeau sacked his ambassador to China for undermining that position by saying that Meng had a “strong” case against extradition and later adding that it would be “great for Canada” if the US dropped the case.
In January, the US announced 13 charges against Meng, Huawei and two affiliates.
Officials separately filed 10 charges against two Huawei affiliates for allegedly stealing technology from T-Mobile.
Prosecutors said that between 2007 and 2017, Meng, Huawei and subsidiaries sought to mask their business with Iran in contravention of US and UN sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Meng in particular “repeatedly lied” to bankers about the relationships between the companies, especially with Skycom, a Huawei affiliate in Iran, according to the charges.
That broke the law, justice officials in Washington said, because the Iran business involved US dollar transactions processed by banks through the US.
Huawei and the affiliates lied to US authorities and obstructed the investigation, court documents say.
The company is also accused of a concerted effort to steal technology related to a phone-testing robot dubbed Tappy from a T-Mobile USA lab in Washington state, and of rewarding staff for stealing competitors’ technology secrets.
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