[ad_1]
A diplomatic row between China and the West appears to be ending, after the release of two Canadians detained in China and a Chinese tech executive in Canada.
Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, arrested under a U.S. warrant in 2018, left Canada on Friday under a deal with U.S. prosecutors.
Hours later, it was announced that Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, accused of spying by China the same year, were returning home to Canada.
Beijing denies detaining the Canadians in retaliation for Ms. Meng’s arrest.
But critics accused China of using them as a political bargaining chip.
The two men had always maintained their innocence. At a press conference, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said they had gone through “an incredibly difficult ordeal”.
“It is good news for all of us that they are returning home with their families,” he added. “Over the past 1,000 days, they have shown strength, persistence, resilience and grace. “
The Prime Minister said the two men will arrive in Canada early on Saturday. They are accompanied by Dominic Barton, Ambassador of Canada to China.
Prior to her release, Ms Meng – the daughter of Ren Zhengfei, the billionaire founder of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei – admitted to misleading U.S. investigators about Huawei’s business dealings with Iran.
She spent three years under house arrest in Canada while fighting extradition to the United States.
Deal or domino effect?
Meng Wenzhou returns here full of praise and thanks for what she called “the motherland” and the ruling Communist Party in China. a party from which his employer Huawei has gone to great lengths to try to distance itself.
She admitted to misleading U.S. investigators about her involvement in payments for affairs in Iran.
As soon as her freedom was secured, China released the two Canadians she had held for days after her arrest.
Whether this is a deal or a domino effect is unclear, but only a few weeks ago the Chinese government once again insisted the two cases were unrelated. . “Different in nature,” he said.
The decision to release and send Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig home almost instantly after Meng Wenzhou was free to leave appears to show the pretext has been dropped.
Mr. Kovrig is a former diplomat employed by the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank.
Mr. Spavor is a founding member of an organization that facilitates international trade and cultural relations with North Korea.
In August this year, a Chinese court sentenced Mr. Spavor to 11 years in prison for espionage. No decision has been rendered in Mr. Kovrig’s case.
In a statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his country was “satisfied” with the Chinese decision, but added that the men had suffered “more than two and a half years of arbitrary detention”.
Earlier on Friday, a Canadian judge ordered the release of Ms. Meng, Huawei’s chief financial officer, after reaching a deal with U.S. prosecutors over fraud charges against her.
“Over the past three years my life has been turned upside down,” she told reporters outside the Vancouver courthouse.
“Each cloud has a silver lining,” she continued. “I will never forget all the good wishes I have received from people all over the world.”
Prior to her arrest, U.S. prosecutors charged Ms. Meng with fraud, alleging that she misled banks by processing transactions for Huawei that violated U.S. sanctions against Iran.
As part of a deferred prosecution agreement, Ms Meng admitted to misleading HSBC about Huawei’s relationship with Skycom, a Hong Kong-based company that operated in Iran.
The US Department of Justice said in a statement it was continuing preparations for the trial against Huawei, which is still on a commercial blacklist.
Ms. Meng is the eldest daughter of billionaire Ren Zhengfei, who founded Huawei in 1987. He also served in the Chinese military for nine years, until 1983, and is a member of the Chinese Communist Party.
Huawei itself is now the world’s largest manufacturer of telecommunications equipment. He has faced accusations that Chinese authorities may be using his equipment for espionage – claims he denies.
In 2019, the United States imposed sanctions on Huawei and placed it on an export blacklist, cutting it off from key technologies.
The UK, Sweden, Australia and Japan have also banned Huawei, while other countries, including France and India, have adopted measures that go as far as an outright ban.
Source link
