Two Canadians return home after Huawei CFO resolves US charges

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hugged two Canadians who landed in Canada on Saturday in what amounted to a high-stakes prisoner swap involving China, the United States and Canada. Trudeau welcomed Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor after their plane landed in Calgary, Alta., Early Saturday.

The men were arrested in China in December 2018, shortly after Canada arrested Meng following an extradition request from the United States. Many countries have called China’s action a “hostage policy”.

The pair left China just after a senior executive at Chinese communications giant Huawei Technologies struck a deal with the US Department of Justice over fraud charges and flew from Canada to China.

The chain of events involving the world powers has brought an abrupt end to the legal and geopolitical quarrels which, for the past three years, have shaken relations between Washington, Beijing and Ottawa. The three-way deal allowed China and Canada to each bring home their own detained citizens as the United States completed a criminal case against a prominent Chinese tech executive who, for months, was mired in a dispute. extradition battle.

The first activity took place on Friday afternoon when Meng Wanzhou, 49, chief financial officer of Huawei and daughter of the company founder, reached an agreement with federal prosecutors calling for the fraud charges against her to be rejected next year and allowing him to return to China. at once. As part of the deal, known as the deferred prosecution agreement, she accepted responsibility for distorting the company’s business relationship in Iran.

The news of Meng’s imminent return was a major topic on the Chinese internet and in the midday report on state broadcaster CCTV, with no mention of the release of Kovrig and Spavor.

A video was also posted online of Meng speaking at Vancouver International Airport, saying; “Thank you motherland, thank you to the people of the motherland. You have been my greatest pillar of support.”

Former Canadian Ambassador to China Guy Saint-Jacques, Kovrig’s former boss when Kovrig worked as a diplomat, said he was delighted the two Canadians were at home.

“Obviously, the Chinese were so keen to get Meng back that they dropped all claims that the two Michael’s had been arrested for good reasons. They have to admit that their reputation has been badly tarnished,” St. Jacques. “There are grunts within the Chinese Communist Party, people say, ‘Which way are we going, Xi Jinping? We are creating too many enemies. Why are we enemies of countries like Canada and Australia? ‘ ”

Saint-Jacques said he believed China would think twice before using “hostage diplomacy” again.

The case against Meng stems from a January 2019 indictment by the Trump administration’s Justice Department that accused Huawei of stealing trade secrets and using a Hong Kong shell company called Skycom to sell equipment to Iran in violation of US sanctions. The indictment also accused Meng herself of committing fraud by misleading HSBC bank about the company’s business dealings in Iran.

As part of the deal with Meng, which was leaked in federal court in Brooklyn, the Justice Department agreed to dismiss fraud charges against her in December 2022 – exactly four years after her arrest – on condition that it comply with certain conditions, including not contesting any of the government’s factual allegations. The Justice Department also agreed to drop her request for Meng’s extradition to the United States, which she had vigorously contested, ending a process that prosecutors say could have persisted for months. .

After appearing by videoconference for her hearing in New York, Meng made a brief appearance in Vancouver court, where she was released on bail living in a multi-million dollar mansion while the two Canadians were held in cells. Chinese prison where the lights were on. 24 hours a day.

Outside the courtroom, Meng thanked the Canadian government for upholding the rule of law, expressed his gratitude to the Canadian people and apologized “for the inconvenience.”

“Over the past three years my life has been turned upside down,” she said. “It was a disruptive time for me as a mother, wife and business owner. But I believe every cloud has a silver lining. It was truly an invaluable experience in my life. I will never forget all the good wishes. that I received. ”

Soon after, Meng left on an Air China flight to Shenzhen, China, where Huawei’s headquarters are located.

White House Biden has maintained a hard line on Huawei and other Chinese companies whose technology is considered to pose national security risks.

Huawei has repeatedly denied claims by the US government and safety concerns with its products.