China protests arrest of Huawei CFO in Canada

The Chinese embassy in Canada is demanding the release of telecom Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou (Sabrina Meng), who was arrested in Canada last weekend and faces extradition to the U.S. The embassy issued a statement Wednesday claiming that Canadian authorities “arrested a Chinese citizen not violating any American or Canadian law.” “The Chinese side firmly opposes and strongly protests over such kind of actions which seriously harmed the human rights of the victim,” the statement said, adding it’s responded sternly and is urging Canada and the U.S. to “immediately correct the wrongdoing and restore the personal freedom of Ms. Meng Wanzhou.” A Canadian justice department spokesperson confirms that she was arrested in Vancouver on December 1, but could offer few details because of a publication ban sought by Meng. “She is sought for extradition by the United States, and a bail hearing has been set for Friday,” Ian McLeod, a spokesperson for the department of justice, said in a statement. “As there is a publication ban in effect, we cannot provide any further detail at this time.” The Globe and Mail first reported the arrest Wednesday, citing an unnamed “law-enforcement source” that said the U.S. is alleging she tried to dodge the U.S. embargo against Iran. For its part, Huawei issued a statement it has been “provided very little information regarding the charges and is not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms. Meng.” “Recently, our corporate CFO Ms. Meng Wanzhou was provisionally detained by the Canadian authorities on behalf of the United States of America, which seeks the extradition of Ms. Meng Wanzhou to face unspecified charges in the Eastern District of New York, when she was transferring flights in Canada,” it said. “The company believes the Canadian and US legal systems will ultimately reach a just conclusion.” U.S. lawmakers have been pressing Canada to ban Huawei from its 5G networks, citing international cyber security concerns about Chinese spying and the arrest lands in the middle of high-stakes trade talks between the U.S. and China. CSE officials were tight lipped on the ongoing national security review of 5G, or any potential of a 5G ban, at a media briefing Thursday about its first national cyber threat assessment report.

China protests arrest of Huawei CFO in Canada

Brief | December 6, 2018

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China protests arrest of Huawei CFO in Canada

Brief | December 6, 2018

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