HUAWEI EXEC FEELING HELPLESS SINCE ARREST.
VANCOUVER • Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou says she has experienced feelings of helplessness, torment and struggle since being arrested in Canada one year ago, but no longer fears the unknown.
In a post Monday on the Chinese telecom company’s website, Meng, 47, said she has passed the time on bail in one of her comfortable homes in Vancouver reading books, chatting with colleagues and painting.
Canadian authorities took Meng into custody at the request of the United States on allegations of violating sanctions on Iran, and her extradition case is now winding its way through British Columbia’s Supreme Court.
Soon after Meng was arrested, Beijing detained two Canadians, entrepreneur Michael Spavor and former diplomat Michael Kovrig, over accusations of undermining China’s national security, developments considered in Canada as retaliation for Meng’s arrest.
Canadian officials have met with Kovrig and Spavor several times, but the two have been denied access to lawyers or family while in detention.
Meng contrasted her working life as chief financial officer of Huawei to her current “luxury of taking my time and enjoying my surroundings.”
“Right now, time seems to pass slowly. It is so slow that I have enough time to read a book from cover to cover. I can take the time to discuss minutiae with my colleagues or to carefully complete an oil painting.”
Foreign Affairs Minister François-philippe Champagne said last month he had spoken with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, about Spavor and Kovrig at a G20 meeting. He said securing their release was his “absolute priority.”
Champagne said he expressed Canada’s concerns regarding “the conditions of the men’s detention” and that he and Wang were committed to continuing the discussions.
On Nov. 22, China’s ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu, reiterated his government’s long-standing hardline position, saying Meng’s arrest and extradition case amount to arbitrary detention, and that releasing Meng would pave the way for bilateral relations to return to normal.
She is accused of lying about Huawei’s relationship with its Iran-based affiliate Skycom to one of its bankers, HSBC, but she denies any wrongdoing. The allegations have not been tested in court.
The U.S. Department of Justice has laid 13 criminal charges, including conspiracy, fraud and obstruction, against Meng, whose father founded Huawei. The indictment accuses Huawei and Meng of misrepresenting their ownership of Skycom in an effort to circumvent U.S. sanctions against Iran.