Diplomat says Meng case based on politics

A senior Chinese diplomat has said that Canada’s detention of a top Chinese executive is not a mere judicial case but a premeditated political action.

It is a case in which the United States wields its governmental power in a witch hunt against a Chinese high-tech company based on political considerations, Lu Shaye, China’s ambassador to Ottawa, wrote in an article published in Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail on Thursday.

Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co, was arrested in Canada while transferring in Vancouver to a flight to Mexico on Dec 1. On Tuesday, Meng was released on bail of C$10 million ($7.5 million) pending a hearing on possible extradition to the US.

“It all comes down to the fact that many still have a stale, Cold War mentality, believing that China — a socialist country led by the Communist Party of China — is an abnormal country,” Lu wrote.

They are worried that China is catching up to Western countries too quickly, and that it will surpass them economically as well as in science and technology, he added.

According to Lu, the reason behind all the bullying behaviors of the US is that it pursues power politics against other countries, relying on its huge advantage in national strength.

As for Canada, it detained Meng in an unreasonable way given that she has not been charged with anything under Canadian law, which is clearly not judicial independence but a miscarriage of justice, he wrote.

Lu also wrote that it is gratifying to see that many Canadians have criticized the their government for its unreasonable behavior.

“The Chinese people used to have a favorable impression of Canada. But Canada’s behavior this time has chilled their feelings,” he wrote.

US constitutional lawyer Bruce Fein told China Central Television news channel CGTN that breaking Iran sanctions is a trivial concern for US national security and these kinds of violations are routinely handled with a civil fine.

“All those irregularities suggest there is a political motivation behind this,” he said.

If the Canadians conclude that the motivation behind this particular arrest and extradition request was not really based on law enforcement, but to send a political signal to China, that would exempt Meng from extradition, he added.