Canada Ex-Adviser Says China Pressure Won’t Work

Canada Ex-Adviser Says China Pressure Won’t Work

A former foreign policy adviser to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Chinese pressure on the Canadian government to release a top executive of Huawei won’t work.

BEIJING  — THE Latest on the arrest of a top executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei in Canada (all times local):

11:30 a.m.

A former foreign policy adviser to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Chinese pressure on the Canadian government to release a top executive of Huawei won’t work.

In a tweet, Roland Paris says, “Perhaps because the Chinese state controls its judicial system, Beijing sometimes has difficulty understanding or believing that courts can be independent in a rule-of-law country. There’s no point in pressuring the Canadian government. Judges will decide.”

Paris was responding to reports from Beijing that China’s Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng had summoned Canadian Ambassador John McCallum on Saturday over the holding of Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, who is reportedly suspected of trying to evade U.S. trade curbs on Iran.

Le called Meng’s detention “unreasonable, unconscionable, and vile in nature” and warned of “grave consequences” if she is not released.

___

9:40 a.m.

China has summoned the Canadian ambassador to protest the detention of a top executive of leading Chinese tech giant Huawei, calling it “unreasonable, unconscionable, and vile in nature” and warning of “grave consequences” if she is not released.

A report by the official Xinhua News Agency carried on the Foreign Ministry’s website says Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng had called in Ambassador John McCallum on Saturday over the holding of Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, who is reportedly suspected of trying to evade U.S. trade curbs on Iran.

Huawei is the biggest global supplier of network gear for phone and internet companies and has been the target of deepening U.S. security concerns. The U.S. has pressured European countries and other allies to limit use of its technology.

Share:
error: Content is protected !!