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US, Canada promise due process for arrested Chinese executive
WASHINGTON, Dec 15, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The United States and Canada on
Friday promised a fair judicial process for a Chinese executive arrested in
Vancouver on a US request, as they appealed to Beijing to free two Canadians
held in apparent retaliation.
Foreign ministers and defense chiefs of the neighbors met in the US capital
as Canada increasingly looks like collateral damage in a simmering US-China
trade war, with Beijing at the same time working to ease trade tensions with
Washington.
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said authorities were acting
“scrupulously” in the detention of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer
of telecom behemoth Huawei whom Washington wants extradited for allegedly
violating US sanctions on Iran.
“We all agree that the most important thing we can do is uphold the rule of
law, ensure that Ms. Meng’s right to due process is respected and that the
current judicial process in Canada remains apolitical,” she told a joint news
conference.
Freeland repeatedly said that Canada “is a rule-of-law country” that
responded properly to an extradition request.
“In Canada, there has been to this point no political interference in this
issue at all,” she said.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States was also “respecting
the rule of law each step along the way” as it seeks Meng.
– China furious –
China, however, has said that Canada and the United States overstepped
their authority and that Meng, who was arrested while changing planes in
Vancouver, broke no laws.
Canada’s fears of repercussions have turned out to be well-founded, as
China has since detained two Canadians on suspicion of “harm to national
security” — a phrase often used by Beijing when alleging espionage.
The Canadians are Michael Spavor, a China-based consultant who arranges
visits for foreigners — including NBA star Dennis Rodman — to North Korea,
and Michael Kovrig, a Mandarin-speaking former Canadian diplomat who works
for the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank.
Canada’s foreign ministry said its ambassador to Beijing, John McCallum,
was granted consular access to Kovrig and is pressing for access to Spavor.
Speaking to The Canadian Press, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau predicted that
access would take place “shortly.”
“We are being absolutely clear on standing up for our citizens who have
been detained, trying to figure out why, trying to work with China to
demonstrate that this not acceptable,” he told Citytv in Toronto.
ICG stressed that “at no point has there been any hint of any wrongdoing”
by Kovrig.
“Far from being secretive, Michael’s work was open for all to see, Chinese
officials first and foremost,” ICG president and CEO Robert Malley said in a
statement, referring to the detainee’s past and present roles.
“The real danger to China comes from Michael’s arbitrary arrest and
detention for these will have a chilling effect on people wanting to visit
and engage with the country.”
Pompeo denounced the two men’s “unlawful detention” as “unacceptable” and
demanded their return.
Freeland called the release of the two men “a huge priority” for Canada.
Meng, who stands accused of misleading US investors on Huawei’s operations
in Iran, is out on bail of Can$10 million (US$7.5 million).
Her arrest comes as Pompeo leads a campaign to squeeze Iran’s economy to
curtail the Islamic republic’s influence across the Middle East.
He has vowed to press all countries, friend or foe, to cut off business
with Iran.
– China trade rift eases –
Even as China is seen as punishing Canada, it has appeared to pull its
punches with the United States and moved ahead on a trade truce negotiated
with President Donald Trump.
Beijing said Friday it would suspend extra tariffs on US-made cars and auto
parts for three months from January 1.
The move follows an accord between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping –
– reached on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires on December 1,
the very day Meng was arrested — to hold off on new tariffs set to take
effect in the new year and instead start negotiations on trade concerns.
Trump hailed the auto move, saying Beijing was taking action because
tariffs he unveiled in recent months had caused China’s economy to slow.
“China wants to make a big and very comprehensive deal. It could happen,
and rather soon!” he tweeted.
Canada has also been on the receiving end of Trump’s unorthodox approach on
trade.
In June, Trump publicly criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “very
dishonest and weak” for his statements on tariffs at a summit.
Freeland did not shy away from renewing Canada’s concerns. She said US
tariffs imposed on Canadian aluminum and steel, which Washington has
justified on national security grounds, were “unjust and illegal.”
“This is one of the situations you get in when the two largest economies in
the world, China and the United States, start picking a fight with each
other,” Prime Minister Trudeau said.
“The escalating trade war between them is going to have all sorts of
unintended consequences for Canada, potentially the entire global economy.
We’re very worried about that.”
BSS/AFP/GMR/0744 hrs