Meng arrived in Shenzhen by a special plane sent by the Wanzhou government. Reuters
Beijing:
In what is being touted as a major victory for China’s ruling Communist Party, Meng Wanzhou, the high-profile top executive of telecommunications giant Huawei who has been detained in Canada for more than three years, said in a special But upon arrival in Shenzhen received a hero. The plane sent by the government on Saturday.
Meng, 49, the vice chairman of Huawei’s board, its chief financial officer and daughter of the company’s founder Ren Zhengfei, credited the Communist Party of China (CPC), headed by President Xi Jinping, for her release.
He was released from legal detention in Canada on Saturday after he struck a deal with US prosecutors in a bank fraud case that had kept him in legal custody for nearly three years.
State television broadcast his arrival live on a special government-hosted plane at Shenzhen airport as officials, Huawei employees and health officials dressed in personal protective equipment suits greeted him.
After a brief speech hailing China, she left for a COVID-19 quarantine.
As her flight departed from Shenzhen, two former Canadian diplomats Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor, who were arrested in China in December 2018 in retaliation for Meng’s arrest, were taken out of prison Gone and taken away. Canada in what was seen as “hostage diplomacy”.
Two Canadians were accused of harming China’s national security.
China also blocked some major Canadian imports. Beijing has consistently denied that his arrest had anything to do with Meng’s case.
Significantly, there has been no official statement about his release in China and his independence was declared by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“About 12 minutes ago, the plane carrying Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor left Chinese airspace and they are on their way home,” Trudeau said, reported the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.
Both were captured soon after Meng’s arrest. Beijing detained a consultant Kovrig and Spavor, an analyst and former Canadian diplomat, and also commuted the 15-year prison sentence imposed on Canadian drug smuggler Robert Lloyd Schellenberg to death.
Last month, when Chinese courts rejected an appeal in Schellenberg’s death sentence, Canada’s ambassador to China Dominic Barton said it was “no coincidence” that the verdict was heard while Meng was still in Vancouver. was being held in.
As soon as she was released by a Canadian court, a Global Positioning System (GPS) tracker ankle bracelet that Meng had worn for more than two years was removed, and she addressed the public after the hearing, Canada’s judge And expressed gratitude for upholding the rule of the court. of law.
The Shenzhen airport, which was closed to international air traffic to combat the coronavirus pandemic, was opened for her flight from Canada, the Post reported.
Prior to his arrival, state-run China Central Television (CCTV) broadcast his departure live from Vancouver, where he praised the CPC and the Chinese government for his release.
Later in comments posted on social media, she said: “It’s dark outside. I’m in the sky over the Arctic, going home”.
His plane was flown over the Arctic, to avoid US Alaska airspace for fear that it might be diverted to the United States.
“Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, my country is becoming stronger and more prosperous day by day. Without a strong homeland, I would not have my freedom today. We live in a peaceful time and were born in a great The country,” Meng said, adding that she grew up during an era of reform and openness.
Meng said he had seen and experienced the great change made possible by the Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC.
Official media reported that Meng described China and the CPC as a shining light that illuminated the “darkest moments” of her life and took her on a long journey home.
His release comes days before China’s October 1 National Day, which falls on a Friday, and Meng said he is delighted to be able to celebrate in the homeland.
“Happy Birthday to the Motherland! The way home, despite its twists and turns, is the warmest way home in the world,” she said.
His theatrical release on Friday comes after he reached a landmark agreement with the US Justice Department that allows him to return to China, under which he has pleaded not guilty.
Official media quoted Meng’s lawyer, William Taylor, as saying: “She has not admitted her guilt and we sincerely hope that after fourteen months the indictment will be dismissed with prejudice. Now, she is back to live with her family.” would be free to return home.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement on Saturday: “Following the relentless efforts of the Chinese government, Meng left Canada and is returning on a charter flight organized by the Chinese government. She will soon be reunited with her family.” Will get you.”
“The facts have proven that this is a case of political persecution targeting a Chinese citizen with the aim of suppressing Chinese high-tech companies,” Hua said in a statement.
Hua’s statement made no mention of the two Canadians released on Saturday.
“The alleged fraud allegations against Meng are nothing but pure fabricated, she said.
“Even HSBC – the ‘victim’ designated by the US side – has released files proving Meng’s innocence,” state-run Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying.
Hua said what the US and Canada have done is a typical case of arbitrary detention.
Meng was released after his arrest in a deal to free two Canadians held in China.
It is seen as US President Joe Biden’s move to end growing hostilities between Washington and Beijing, made worse by the trade war started by his predecessor, Donald Trump.
Commenting on the simultaneous release of Meng and the Canadians, Tom Kellogg, executive director of the Center for Asian Law at Georgetown University Law School, told the Post that some viewed the release of the Huawei executive as a reflection of China’s harsh “hostage diplomacy” strategy. I can see the victory. .
Meng, who was accused of allegedly misleading banks about violating US sanctions regarding the company’s business deals in Iran, was arrested during the height of the Trump-initiated US-China trade war. it was done.
Meng was detained in Vancouver in December 2018 on US charges of bank fraud under the provisions of the US-Canada bilateral agreement.
The Huawei executive is also accused of misleading HSBC Holdings about its company’s dealings with Iran, which has been approved by the US.
Over the past three years, Meng fought a fierce legal battle to prevent his possible extradition to the United States.
His arrest shocked China, given Huawei’s iconic status in the country and came at a time when Trump banned the export of much-needed chips and other components used in its products and its network gear and smartphone businesses. Gave.
Meng’s detention also tarnished China’s image as a powerful country under the CPC.
The Chinese government has launched a major diplomatic offensive against the US and Canada over his “illegal detention”, while Xi himself pressed for his release in his recent phone conversation with Biden.
Observers say his release also shows that the Biden administration followed harsh policies toward China in line with the US president’s claim in his recent speech to the UN General Assembly to “not have a cold war” with China. .
“Canada is persuading the US to drop the case. As for the Biden administration, it is evaluating US-China relations from the position of strength over the past eight months, and considering whether it will allow the charges against Meng. If left, such progress would “suffice hopes of an improvement in bilateral relations,” El Jiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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