Tit for Tat! China Detains Canadian Citizen and Ex-Diplomat; Revenge For CFO of Huawei?

Michael Kovrig, a citizen of Canada who was detained in China, is accused of sabotaging national security.

Michael Kovrig, a citizen of Canada who was detained in China, is accused of sabotaging national security. That's what the local newspapers write. The experts think that the Canadian ex-diplomat may remain in Chinese jail for years and Beijing will press Ottawa, taking into account that Kovrig is a close friend of Prime Minister Trudeau. It seems that the results of this pressure have already appeared: Meng Wanzhou, the financial director of Huawei, was released on bail in Vancouver. Who will make the next move?

Anastasia Sakhovskaya with a report.

 

An iPhone or their paycheck: the employees of a Chinese firm will now face fines for purchasing American smartphones. But the employer encourages the purchase of Chinese phones. Apple is out of luck in China again. The court has just banned the sale of several old models because of patent issues. The company that makes the display decided to support its Huawei partners with yuan. Their top manager was released on bail in Vancouver, just like the protesters demanded near the court.

Joe Luo, protester: "Canada has nothing to do with this. Why should we do the dirty work for the Americans? We have a trade war with them just like China does".

She is still detained but under house arrest, under 24-hour security, and wearing an ankle bracelet. This footage was filmed right after her release. Meng Wanzhou is wearing a jumpsuit and a ski jacket. She looks confused and doesn't answer the journalists' questions. They made a 10 million Canadian dollars bail for the CFO of Huawei and half of the sum was in cash. But if the US doesn't send an official request for extradition by January 8th, Meng Wanzhou will be released for good. Not only is there no request, but Ottawa didn't notify Beijing in time either, as the consular convention demands. China threatened serious consequences.

Dzhen Yuan, student: "I think it's a signal for the Canadian government. China can't sit passively, allowing them to bring forward ambiguous accusations against its citizens".

This is the Canadian ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig, who is detained in China. It's known that he is accused of sabotaging national security. He worked as the deputy chief of the Canadian mission in Beijing and Hongkong, knows Justin Trudeau personally, having organized his visit two years ago. The experts think that China chose him on purpose, in order to significantly hurt Ottawa.

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada: "We are in constant contact with the Chinese authorities, trying to provide consular help to our citizen".

The Chinese Foreign Ministry insists that the ex vice-consul of the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, now working in a non-governmental organization, apparently had no right to work in China.

Lu Kang, the official representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry: "The International Crisis Group is not registered in China. If its employees conduct some activities, then it's a violation of the Chinese law on international non-governmental organizations".

The US is involved even here: now they frighten their citizens with arrests in China and still deny that the Huawei case is bare politics, but Trump confirms that he could intervene if this helps to reach a trade deal with China. As for now, it looks like extortion.

The US is going to accuse China of cyber attacks too. While China makes advances and agrees to make the tariffs on American cars almost three times lower, for example, the US is waging a technological war and threatening new accusations and sanctions. The steps are obviously being made by both sides. But the US is stepping backward, for some reason.

Anastasia Sakhovskaya Mikhail Artukhin, Vesti Office in Beijing.