Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou.Photo:VCG

A few days ago, the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Canada held a hearing about whether or not the judicial process was abused when the US requested the extradition of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou from Canada and about whether information should be further released about Meng's arrest. Meng has been arbitrarily held in custody by Canada for more than 620 days since she arrived at Vancouver International Airport on December 1, 2018. Her early and safe return to China is very much on the mind of her fellow Chinese.

Any fair-minded person can tell that Meng's case has been wrongful from the outset. It is a political case orchestrated by the US with the sole purpose of taking down Huawei to batter China's high-tech industry. It is unwarranted and outrageous, conducted by rogues and bullies. It easily reminds one of what happened to Frédéric Pierucci, the former executive of French company Alstom. In his book The American Trap: My battle to expose America's secret economic war against the rest of the world, Pierucci recounted his experience and revealed the despicable means by which the US arrested a business executive for economic and political purposes. As the renowned American economist Jeffrey D. Sachs rightly pointed out, by requesting Canada to arrest and extradite Meng, Washington's motivation in this economic war against China is commercial and geopolitical. It certainly has nothing to do with upholding the international rule of law. It is a typical case of "might is right." 

A Chinese saying goes, "He who has a mind to beat his dog will easily find his stick." More information is coming to light about how the US built up the Meng case. From using HSBC to set a trap and cook up charges (what HSBC did amounts to, in effect, swearing an allegiance to the US by selling out Huawei) to tampering with the so-called "key evidence" - a PPT obtained by HSBC executives after a meeting with Meng in 2013, Washington will stop at nothing to get its way.

Canada, who arbitrarily arrested Meng, acted as an accomplice to US interests. Moreover, Canadian authorities have argued that Canada was merely acting upon the US request and fulfilling its treaty obligation to the US, claiming that the arrest was not politically motivated. This claim could not be more tenuous. Both Canada's Extradition Act and the Canada-US extradition treaty clearly oppose extradition for political purposes. According to Canadian media reports, Ottawa had evaluated Meng's case early on and was fully aware of its political nature. A Canadian Security Intelligence Service report released in June showed that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers handling the arrest of Meng had recognized the "highly political nature of the arrest" and that it would send shockwaves around the world as well as affect Canada's relations with China. Had Canada truly acted in accordance with law as it claims, it should have rejected the unreasonable request of the US outright and released Meng by now. 

There has been an apparent abuse of process in serious violation of Meng's legitimate rights. According to information already released, before Meng's arrival in Vancouver, Canadian security and law enforcement agencies had multiple communications with the FBI to plot her arrest. The FBI even instructed Canadian law enforcement agencies to seize Meng's electronic devices and put them into a signal-blocking bag to prevent data from being remotely wiped out. Upon Meng's arrival at Vancouver International Airport, Canadian law enforcement agencies illegally searched and probed her for as long as three hours under the excuse of immigration checks. Canadian law enforcement agencies were therefore suspected of helping the FBI in a secret criminal investigation.

In order to expose the abuse of due process by Canadian and US law enforcement agencies, Meng's lawyers asked the Canadian court to release more information about the case. This application was granted by a court ruling in December 2019. Despite the consent of the Canadian government and prosecutors to disclose more information, dozens of documents were fully or partially redacted under various excuses - this seriously compromises the legitimacy of their usage before the courts. Canadian foreign affairs and security authorities have tried every means to cover up the truth. Canadian officials even told the court that the redacted information would cause damage to Canada-China relations and to Canada's own interests. Isn't it the unlawful arrest of Meng that is hurting China-Canada relations and Canada's own interests? If Canada truly respects the rule of law, it should readily agree to disclose key evidence and let truth be known instead of covering up their dirty deeds.

The merits of the matter are clear. People can tell right from wrong. More and more fair-minded Canadians have come to realize that what happened to Meng is politically motivated and unlawful. In a recent joint letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, 19 prominent former Canadian political figures called on the minister of justice and attorney general to act in accordance with law and stop extradition proceedings against Meng. The Green Party of Canada, a federal political party, also issued a statement criticizing the abuse of the Canada-US extradition treaty by the US for political purposes. It urged the Canadian government to ask for the US to withdraw its extradition request. 

Canada was among the first Western countries to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-Canada diplomatic relations. There is supposed to be a host of celebrations. Unfortunately, what Canada did in collusion with the US has seriously undermined popular support for China-Canada relations. 

It is time for Canada to heed the calls of those sensible Canadians and take actions based on the merits of this matter. An early and proper solution to this issue would help put China-Canada relations back on the right track.

The author is an observer for international issues. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn