China’s claim that the 2018 arrests of two Canadian nationals had no connection with Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou’s detention in Vancouver at the request of the United States over fraud charges collapsed when the three were released within hours of each other. The “hostage diplomacy” case strained Canada-China relations and highlighted stark differences between the two countries’ legal systems. Whereas “Huawei’s princess” Meng received full due process and stayed under informal house arrest at her family’s $11 million mansion in Vancouver, Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor suffered arbitrary arrest on undisclosed spying charges and were held incommunicado without access to a lawyer.
2021-09-27