China’s international bullying triggered an unusual hostage war with Canada

At the beginning Meng Wanzhou, The economic director of the Chinese giant Huawei And, at the time, she was the daughter of the founder of the tech empire. On December 1, 2018, Meng Wanzhou’s plane stopped in Vancouver. The businesswoman met some friendly Canadian policemen and they asked her to accompany them to the judicial office.

It is not yet clear whether Wanzhou is traveling with two older children (she has four) or traveling alone, but the fact is that she has to accept the invitation, a little surprised partly, no.

On December 1st of the same year, in Buenos Aires, the then President of the United States, Donald Trump has dinner with Chinese President Xi JinpingThey agreed to a truce on business disputes for 30 days; long-standing disputes, especially from the pre-election campaign in 2016, when Trump pointed out that China is the root of all economic problems in the United States and promised the “rust belt”-Michigan States, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania…Punish Chinese products with tariffs in order to gain advantage and regain the pride of the United States.

The arrest of Wanzhou was explained by Beijing as: This is a strategic move to show who is the boss here. The problem is that Canada is in the middle. It is limited to the execution of the arrest warrant through an agreement… But in principle it has no problems with China and does not want to have it.

When deciding whether to continue extradition, Wanzhou paid bail Ten million Canadian dollars and settled down in a luxury hotel. When he got tired of staying, he moved to a seven-bedroom mansion in an upscale neighborhood in Vancouver. Then to another.

In his spare time-that’s everything-he receives visitors and takes painting courses. In addition, a personal teacher helped him improve his English, which should be perfect now.

Schellenberg’s conviction

The accusation against Wanzhou is pervasive. Strictly speaking, the only thing he sees is that Huawei has traded with the Iranian government through a shell company, thereby bypassing the US blockade.

Now there is no reason to stop anyone in particular. At best, sanctions are imposed, and the United States has done so many times.The legal means to detain Wanzhou as a foreign luxury product is Charged with “financial fraud”.

Obviously Wanzhou This information will be ignored from the four banks Headquartered in the United States, their involvement in the sanctions network will cause them economic losses.

Some people think that the accusation is a rude excuse, and some people think that everything makes sense.The focus is on Wanzhou She was imprisoned in Vancouver for nearly three years This week it was decided whether she should be extradited to the United States.

If a Canadian judge believes that the crime she was accused of in the United States can also be blamed on Canada, then Will continue the above extraditionIf he thinks it is not-this will be the key to determining whether he is really accused of fraud or only dealing with Iran-Wanzhou will be free.

Of course, the actions of Canadians from China have received attention, and they know very well that if you have to pressure, you are pressure.In these two and a half years, at least Three strange cases involving Canadian citizens Just this week, all three people were exposed again. Strange coincidence.

The main thing, because of its seriousness, is Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, A worker at an Alberta refinery, passionate about traveling abroad.Schellenberg was arrested in 2014 Suspected of trafficking in methamphetamineHe has to wait 15 months to be tried — to be precise, not in a mansion — and 32 months to get a sentence: 15 years in prison for drug trafficking.

By the time the sentence was pronounced, Schellenberg had been imprisoned for nearly four years, that is to say, we have entered the destiny 2018. Became the worst mistake in his life: The review was released a week after Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver.

The court hearing the case did not take 32 months to make a verdict, but only one day. You must send back a strong message, and you must send it as soon as possible: Schellenberg was sentenced to deathWhen President Justin Trudeau publicly protested this decision, the Chinese media responded by criticizing “the so-called moral superiority of the West.”

Legality or negotiation

However, after more than two years, Schellenberg is still alive Because in this hostage war, the dead have no value. This week, in anticipation of Canada’s ruling on Wanzhou’s extradition, another court confirmed the conviction.No one doubts execution Penalties will depend on the decision regarding the Huawei directive.

If Wanzhou goes home, Schellenberg will also go home. If Wanzhou is extradited to the United States, the future of this Canadian has already been decided.

In any case, in Xi Jinping’s view, hostage-taking must be a trivial matter.Decades ago, China discovered that the best defense is a good offense, and is reveling in its newly discovered status Bully International.

In the same week, a few days after the conviction of Schellenberg was confirmed, the Chinese court also announced his sentence for spying. Canadian businessman Michael Spavor, Was detained along with former diplomat Michael Cumming Kai who is still awaiting the verdict. Although 11 years have passed, the best thing about seeing what he has seen is that now, he has not relapsed.

Both were arrested at the end of 2018, Immediately after the “Wanzhou Incident,” and probably before the decision of the British Columbia High Court, both were convicted.

Then we will wait and see.Justin Trudeau also angrily protested the opaque and painful legal conditions suffered by his compatriots for more than two and a half years, but Trudeau is a typical politician, but who do you fall in love with in peace It’s hard for you to win a warThe most important thing is a war in which the opponent is only waiting to surrender.

So Canada is embroiled in a ridiculous crisis Between the two overlords on the international stage. He could not refuse, and his legalism and the praiseworthy qualities that Canadians boasted put him in a very uncomfortable position.

The life of a citizen actually depends on the judgment of his court in a foreign case. Who knows more, considering that in China, judgments are getting heavier day by day without any legal protection. What is the solution?Impossible to know.

If the reason is on your side, giving up is a very ugly thing. Your death because of Huawei’s negotiations with Iran seems to be an excessive price. No matter what happens, someone will be angry, but I would say that some people are more angry than others. This is the new Chinese diplomatic consciousness.

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