Canada’s envoy to Beijing briefs China on arrest of Huawei executive: Freeland
Posted December 7, 2018 2:20 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland says Canada’s ambassador in Beijing has briefed the Chinese foreign ministry on the arrest of a Chinese telecommunications executive in Vancouver.
Freeland says that Ambassador John McCallum assured China that due process is being followed in Canada and consular access will be provided.
Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies, was arrested Saturday while in transit at Vancouver’s airport after an extradition request from the United States.
China’s foreign ministry has pushed Canada to reveal the reason for the arrest, while the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa has branded Meng’s arrest a serious violation of human rights.
Freeland says McCallum told the Chinese that Canada is a country that respects the rule of law and that Canada is following its laws.
Freeland reiterated what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday: that Meng’s arrest was part of an independent legal process that is separate from politics.
The Canadian Press
