Canada’s Justice Department has granted permission for an extradition hearing to proceed on whether to deliver Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou into the hands of U.S. law authorities.
Ms. Meng, a Chinese citizen, was arrested at Vancouver International Airport in December, triggering a diplomatic rift between Canada and China.
The Trudeau government took pains to defend Friday’s decision, emphasizing in a news release that Canada is merely sticking to the letter of the law governing extraditions.
“Canada is a country governed by the rule of law,” a Department of Justice statement said. “The decision on whether to issue an authority to proceed was made by Department of Justice ... officials who are part of a non-partisan public service.”
China has accused Canada of collaborating with the United States to persecute Ms. Meng, one of the top executives with China’s biggest private company. The Chinese embassy in Canada said the decision to arrest Ms. Meng in December amounts to a “political conspiracy” to undermine the telecom giant and has argued Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could easily have intervened to stop this from happening.
The Chinese embassy in Canada on Friday questioned whether the Canadian government is really bound by the “rule of law” in this case and urged Ottawa to let Ms. Meng go.
“The Chinese side is utterly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes the issuance of Authority to Proceed by the Department of Justice Canada on the case of Meng Wanzhou,” the embassy said.
“This is not a merely judicial case, but a political persecution against a Chinese high-tech enterprise. The subsequent developments have proved this. The so-called ‘rule of law’ and ‘judicial independence’ asserted by Canada cannot cover up the mistakes made by the Canadian side on the case of Meng Wanzhou.”
The embassy said the outcome of the Meng extradition hearing will test whether Canada really adheres to the principle of judicial independence.
“Judging from the obvious political interference presented on this case, if Canada really abides by the principle of rule of law and judiciary independence, the Canadian side should refuse the extradition request of the United States and immediately release Ms. Meng Wanzhou in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Extradition Act of Canada.”
