Second Canadian 'missing' in China
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Re: Second Canadian 'missing' in China
#2Outline for us Indochina types: https://outline.com/qUJvaJ
Quite surprised Canada has gotten itself into this considering the potential for escalation which is now playing out. A "NGO worker", possibly of natsec value and now another Canadian national.
What did they really expect arresting corporate dynasty?
Watching the US and China duke it out in a trade war is somewhat in other countries interest economically, high profile arrests to use as bargaining chips is a risky business and the canucks seem to have thrown themselves right in the midst of it.
To add to the absurdity the EU is pushing ahead with maintaining the Iran deal and are indicating their multinationals will continue doing business despite US sanctions.
Re: Second Canadian 'missing' in China
#3canada had to have seen this coming.
Re: Second Canadian 'missing' in China
#4Outline for us Indochina types: https://outline.com/qUJvaJ Quite surprised Canada has gotten itself into this considering the potential for escalation which is now playing out. A "NGO worker", possibly of natsec value and now another Canadian national. What did they really expect arresting corporate dynasty? Watching the US and China duke it out in a trade war is somewhat in other countries interest economically, hig…
Canada has an extradition agreement with the US. The Canadian government has a duty to uphold its end, which means arrest the individual when the US requests it and investigate the merits of the case.
The Justice Department would do the same, though I'm sad to say, as a Canadian, that our prosecutors in Canada seem less interested in high-level white collar crime. (Yes, less interested than their American counterparts, believe it or not.)
Re: Second Canadian 'missing' in China
#5The US has played Canada. They request this, Canada performs the arrest, Trump plays good cop ("I'll intervene if I have to"), and China can't retaliate against the US but can take it out on Canada. I'm sure Trump is giddy given how much he dislikes Trudeau.
Re: Second Canadian 'missing' in China
#6Outline for us Indochina types: https://outline.com/qUJvaJ Quite surprised Canada has gotten itself into this considering the potential for escalation which is now playing out. A "NGO worker", possibly of natsec value and now another Canadian national. What did they really expect arresting corporate dynasty? Watching the US and China duke it out in a trade war is somewhat in other countries interest economically, hig…
"What did they really expect arresting corporate dynasty?"
Justice? Transparency? Rule of law? Freedom of conscience and expression?
'Doing business with Iran' is not what she was arrested for - she was arrested for proving tech made in the USA to Iran, which is definitely a different thing. Grated it was very low tech.
Re: Second Canadian 'missing' in China
#7I have little doubt both of these guys are spies. A guy working for an NGO that does "crisis research" and a guy leading tours in North Korea. LOL. Any country with sufficiently advanced counter-intelligence has a list of spies operating on their soil that they monitor and keep in reserve for when it's politically favorable to round them up.
Re: Second Canadian 'missing' in China
#8Is this really retaliation for Meng? Wow that's incredibly artless and ham-fisted if true.
Re: Second Canadian 'missing' in China
#9China is making themselves look horrible here.
Ms. Meng has a proper reason for being arrested (the allegations are that she committed fraud to bypass US sanctions against Iran and sell them US tech by lying about HuaWei and SkyComs involvement to HSBC). There will be a trial, this investigation has been happening for years, and it is by the Justice Department, not a request from Trump (who seems to have been caught surprised by the move). Canada didn't do anything, they are simply honoring their extradition treaties.
In contrast, China is just throwing a fit in response and arresting random Canadians on trumped up charges. These are clearly politically motivated (China had threatened Canada with 'consequences' -- the timing is way too suspect here). We have been given no reason why they have been detained, and there are no court hearings or anything -- they have just been 'disappeared'. With this move, China has shown how authoritarian and anti business they are. No justice department, no investigation. These are simply political hostages. Further more, it is completely spineless that they are going after the, less powerful, Canadian nationals, and not Americans.
Re: Second Canadian 'missing' in China
#10Outline for us Indochina types: https://outline.com/qUJvaJ Quite surprised Canada has gotten itself into this considering the potential for escalation which is now playing out. A "NGO worker", possibly of natsec value and now another Canadian national. What did they really expect arresting corporate dynasty? Watching the US and China duke it out in a trade war is somewhat in other countries interest economically, hig…
Canada has an extradition agreement with the US. The Canadian government has a duty to uphold its end, which means arrest the individual when the US requests it and investigate the merits of the case. The Justice Department would do the same, though I'm sad to say, as a Canadian, that our prosecutors in Canada seem less interested in high-level white collar crime. (Yes, less interested than their American counterpart…
I agree with this perspective, with the addendum that the US president's statements might end up working against the prosecutors requesting extradition. It raises the real possibility that Meng's trial in the US would be subject to political or economic considerations as opposed to the legal facts surrounding the foundation of the extradition request - an argument I would expect her lawyers to seize upon.
Before the statement by Trump, I was expecting the extradition request being granted. After the statement by Trump, I am more expecting it to be rejected.
It is an unfortunate circumstance that Canada's implementation of its laws (specifically extradition laws) has run afoul of China's sensitivities and resulted in what seems to be retaliatory behavoiur. However it would be quite devastating if those considerations factored into our implementation of our laws.
Canada should do this by the book, and it seems it will.