TORONTO, Canada—Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou is still awaiting her extradition in Canada at the request of the U.S. Government. Meanwhile, Chinese communist authorities are holding two Canadians in jail.
Canadian senior journalist Jonathan Manthorpe, author of “Claws of the Panda: Beijing’s Campaign of Influence and Intimidation in Canada” is an expert in Chinese Communist Party (CCP) infiltration. He says it’s time to expel Chinese influences and send a strong message to Beijing.
“The Chinese Communist Party does not believe in the rule of law. If your first reaction when you have [a] problem with Canada is to kidnap two senior Canadians, we can’t work with a government like that,” said Manthorpe.
Canadian authorities arrested the high-profile Huawei executive, Meng Wanzhou, at a Vancouver airport in December 2018 on behalf of the United States. Meng is wanted in the United States on charges of bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud.
CCP officials detained the two Canadians shortly after Meng was arrested.
Meng is out on bail now, living in her mansion in Vancouver, waiting for her next hearing early next month.
Retaliation
“Two Michaels, they were picked up for no reason whatsoever,” said Manthorpe. “Michael Covrig is a diplomat, a Canadian diplomat. They have been held in solitary confinement; they have been subject to torture; they have been subject to sleep deprivation; they are interrogated for several hours a day.
“They are being charged with threatening the Chinese state, and have been held this situation for four months. They’ve only had one visit every month from Canadian diplomats. It is clear if you look at the record that they are prepared to give fake, televised confessions, and there would be some sort of spiral court case. They will be convicted.”
The United States and European Union countries have been supporting Canada, and call for the immediate release of these two Canadians.
Manthorpe wrote on Twitter, “Don’t let Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor be forgotten.”
Don’t let Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor be forgotten https://t.co/FKhzzE11bh via @torontostar
— Jonathan Manthorpe (@jwmanthorpe) April 22, 2019
Strong Signal
Manthorpe said Canada should expel China’s united front agents. This would send a strong signal to Beijing, he said.
“I think one of the things the government here can do, in response to the kidnapping of two Michaels, is to expel some united front operatives here,” said Manthorpe. “I think that would be a good signal to Beijing.”
United Front is China’s state organization tasked with exerting influence through its networks in Western countries. It uses these to sway decision-makers to take a pro-China stance and to control Chinese communities abroad.
“I think the CCP has made a serious mistake, they have outraged many, many Canadian people, but … I don’t think Beijing knows how to get out so far, and this is going to affect China-Canada relations for a long, long time,” said Manthorpe.