It has been
a year since Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver after an extradition request from the United States. In a
recent blog she wrote on a Huawei website, Meng noted that a year had passed and describe her experiences over this time.
Before describing her year filled with “moments of fear, pain, disappointment, helplessness, torment, and struggle” however, it is useful to draw some comparisons with a parallel set of incarcerations.
Shortly after Meng was arrested, the Chinese government
threatened the Canadian government with severe repercussions unless she were released. Sure enough, within days, when it became clear that Canada would not be immediately releasing Meng, China’s Communist Party followed through by
detaining two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, for unspecified “activities jeopardising Chinese national security,” leaving little doubt that their seizure was a reprisal for Meng’s arrest. Some observers have used the term “
hostage diplomacy” to describe the actions.
For the past year, the conditions for these two Canadians have been grim. Authorities in China have allowed Kovrig and Spavor only one monthly 30-minute visit with consular authorities, while denying them access to lawyers.
Meantime, they have reportedly been subject to intensive interrogation. Released detainees have described the conditions in detention centres as crowded and lacking private bathrooms. Meals are rudimentary – steamed bread and corn congee. Solitary confinement is not unknown.
Meng’s blog is a
study in contrasts. On top of her being “stuck” in Vancouver and forced to choose between living in her two mansions, her other restrictions include wearing an ankle bracelet and having an 11pm curfew. Family, friends, lawyers and consular staff are free to visit her, and as long as she stays in Vancouver, she is free to visit them.
In Meng’s blog, she expresses gratitude towards the Canadian people; however, this gratitude is remarkably misplaced. Instead, she should be thanking her lucky stars that she was arrested in a country that upholds the rule of law, presumes all suspects innocent until proven guilty, and allows access to lawyers and consular staff.
Curiously, Meng’s generous words towards Canadians did not extend to mentioning her two counterparts rotting away in a Chinese prison. Compare the conditions of this silver-spoon daughter of a
billionaire who describes her “darkest moments” in the past year with the two Michaels in China. No doubt they would cherish a few moments of darkness as they endure
24 hours of bright lights in their cells.
Meng comments in her blog that she is “no longer afraid of the unknown”. Well, part of the reason for her lack of fear is that Canada, along with other Western countries, has a well established justice system with transparent rules. Therefore, while she is stuck in her
mansions, the legal process ahead of her, while circuitous, is abundantly clear. Meng will appear in a courtroom
next month, at which time her legal team will argue for her release. And no matter the result, the subsequent processes will also be clear.
In the meantime, the two Michaels, without lawyers, let alone a legal team, languish in a detention centre with no clear dates set for a trial to fight
charges which conveniently appeared shortly after Meng was arrested.
Ironically, Meng is fighting extradition to the United States. Ironic because this legal process, which is front and centre in the local news here these days, is being highlighted at a time when China’s roughshod treatment of legal processes is under the microscope. The detention of hundreds of thousands of Uygur Muslims in
Xinjiang only underscores why the
extradition issue was so fraught in Hong Kong.
Near the end of her blog, Meng writes: “I'm no longer afraid of the rough road ahead. While my personal freedoms have been limited, my soul still seeks to be free. Amidst these setbacks, I've found light in the life around me.”
Not only can the two Michaels not write blogs, but their “setbacks” are of an categorically worse nature than Meng’s. In writing her blog, she only serves to accentuate how far China needs to go to achieve a sense of fair play.
Paul Stapleton comments on local social and environmental issues
