OTTAWA — It’s possible that China could look to detain other Canadians as a result of this week’s court ruling that did not go in Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou’s favour, says a former head of Canada’s spy agency.
In an interview on CTV’s Question Period, former CSIS director Richard Fadden said that “the easiest” form of Chinese retaliation to picture would be that other Canadians who are in that country are “at some risk that they may join the two Michaels in Chinese detention.”
Responding to whether or not Canadians in China should be concerned about this possibility, Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne didn’t indicate any change in messaging to Canadians currently in that country, telling host Evan Solomon that he thinks Canadians living in China have taken notice of the frayed diplomatic tensions.
On Wednesday a British Columbia judge ruled that the alleged fraud Meng is accused of committing by U.S. authorities, would be considered a crime in Canada. This means that Meng will not be free to leave Canada, as her lawyers pushed for, and will remain under house arrest as proceedings continue.
The case against Meng has had deep political consequences for Canada-China relations. Just days days after Meng’s arrest in 2018, Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were detained in China and accused of crimes related to national security.
Their detention has been widely seen as a form of retaliation from China, which also included kicking off a trade war, putting Canadian farmers in China’s crosshairs.
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See Also:
(1) China and Huawei bad deal for Canada
(2) Meng Wanzhou; the story that keeps on giving … and giving
(3) By Forcing Control On Hong Kong, Beijing Killed The Golden Goose
(4) China warning: Britain prepares to back Taiwan and DEFEND state against Beijing aggression
