A Vancouver judge ordered the release of Huaweis chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou on a $7.5 million bail.
On Tuesday, Justice William Ehrcke ordered that Meng wear a GPS ankle bracelet, submit to 24-hour supervision of a private security firm, and surrender her Hong Kongese and Chinese passports.
The decision by the court in Vancouver came after US President Donald Trump said that he would intervene in the case if it would help close a trade deal with China. Mengs release also comes after reports of a former Canadian diplomat being detained in China emerged.
The verdict saw the end of the three-day bail hearing for Meng, who was imprisoned after being arrested at the Vancouver International Airport on December 1.
Canadian authorities had arrested Meng at the request of the United States, who reportedly sought her extradition. US authorities believed that Meng had violated US and EU sanctions on Iran. The case prompted a furious reaction from China and its state media, who accused the US of “hooliganism”.
Hundreds of supporters of Meng and Huawei from the Chinese community attended the hearing on Monday and Tuesday, while some even protested for her release.
US case ‘entirely speculative’
During the ruling, Justice Ehrcke told the British Columbia Supreme Court that bail would include a cash deposit of $5.2 million from Meng and her husband, and another $2.2 million pledged by local friends who put up a mix of cash and home equity.
The judge was critical about parts of the US case against Meng, and called them entirely speculative“. Ehrcke told Meng to return to court on February 6 to set a date for her extradition hearing.
China increases pressure on Canada
China exerted pressure on Canada to release Meng or face consequences. Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng separately summoned both the American and Canadian ambassadors, and lodged a “strong protest” urging her release. The ministry described Mengs arrest as “extremely nasty“.
In Beijing, a foreign ministry spokesman, Lu Kang, cited Chinas state-run Global Times newspaper as reporting that it seems that the Canadian detention facility is not offering her the necessary healthcare. We believe this is inhumane and violates her human rights, Lu told reporters.
Chinese state media sharply escalated its rhetoric over the weekend. Xinhua wrote, Canadas misdeeds, which are lawless, unreasonable and callous, have caused serious damage to its relations with China, and warned of serious consequences if Canada did not quickly release Meng.
A column in the Peoples Daily Online criticised Canada for acting like “Americas trusty sidekick” and cautioned that it would pay a heavy price if Meng remained in custody.
Would Trump have intervened?
US President Donald Trump said he could intervene in the case if it helped to avoid a further decline in US relations with China. “Whatever’s good for this country, I would do,” the US president said.
In an interview with Reuters, Trump said he would intervene in the US Justice Departments case against Meng if it would serve national security interests or help finalise a trade deal with China.
“If I think it’s good for what will be certainly the largest trade deal ever made which is a very important thing what’s good for national security, I would certainly intervene if I thought it was necessary,” he said.
Trump added that the White House had spoken with the Justice Department and Chinese officials about the case. They have not called me yet. They are talking to my people. But they have not called me yet, he told Reuters when he was asked if he had spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping about the case.
US executives wary about travelling to China
Executives from both China and the US have become increasingly wary of travelling to the other nation after Mengs arrest.
Some executives that might be travel[l]ing to China feel like China might invoke some kind of regulation or unwritten regulation and might retaliate, said William Zarit, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China and senior counsellor at the Cohen Group, a consulting firm, Bloomberg reported.
Earlier, US technology giant Cisco sent an email to some of its staff asking them to cut non-essential travel to China as Beijing sought to address fears that US executives would be targeted in retaliation against Mengs arrest.
However, the company later backtracked and admitted that the email existed, but insisted that it was sent in error to some employees. Normal business travel to China continues, Polly Yu, Ciscos spokeswoman for Hong Kong and Taiwan said, as per a report in the South China Morning Post.
Canadian diplomat detained in China
Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig was arrested and detained in China without explanation, the Canadian government confirmed on Tuesday.
A written statement from Global Affairs Canada said that due to Canadas Privacy Act, no further information could be revealed about the case.
Kovrig until recently had served as a Canadian diplomat in China. He was presently working as an advisor to the International Crisis Group (ICG), which also confirmed his detention on Tuesday.
As per the New York Times, on Wednesday, China said that Kovrig was detained as he was employed by an organisation that was not registered in China legally. China cited a 2016 law that has significantly affected the work of foreign charities, universities, and nonprofit groups in the country.
Asked directly if the ICG was registered in China, Lu Kang, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said, It is not registered in China legally. However, Lu did not state anything about Kovrig or mention the group by its full name.
If I.C.G. [sic] said its personnel was conducting activities in China, then according to the Chinese N.G.O. law of 2016, then they will be violating Chinese law because they have not registered in China, Lu said, as per the New York Times report.
Kovrig was detained on Monday night by the Beijing bureau of the Ministry of State Security, the ICG said on Wednesday. The arrest occurred less than a week after Canada announced that it had arrested Meng at United States’ request. Mengs arrest in Canada resulted in a hostile response from China.
A former Canadian ambassador to China said he would be surprised if Kovrigs detention was not related to Mengs arrest?. “In China there’s no coincidence, and I’ve seen this many times when things happen. If they want to send you a message, they will send you a message,” Guy Saint-Jacques told CBC News Networks Power & Politics.
US-China ties
Canada might be the unlikely target of Mengs arrest and subsequent bail. Omar Alghabra, the parliamentary secretary for the minister of international trade diversification, said that while he’s worried about a Canadian citizen being detained abroad, he’s still unaware of any complications for Canadas trading relationship with China.
“Our agenda is to increase trade by 50 per cent by 2025 to non-U.S. markets. China is an ideal and a good market for our businesses, for our workers, so we want to make sure that we have a productive relationship with the Chinese government,” Alghabra said according to a CBC report.
Canada has been trying to negotiate a comprehensive trade deal with China in recent years, though such talks had already stalled before Meng was arrested.
US trade officials have been making efforts to prevent the Huawei spat from escalating, insisting that its a law and order matter, and that trade talks were proceeding separately.
Top Chinese and American trade officials spoke by phone on Tuesday morning Beijing time. This could be an indicator of the claim that the Huawei case has indeed been kept separate from the trade war between Beijing and Washington.
Elton Gomes is a staff writer at Qrius