After nearly three years in house arrest (after paying bail to get out of prison) in Canada, while fighting extradition to the United States on dubious charges, Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, was at last allowed to return to China Sept. 25 after reaching an agreement with U.S. authorities. Shortly after that, the two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who had been apprehended by Chinese authorities on charges of espionage, were also released and allowed to return to Canada. Spavor had already been convicted by a Chinese court and Kovrig was awaiting trial. Kovrig was working for the Soros- funded International Crisis Group, which conducts all sorts of “color revolution” operations, when he was arrested. Spavor was a private consultant who was working in Dandong on the border with North Korea. Spavor had numerous sports exchanges with the D.P.R.K.
The reasons for the decision on the part of the Justice Department may be partly due to the flimsiness of the case against Meng (lying to HSBC!). The real target of the operation was Huawei which has become a leading force in telecommunications and was gaining traction in the international arena. It may also be a U.S. signal of more collaboration toward China in certain areas. But given the massive increase of tensions with the recent “Orcus” (AUKUS) submarine decision, no one is holding their breath that there will be any major change any time soon. The decision has, however, been greeted as eliminating an issue that has been a continuous irritant in China’s relations with the U.S. and Canada.
