The Hongcouver | Is she their prisoner or their boss? Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou’s private jailers act like bodyguards, obstructing and photographing journalists
- Guards from Lions Gate Risk Management act as Meng Wanzhou’s jailers in Vancouver, but their actions raise questions about where their loyalties lie
- In one incident, guards drove an SUV towards journalists in their car to block them from following Meng
The guard was in a semi-crouch behind a boat parked in its trailer, but there was no mistaking what she was doing – surreptitiously photographing us with a smartphone, as we stood across the street from Meng Wanzhou’s Vancouver home.
On a previous occasion, in January, guards from Lions Gate Risk Management – who are supposed to be serving as Meng’s private jailers – went further, physically obstructing a journalist for a global news agency and a freelance photographer from following Meng on a public road.
Such behaviour by the Lions Gate guards raises questions about whether Meng is being treated like their prisoner – or their boss.
Their company is being paid by the Huawei CFO to prevent her escaping under the terms of her C$10 million (US$7.5 million) bail in Vancouver, while she awaits the results of what could be a lengthy bid by the US for her extradition. She is due to return to court for another hearing on Wednesday.
One of the guards literally charges his SUV towards us to jam our vehicle … the guard starts yelling at us ‘I’m not going to let you do this’
According to Meng’s bail conditions, she must live in her C$5.6 million (US$4.2 million) mansion in Vancouver’s Dunbar neighbourhood, under the watch of Lions Gate.