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Liu Xiaozong (far left) and his wife Meng Wanzhou wave to each other on the tarmac at Shenzhen Boaon International Airport on September 25. Photo: Handout

‘I love you’: Huawei’s Meng and husband make Chinese net users swoon with display of ‘immortal love’

  • Video of Meng Wanzhou’s husband waving and shouting ‘I love you’ after she landed in Shenzhen became the No 1 searched clip on Weibo
  • Public declaration from 45-year-old seen as a rare gesture for even much younger men in China
Meng Wanzhou
Soon after the plane carrying Meng Wanzhou touched down in Shenzhen, her husband – standing on the tarmac among a 100-strong crowd – waved to her excitedly as he shouted: “I love you”.

“I love you,” the Huawei chief financial officer responded, as she waved back.

And Chinese web users were sent swooning over the pair’s relationship, after a video clip of the romantic moment was widely circulated on social media.

Meng arrived in Shenzhen, where Huawei Technologies Co. is headquartered, on Saturday evening, after nearly three years under house arrest in Canada, where she had been detained on fraud charges at the request of the US. Her release came after a deal on Friday with prosecutors in New York.

Footage aired by state broadcaster CCTV showed her husband, Liu Xiaozong, standing among the 100-strong crowd that had assembled to welcome her on the tarmac.

Meng Wanzhou waves to a cheering crowd in Shenzhen as she steps out of a chartered plane that brought her back from Canada after nearly three years. Photo: CCTV

The video showed him standing on tiptoe, waving his arms, and loudly shouting the three words after Meng made a brief speech expressing her gratitude to the Chinese government. He had also arranged for her to be presented with a large bouquet of red roses when she emerged from the plane earlier.

Meng responded by also waving her arms and shouting back: “I love you”.

The scene remained No 1 among “hot searches” on Weibo for all of Sunday morning, generating 400 million clicks and 14,000 comments, with many gushing over the couple’s “immortal love”.

As Huawei’s Meng enters Chinese airspace, foreign ministry slams ‘arbitrary detention’

And it was not just the high-profile nature of Meng’s case or her long absence from the motherland – one reason the scene garnered so much attention may have been that such public displays of affection are rare in China.

“It’s hard for a young man to say ‘I love you’ in a big crowd, but a man in his 40s did it. How precious it is,” a Weibo user commented.

Liu, 45, worked for Huawei for about a decade before he married Meng, 49, in 2007. They have a daughter together, and Meng has three sons from a previous marriage.

03:41

Meng Wanzhou returns to China and Canadians freed after US court reaches deal with Huawei CFO

Meng Wanzhou returns to China and Canadians freed after US court reaches deal with Huawei CFO
After Meng was arrested at Vancouver International Airport in December 2018, Liu pledged C$7 million (US$5.5 million) in cash for bail to help secure her release. A board chairman of Clear Fortune, an investment company registered in Hong Kong, he has also been seen accompanying Meng to various court hearings in Canada related to her US extradition case.

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Meng’s homecoming remained the hottest topic on Chinese social media since Friday night, as the country’s state media portrayed it as a sign of a strong country and a diplomatic victory.

Hundreds gathered at the arrivals hall of Shenzhen airport on Saturday night, waiting to greet Meng with welcome banners and patriotic songs. The live broadcast of her arrival was watched by nearly 100 million people at its peak.

Supporters wait to welcome back Meng Wanzhou at the Baoan International Airport in Shenzhen on September 25. Photo: AFP

At one point on Saturday, 26 of the top 30 hot searches on Weibo were related to Meng.

However, not everyone was impressed. Some users criticised the amount of hype surrounding Meng’s return, saying the “princess” of Huawei was taking up too much public attention. Meng is the elder daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei.

“Excuse me, why does she seem like a hero? Isn’t she just a political pawn?” one user wrote.

“This is just rich people’s love,” commented another.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: internet users touched by show of love
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