Trudeau defies pressure to free Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou in return for Canadians held by China
- Canadian PM said halting extradition trial of Chinese telecoms executive would expose more overseas Canadians to arrest for political purposes
- Trudeau was responding to letter from 19 ex-lawmakers and diplomats urging Ottawa to free Meng
“We cannot allow political pressures or random arrests of Canadian citizens to influence the functioning of our justice system,” Canada’s prime minister told reporters in Ottawa. “If the Chinese government concludes from this exchange and this situation that it is an effective way to gain leverage over Canadians and the Canadian government – to randomly arrest Canadians – then no Canadian will be safe going forward.”
China has come to believe that Canada’s justice minister has the authority to stop Meng’s extradition process, Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, said in a press briefing on June 24, claiming: “Such options are within the rule of law and could open up space for resolution to the situation of the two Canadians.”
Trudeau faces rising pressure from all corners – including within his own party. Earlier this week, a letter signed by 19 high-profile former diplomats, ministers, bureaucrats and academics, urged his government to intervene to end the extradition proceedings “to bring the Two Michaels home”.
“Putting an end to the extradition proceeding may irritate the US,” the letter acknowledged. “In normal circumstances the safer choice would be to stay close to our ally, our friend, and our principal trading partner. But these are not normal times and this is not a normal case.” Canada’s minister of justice should intervene in Meng’s case immediately, the letter said.