Oh, What A Tangled Web We Weave

"What is most glaring about the extradition request is that the conduct alleged against Ms. Meng could never ground a criminal prosecution in Canada. Canada does not police the conduct of foreign persons in foreign lands that have nothing to do with Canada."
"None of the conduct occurred in the United States or Canada. No alleged victim resided in Canada. No aspect of any fact violated any Canadian law."
Lawyers, Meng Wanzhou

Meng Wanzhou arrives at her home[one of two Vancouver mansions] after attending court in Vancouver, British Columbia on Wednesday, May 8. China again demanded her release again Wednesday. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

The arrest last December in Vancouver of senior Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou may have seemed routine and unremarkable to the unwary Trudeau team, but it unleashed a veritable storm of vitriolic rage from the Communist Party of China Politboro, livid that a member of one of their most trusted families heading China's most integrated-with-the-West communication giants was detained by Canada on behalf of the United States in the midst of a crippling trade war between Washington and Beijing.

Canada, in one fell stroke, succeeded in making a virulent adversary out of an erstwhile trading partner with whom it eagerly wished to enlarge trade opportunities and sign a free trade agreement to Canada's advantage, opening doors to Canadian business and trade with the trading colossus. Instead, the Trudeau government has become mired in a diplomatic, political and social faux pas that has resulted in two Canadians being taken hostage as pawns in a high-stake game of 'chicken'.

Two Canadians imprisoned on trumped-up charges of espionage, two more Canadians placed on death row for drug running, and Canada's canola and pork exports to China, their largest customer now placed in abeyance, all disturbing and financially destabilizing moves on China's part. Chinese leaders refuse to return telephone calls from Prime Minister Trudeau and members of his cabinet. Justin Trudeau has been reduced to going, cap in hand, to President Trump to ask for intervention.



This, after injudiciously infuriating Donald Trump during a G-20 meeting held in Canada when bright little Justin thought he was entitled to show European Union leaders just how 'independent' he was in his bravado impudence to Trump. Circumstances have cut Trudeau down to size; his 'sunny ways' no longer much in evidence. By the simple expedience of having alerted Ms. Meng that should she enter Canada, its authorities would be obliged to arrest her on a U.S. warrant, this contratemps could have been averted.

Canada has little option now but to carry through on its obligation to extradite the Huawei executive. China, in deciding to stomp all over Canada in an indication of its wrath, to exact as much humiliating harm as conceivable to Canadian citizens and the country's export potential to China's vast market is, in fact, not exactly pioneering a never-before-taken path by exploiting all avenues however diplomatically indigestible in its bid to squeeze Canada. It is simply what China itself is now experiencing at the hands of the more powerful (as yet) United States.

The latest Chinese move against Canada is yet another painful reproach by a regime that insists it has done nothing wrong, that Canada insulted and assaulted Chinese values, and since it was the instigator of the current 'strained' situation, it must make amends, otherwise the screws will simply continue to tighten. Shutting the Chinese market to canola, and now claiming a feed additive banned in China but not in Canada has contaminated pork bound for China accompanied by fraudulent veterinary certificates.

"These forged certificates were sent to the Chinese regulatory authorities through Canadian official certificate notification channel, which reflects that the Canadian meat export supervision system exists obvious safety loopholes."
"In order to protect the safety of Chinese consumers, China has taken urgent preventive measures and requested the Canadian government to suspend the issuance of certificates for meat exported to China since June 25."
Chinese embassy spokesperson

This, of a country whose reputation for spurious and health-threatening additives to food products -- such as plastics in milk -- infamously caused a health crisis internally, and whose use of lead in all manner of products from children's toys to food preparation utensils is fairly well known. All of which is to say, when a country is as large and powerful as China, it makes eminently good sense to tread lightly. Canada has come late to this realization.