Chinese Diplomacy

"It has long been a fully proven fact that this is an incident of political persecution against a Chinese citizen, an act designed to hobble Chinese high-tech companies."

"The so-called 'fraud' charges against Ms.Meng Wanzhou are purely fabricated."

"Canada should draw lessons and act according to its own interests."

"General Secretary Xi Jinping made important instructions."

Hua Chunying, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson 

 

"The U.S. government concocted the incident to repress Chinese high-tech companies and obstruct China's development."

"[Meng's arrest was the culmination of a] dirty [U.S. game to destroy Huawei.] Over the past two years and more the U.S. wasted no time in suppressing Huawei, cooking up disinformation to smear Huawei and coercing its allies to boycott Huawei."

China's ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu

Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou landed back in China on Saturday morning after a B.C. court dropped her extradition case following a plea agreement with the United States. CBC

 

So there, Canada, smarten up! Beijing does not appreciate upstart nations interfering in its smooth sailing. To act on a request by a neighbouring country with which you have an extradition agreement, as is common between neighbours and allies in democratic alliances, and by the act of apprehending the chief financial officer of Huawei Technology, China's communications giant, was a very unwise decision. You have it direct from the horse's...er Communist Party of China's mouth.

China is celebrating Ms.Meng's release from her injudicious and cruel detention, languishing in one of her two Vancouver mansions, out on bail, escorted and protected whenever she goes out on a shopping expedition. Wearing an ankle bracelet that looks quite chic with her designer garments. Passing the time with her husband, taking up pleasant distractions like calligraphy, painting, corresponding with friends and supporters, and shopping, shopping, shopping. Truly an ordeal.

Days after her apprehension in December of 2018 two Canadians on business in China were summarily arrested and a year later charged with espionage. The reasoning being that if Canada feels it is justified in detaining a very important Chinese citizen, daughter of the founder of Huawei no less, Beijing feels justified in incarcerating under harsh conditions befitting the crime of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, businessman Michael Spavor and diplomat Michael Kovrig. 

And while Ms.Meng had high-priced lawyers arguing her case in a Vancouver courtroom and to the media at large, exonerating her from any purported wrong-doing the two Michaels were denied lawyers and only sporadically permitted Canadian consular assistance. Held for close to three years on spurious charges, undergoing interminable interrogation sessions, occupying solitary jail cells where the light is never turned off, sentenced to fifteen years of their lives in prison.

But never discount diplomacy and the capacity of two nations at a competitive tension-war to finally accommodate one another by each agreeing to sacrifice a principle. For China the losing-face principle, for the United States, something very similar sourced from an unseemly jostling for advantage in a cut-throat world of upsmanship and prestige and market control.

Is everybody happy? Meng Wanzhou is feted in China as a 'survivor' of cruel Western imperialist skulduggery. Beijing boasts of its uncompromising stance of national dignity; no one, no government, no human-rights group may sling arrows at its performance as a world-class bully, swallowing Tibet, threatening Taiwan, yanking democracy out from under Hong Kong's unique status, imprisoning Uyghurs, imposing its ownership on airspace and contested geographies with Japan, India, Philippines, Vietnam.

And Beijing, with concrete verification that threats and intimidation and 'wolf' diplomacy are the characteristics that have proven hugely successful for it, will now carry on while plumbing the abysmal depths of dictatorial officiousness, proven to work marvellously well; ultimatums designed to make other nations cower, and when they fail to, smoothly engaging in self-righteous propaganda assuring the Chinese public that all is well with their world, Beijing and the CCP is in charge...

 

Return to Canada of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig

"I think now that we've got the two Michaels back it's time for us to stop pussyfooting around, it's time for us to make a clear statement about where we stand in the region."

"And we can't condone a number of other things China is doing. The violation of their own international commitments to respect the autonomy of Hong Kong, systematic cultural genocide of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, increasing drumbeats of war on the Taiwan Strait, these are all completely unacceptable geopolitically and from Canadian values perspective."

"So we have to position ourselves on the right side of history on these issues."

"There has traditionally been a lack of consensus within the Canadian foreign policy establishment as to whether it's better to try to engage China and accommodate China, or basically stand firmer on principles when Canadian principles and values conflict with Chinese principles and values and Chinese foreign policy goals. I think it's time to get beyond that."

David Welch, professor of political science, University of Waterloo