China celebrates Huawei director’s return as a victory

NSHina celebrated the return of Huawei CEO Meng Wanzhou after nearly three years in Canadian detention as a diplomatic victory and a sign of national strength. State TV reported live from Shenzhen Airport, where the CFO of telecoms company Huawei landed on Saturday evening and gave a short speech on the tarmac. She thanked state and party leader Xi Jinping. “President Xi is concerned about the safety of every Chinese citizen, and he has taken my situation to heart. This touches me deeply,” I read from her manuscript. During Canada’s “more than a thousand days’ ordeal,” the director said, “there was never a moment when I did not feel the care and warmth of the Party, the homeland and the Chinese people.” “If there is a color for confidence, it is China’s red.”

The 49-year-old daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei has been released by agreement with the US Department of Justice. In it, the United States declares its readiness to withdraw its extradition request to Canada against Meng Wanzhou. In turn, the director asserts in writing that she knowingly provided HSBC with false information about a company controlled by Huawei. The US accuses Meng of bank fraud because her misinformation inadvertently led HSBC to violate Iranian sanctions. The prosecutor in charge, Nicole Buckman, said that through the agreement, Meng asserted “in substance” that she and other employees “deceived global financial institutions, the US government, and the public about Huawei’s activities in Iran.” However, this is neither an admission of guilt nor a punishment.