The hearing on Meng’s application for relaxed bail conditions took place Tuesday (Jan. 12) and Wednesday in Vancouver Superior Court, where it was possible to learn about Meng’s affluent life while on bail and how her family was able to come to Canada after the outbreak.
The family of huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was able to come to Canada at the end of the year after being granted a federal travel waiver after Canada banned most foreigners from entering the country since March of last year.
Canada’s immigration authorities granted detained Meng’s husband and two children a waiver from Canada’s anti-epidemic restrictions to visit her in Vancouver.
Meng’s husband Liu Xiaoban and two children applied for a waiver of Canadian restrictions to come to Canada from China at the end of 2020, Meng’s lawyer said in court on Tuesday (Jan. 12).
“Meng’s family was authorized to travel to Canada by Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) officials,” Syrine Khoury, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Foreign Minister’s Office, confirmed to CTV News.
Liu arrived in October, followed by the arrival of Meng’s two children in December, who stayed in Canada.
Canada’s anti-immunization entry restrictions allow foreigners to visit immediate family members of Canadian citizens or permanent residents, otherwise foreign nationals are still currently prohibited from making unnecessary trips to Canada. Meng is not a Canadian citizen and has not had permanent residency since 2009.
However, under the current COVID-19 travel restrictions, Immigration Canada can provide a travel waiver to reunite a person temporarily residing in Canada with an immediate family member.
Court testimony reveals Meng’s life on bail
According to the Financial Post, it was during Tuesday’s court hearing that some light was shed on Meng’s affluent life while she was out on bail.
Meng had booked a restaurant on Christmas Day specifically for her party of 14.
Last year, before the B.C. Supreme Court heard whether Meng had committed “double criminality” and made a decision that would affect her release, China Southern Airlines had reserved a plane to take her back to China.
She was shopping at high-end boutiques in Vancouver, where space was set aside for her to browse and select her own products.
These became testimonies after the court considered Meng’s request to further relax her bail conditions.
For now, Meng is allowed to be accompanied by court-appointed security officers within about 100 square miles around Vancouver during the day and return to her mansion at night for house arrest.
Meng has asked for changes to the conditions of bail for surveillance and supervision. For example, whether she can walk around unaccompanied by guards outside of curfew hours.
Meng, who is charged with alleged fraud and violating an embargo on sanctions against Iran, will be extradited to the United States to stand trial if convicted. Both she and Huawei have denied the charges, and she remains under house arrest in Vancouver. Meng’s final extradition hearing is expected to be scheduled for mid-May, but both the prosecution and defense can appeal the final decision. According to past experience with similar cases, it could eventually take as long as a decade.
Canadian serving sentence in Chinese prison
As Meng’s family arrived for a family reunion in Canada, Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were serving two-year sentences in Chinese prisons in December, and both were in different prisons.
Spavor last received a Canadian consular visit on Dec. 14, and Kang Mingkai on Dec. 15. Both meetings were held by video with Canadian Ambassador to China Dominic Barton. Neither of them received any consular visits between January and November of last year.
Kang Mingkai and Spavor were arrested in China in December 2018 and were later charged with espionage. The Canadian government considers their detention arbitrary, and many in the diplomatic community see it as retaliation for Meng’s arrest.
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