The Canadian government, which has been deeply involved in the Meng Wanzhou case, is not commenting on the matter, Prime Minister Trudeau said when asked.
In a question to Trudeau, the reporter quoted a Wall Street Journal report about Huawei’s secret negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice, and then asked Trudeau whether Canada is seeking to reach a deal with China on the possibility of releasing two Canadian citizens it has detained in exchange for their release. Trudeau declined to comment on the contingent agreement between the U.S. and Huawei.
I’m not going to comment on that information,” he said. But he added: “Canadians are well aware that our priority is the safe return to our homeland of two Michael’s”, the names of two Canadians detained in China, one a former diplomat named Michael Cummings and the other a business consultant named Michael Spavor. One is former diplomat Michael Cummings and the other is business consultant Michael Spavor.
The arrest of Meng Wanzhou led to a diplomatic crisis between China and Canada. A few days after Meng’s arrest, China immediately retaliated by detaining the two Canadians, who have been in Chinese custody ever since.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Meng’s lawyers are negotiating with the U.S. Justice Department to reach an agreement that would allow Meng to return to China, but that such an agreement would be contingent on Meng Wanzhou pleading guilty to some of the U.S. charges against her, who reportedly maintains her innocence.
The Wall Street Journal said that Meng’s lawyers negotiated this week with the U.S. Justice Department to reach a deal to release Meng before the Trump administration leaves the White House on Jan. 20. The paper also said that the agreement would also facilitate the release of the two Canadians detained by China.
Canada has been accusing Beijing of arbitrary arrests, and it is widely believed in the West that China is seeking to retaliate against Canada for detaining Meng Wanzhou by planting trumped-up charges on the two Canadians.
Neither Huawei nor the U.S. Department of Justice is speaking out at this time, declining to comment on the Wall Street Journal’s report. As for Meng’s lawyers in Vancouver, the media has been unable to locate them.
In any case, the extradition case against Meng Wanzhou will continue in the Vancouver courtroom on Monday.
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