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Huawei Arrest Tests China's Leaders as Fear and Anger Grip Elite
The arrest of one of China's leading tech executives by the Canadian police for extradition to the United States has unleashed a combustible torrent of outrage and alarm among affluent and influential Chinese, posing a delicate political test for President Xi Jinping and his grip on the loyalty of the nation's elite.
The outpouring of conflicting sentiments — some Chinese have demanded a boycott of American products while others have expressed anxiety about their investments in the United States — underscores the unusual, politically charged nature of the Trump administration's latest move to counter China's drive for technological superiority.
In a hearing on Friday in Vancouver, Canadian prosecutors said the executive, Meng Wanzhou of the Chinese telecom giant Huawei, faced accusations of participating in a scheme to trick financial institutions into making transactions that violated United States sanctions against Iran.
Unlike a new round of tariffs or more tough rhetoric from American officials, the detention of Ms. Meng, the company's chief financial officer, appears to have driven home the intensifying rivalry between the United States and China in a visceral way for the Chinese establishment — and may force Mr. Xi to adopt a tougher stance against Washington, analysts said. In part, that is because Ms. Meng, 46, is so embedded in that establishment herself.
Previously: Canada Arrests Huawei's Global Chief Financial Officer in Vancouver
Related: New Law Bans U.S. Government from Buying Equipment from Chinese Telecom Giants ZTE and Huawei
Australia Bans China's Huawei (and maybe ZTE) from 5G Mobile Network Project
Washington Asks Allies to Drop Huawei
(Score: 2) by legont on Sunday December 09 2018, @05:54AM (15 children)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/meng-wanzhou-arrest-huawei-china-warns-of-grave-consequences-2018-12-08/ [cbsnews.com]
Does it mean a military strike is inevitable?
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 09 2018, @06:15AM (4 children)
They had to say something blustery to show that they are doing everything possible to get her out.
(Score: 2) by legont on Sunday December 09 2018, @07:04AM (3 children)
Hmm... it's rare in diplomacy because diplomats need a way to get the point across when it matters.
What "grave" is supposed to mean? In diplomatic terms I mean?
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 09 2018, @08:01AM
In diplo-speak, "grave consequences" is usually the last escalation step of "talking" and before "actually doing things". A final warning.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday December 09 2018, @02:52PM
Anything from nothing to bombs flying. Here, I think if the US has solid evidence of wrong-doing by Meng Wanzhou, the mention of "grave consequences" is not going to amount to much. China isn't going to defend an obvious crook.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 09 2018, @02:58PM
Grave consequences was in the press release. They probably said something else to the Canadian ambassador.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Blymie on Sunday December 09 2018, @09:20AM (5 children)
Amusingly, if the quotes in this article are true -- it appears China has no comprehension of due process. They probably know it exists, but believe it's just a convenient guise.
No. Sorry. In Canada, due process is followed -- regardless of who you are, who you know.
So no China, there is NO WAY AT ALL for a politician to order her release. There are provisions to deny extradition:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/meng-huawei-extradition-1.4937146 [www.cbc.ca] (someone else posted this excellent article), I quote:
"Canada's extradition laws give Ottawa the power to reject requests that it considers oppressive or politically motivated, a back door known as the "political offence exception." For example, extradition requests that seek to prosecute people for their race, religion, sexuality or political opinions would be out of order."
Note though, this doesn't mean that "because politics are involved". No, not AT ALL. If there is proper evidence, the evidence meets the standard -- politics are meaningless.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_offence_exception [wikipedia.org]
What I find interesting, is that there has been a warrant for her arrest since August.
(Score: 2) by Blymie on Sunday December 09 2018, @09:28AM
To add to this...
I wonder, do they realise the difference between a Canadian and Chinese jail? She's in a Canadian jail this weekend, but the only hardship is confinement... our jails are like US jails, and certainly not Chinese jails.
On top of this, I'm sure that she's in solitary. Not because she deserves special treatment because of who she is, but to protect her -- because of who she is. Most Canucks are very open, very friendly, very multicultural. But it wouldn't be a stretch to say that some intolerant people might happen to exist in our prisons. Solitary would be for her own protection.
And plus, we also sometimes use solitary prior to psychological assessment. Will the person suicide? Will they be a threat to others?
Yet there are books in solitary... compared to all the hub-bub of the trial, the arrest, the media -- spending a couple of days sleeping/reading may be a blessing.
(Score: 2) by legont on Sunday December 09 2018, @04:11PM (2 children)
Well, Saddam Husein had no way to destroy nonexistent chemical weapons either.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 09 2018, @07:57PM (1 child)
oh they existed. it's just that only US black ops knew where they were buried...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 10 2018, @02:26PM
Since they were probably the ones who planted them.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 09 2018, @07:12PM
Glad to know we still have some sane neighbors to the North. God bless, brother.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Sunday December 09 2018, @12:08PM (3 children)
Due to Canada's uncommonly - and strictly speaking, incorrect - dedication to peace, it's the ONLY nation in the world that other nations are willing to accept their use of Heavy Water Reactors, the CANDU.
The greatest advantage of Heavy Water is that due to Deuterium Nuclei _already_ having a Neutron, and due to Tritium being unstable, the CANDU does not require refined Uranium.
But this has the "unfortunate" "problem" of producing vast quantities of Plutonium.
It's not like Canada has any shortage of Physicists; it was also active in the Manhattan Project.
If you think Canada is truly peaceful, have a read of their history during WWI and WWII.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 09 2018, @04:15PM (2 children)
Fortunately, the CANDU will then proceed to nom the resulting plutonium, because it is a Multi-oxide fuel [wikipedia.org] reactor and really doesn't care what it eats, as long as it's fissile.
Some of our provincial governments are trying to shut down out coal plants, and it's long overdue. But, I wish they were building CANDU's to replace them, instead of the current plan, which seems to consist of "what? oh erm, right.. gas turbines! eventually. somewhere. after we're done closing down coal."
As far as I know the only country still building and improving the CANDU designs is... China.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 09 2018, @04:19PM (1 child)
I should further add, the solution to the "radioactive waste problem" the US has been wrestling with for over a decade is really quite simple: Ship it to Canada. Feed the CANDU. Woohoo, cheap fuel means cheap electricity. What eventually comes out as waste is even more radioactive, and vastly reduced in mass. Easier to store.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Sunday December 09 2018, @04:54PM
That means it has a short half-life, and so won't require watchful security for the next half-million years.
That Plutonium waste is such a problem to store is that provided its Nuclear Cascade Reaction is not significant - that is, it's broken into small pieces, each piece far from the others, or as the current plan calls for, to dissolve it dilutely in molten glass - is due to its natural radioactivity being quite mild. Get This:
Both Plutonium and Uranium can be handled safely with heavy rubber gloves.
That leads to its half-life being roughly 26,000 years, but that natural radioactivity is so very weak that we do not yet have accurate measurements of the half-lives of some of its isotopes.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]