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posted by martyb on Wednesday December 12 2018, @03:04AM   Printer-friendly
from the communications-issues dept.

Michael Kovrig, former Canadian diplomat, reportedly arrested in China

A former Canadian diplomat has reportedly been arrested in China. The International Crisis Group said Tuesday it's aware of reports that its North East Asia senior adviser Michael Kovrig has been detained.

The Brussels-based non-governmental organization said in a statement it's doing everything possible to obtain additional information about Kovrig's whereabouts and that it will work to ensure his prompt release.

The Globe and Mail in Toronto and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported the arrest, citing unnamed sources.

Reports of Kovrig's detention come after China warned Canada of consequences for its recent arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at Vancouver's airport. It's unclear if there's any link between the cases.

Some Chinese companies ban iPhones, require Huawei after CFO's arrest: report

Some Chinese companies are banning iPhones and requiring that their employees use Huawei products following the arrest of Huawei's chief financial officer, according to a new Yahoo News report. Meng Wanzhou, the CFO of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, was arrested by Canadian authorities last Saturday at the request of the U.S. after allegedly violating trade sanctions against Iran. Chinese officials have strongly protested Meng's detention.

Now, Chinese companies are promoting Huawei and barring Apple, an American company. Menpad, an LCD display maker and Huawei supplier, on Monday said it will punish employees who buy iPhones with a fine equivalent to the American smartphone's market price, the South China Morning Post reported. It also vowed that the company will no longer buy American products, including office supplies and computers, and will offer a 15 percent subsidy for employees who are buying Huawei phones, according to the Post.

Japan's top three telcos to exclude Huawei, ZTE network equipment: Kyodo

Japan's big three telecom operators plan not to use current equipment and upcoming fifth-generation (5G) gear from China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp, Kyodo News reported on Monday.

The news, for which Kyodo did not cite sources, comes at a time of heightened scrutiny of Chinese tech firms by Washington and some prominent allies over ties to the Chinese government, driven by concerns they could be used by Beijing for spying. Last week sources told Reuters that Japan planned to ban government purchases of equipment from Huawei and ZTE to ensure strength in its defences against intelligence leaks and cyber attacks.

See also: How Meng Wanzhou's Arrest Might Backfire

Previously: Canada Arrests Huawei's Global Chief Financial Officer in Vancouver
Arrest of Huawei Executive Causing Discontent Among Chinese Elites

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


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  • (Score: 2) by shortscreen on Wednesday December 12 2018, @10:33AM (5 children)

    by shortscreen (2252) on Wednesday December 12 2018, @10:33AM (#773393) Journal

    Rule of law works well when legislators mind their own jurisdiction and take their jobs seriously. The US fails on both counts.

    US sanctions are mostly a childish attempt to harm political enemies. It's the same as bible-belt states passing arbitrary restrictions on abortion clinics. They haven't been able to ban them but they still want to make things difficult for the dirty fornicators and abortion doctors so they pass some BS laws out of spite, with no pretense of serving order or justice. (Or for another example, see CA's recent boardroom gender law that they passed "to send a message")

    Besides, the US shouldn't be crying "rule of law" to anyone unless they are ready to round up their own war criminals for extradition.

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  • (Score: 2, Disagree) by khallow on Wednesday December 12 2018, @02:30PM (4 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday December 12 2018, @02:30PM (#773447) Journal

    US sanctions are mostly a childish attempt to harm political enemies.

    Political enemies who have been trying to get nuclear weapons and have a long history of bad behavior. The analogy breaks down at this point.

    • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday December 12 2018, @06:27PM (3 children)

      by bob_super (1357) on Wednesday December 12 2018, @06:27PM (#773592)

      "Hey, what makes you think you should be trying to get weapons to counter our constant threats?"

      "bad behavior" is pretty cute, coming from Americans talking about Iran.

      • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday December 12 2018, @09:52PM (2 children)

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday December 12 2018, @09:52PM (#773704) Journal

        "Hey, what makes you think you should be trying to get weapons to counter our constant threats?"

        It's certainly not the many years of economic sanctions.

        "bad behavior" is pretty cute, coming from Americans talking about Iran.

        Remember the Shah of Iran was sandwiched between two other shitty governments. US can't take the blame for it all.

        • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday December 12 2018, @10:40PM (1 child)

          by bob_super (1357) on Wednesday December 12 2018, @10:40PM (#773740)

          >> "Hey, what makes you think you should be trying to get weapons to counter our constant threats?"
          > It's certainly not the many years of economic sanctions.

          Imagine swapping places, with Iran teaming up with the neighbors to punish the US for refusing to drop its silly non-religious constitution and stop its support for Israel, supporting groups in Canada trying to overthrow the US government, and having a history of having successfully burnt the white house.
          I can hear our 2nd amendment supporters rubbing their guns.

          >> "bad behavior" is pretty cute, coming from Americans talking about Iran.
          > Remember the Shah of Iran was sandwiched between two other shitty governments. US can't take the blame for it all.

          "sandwiched" is an interesting way of putting it.
          What would the current government of highly-educated briefly-democratic Iran currently be, if the US hasn't gotten involved ?

          • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday December 12 2018, @10:53PM

            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday December 12 2018, @10:53PM (#773749) Journal

            Imagine swapping places, with Iran teaming up with the neighbors to punish the US for refusing to drop its silly non-religious constitution and stop its support for Israel, supporting groups in Canada trying to overthrow the US government, and having a history of having successfully burnt the white house.

            You don't get why Iran suddenly had troubles with the neighbors? They stole a bunch of oil infrastructure in the first place.

            "sandwiched" is an interesting way of putting it. What would the current government of highly-educated briefly-democratic Iran currently be, if the US hasn't gotten involved ?

            It'd probably look much the same. The biggest potential difference would be whether it was a territory of Iraq or the USSR.