{"id":205905,"date":"2019-03-09T03:37:35","date_gmt":"2019-03-09T08:37:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=205905"},"modified":"2019-03-09T03:37:35","modified_gmt":"2019-03-09T08:37:35","slug":"freeland-thanks-u-s-lawmakers-for-bipartisan-support-on-meng-arrest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/03\/09\/freeland-thanks-u-s-lawmakers-for-bipartisan-support-on-meng-arrest\/","title":{"rendered":"Freeland thanks U.S. lawmakers for bipartisan support on Meng arrest"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland applauded Friday a bipartisan American political effort backing Canada in its fight with China over its detention of Huawei’s chief financial officer. (File Photo: @cafreeland\/Twitter<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

OTTAWA \u2014 Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland applauded Friday a bipartisan American political effort backing\u00a0Canada\u00a0in its fight with China over its detention of Huawei’s chief financial officer.<\/p>\n

Freeland’s remarks \u2014 in an email to The Canadian Press \u2014 came hours after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a Beijing news conference his country would take \u201call necessary measures\u201d to defend Chinese companies and citizens abroad against \u201cdeliberate political suppression.\u201d<\/p>\n

The latest round in\u00a0Canada’s diplomatic dispute with China came as a new poll was released Friday by the University of British Columbia that cast new light on the deterioration of Sino-Canadian relations since the Meng affair.<\/p>\n

Meng is wanted in the U.S. on fraud related charges in connection with violating sanctions on Iran \u2014 allegations China angrily dismisses as a politically motivated attack.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Senate foreign-relations committee introduced a measure this week that commends\u00a0Canada\u00a0for arresting Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver to fulfil an American extradition request.<\/p>\n

The joint Republican and Democratic effort recognizes\u00a0Canada\u00a0for upholding the rule of law and expresses concern over actions by China in response to the U.S. request. It calls on China to release Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who were jailed by Beijing authorities following Meng’s arrest.<\/p>\n

\u201cCanada\u00a0appreciates these bipartisan efforts in the U.S. Senate to pass a resolution echoing our call for the release of Mr. Spavor and Mr. Kovrig and recognizing\u00a0Canada’s respect for the rule of law,\u201d Freeland said.<\/p>\n

Freeland also noted that\u00a0Canada\u00a0appreciates the support of Australia, the European Union, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Spain, the Czech Republic, Denmark, and NATO, \u201cwho have spoken in support of these detained Canadians and the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freeland has been working behind the scenes with American lawmakers to court their support for the resolution, say sources familiar with her efforts, but who were not authorized to speak for attribution about them due to the sensitivity of the situation.<\/p>\n

Last month, Freeland lobbied Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham at the Munich security conference in Germany, and she pressed the issue with Democratic lawmakers in Washington as well, sources say.<\/p>\n

\u201cCanada\u00a0has provided consular access and due process for Ms. Meng. It is only right for the Senate to join\u00a0Canada\u00a0in expressing concern over arbitrary detention and mistreatment of Canadian nationals by the Chinese government,\u201d said Republican Sen. Jim Risch, the chair of the committee.<\/p>\n

The ranking Democrat on the committee, Sen. Bob Menendez, heartily concurred.<\/p>\n

\u201cI commend\u00a0Canada\u00a0for its commitment to transparency and upholding the rule of law and its willingness to do the right thing in the face of significant and unjustified pressure from the Chinese,\u201d said Menendez. \u201cIn contrast, China’s actions in seizing Canadian nationals in an apparent act of political retaliation, subjecting them to what appears to be arbitrary detention and mistreatment should be deeply troubling to all members of the international community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chinese ambassador to\u00a0Canada\u00a0has warned the Trudeau government not to court international support against it, saying that would only worsen tensions.<\/p>\n

Freeland responded to the American support after a visibly angry Wang gave a defiant answer at a Beijing press conference about Huawei.<\/p>\n

\u201cRecent actions against specific Chinese enterprises and individuals are not simply judicial cases, but deliberate political suppression,\u201d said China’s foreign minister.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also support companies and individuals using legal weapons to protect their rights and interests and not to be silent lambs,\u201d he added, raising his right hand into a fist.<\/p>\n

During a spring 2016 press conference at the headquarters of\u00a0Canada’s foreign ministry in Ottawa, Wang berated a Canadian reporter \u2014 angrily pointing a finger at her \u2014 for asking him an \u201cirresponsible\u201d question that was \u201cfull of prejudice\u201d about his country’s human-rights record.<\/p>\n

Friday’s friction was reflected in the results of a poll released by the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at UBC which surveyed 1,161 respondents between Feb. 4 and 19, with a margin of error of 2.9 per cent. The Qualtrics survey asked the same questions as in 2017 and 2018 and found that only 22 per cent of Canadians had a favourable image of China, down 14 points.<\/p>\n

Respondents also expressed low satisfaction with how the government tries to protect Canadian imprisoned in China. Eighteen per cent answered positively, up six points, but the number giving the government a thumbs-down rose 11 points to 42 per cent.<\/p>\n

\u201cOverall, Canadian opinions of China and the Chinese government are increasingly negative but expectations of the relationship have shifted only slightly,\u201d write Paul Evans and Li Xiaojun of UBC.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat appears to be changing is the sense that\u00a0Canada\u00a0is more alone in the world than it was in 2017, more anxious about interactions with China in high-tech sectors, and more worried about threats to domestic values and institutions at home and to Canadians abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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