TORONTO – Three long years but now the nightmare is over. A few hours after the release of Meng Wanzhou, China boarded a plane bound for Calgary Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig Canadian citizens detained in China since 2018. Spavor and Kovrig have returned to Canada after nearly three years in prison in China for espionage. The ‘two Michaels’ boarded just hours after the British Columbia court dismissed the extradition case to the US against Meng Wanzhou.
China had publicly argued that there was no connection between Meng’s case and the detention of the former Canadian ambassador and businessman and had remained deaf to Canada’s repeated calls to release the two men arbitrarily detained on false espionage charges.
Waiting for them at the Calgary airport was Prime Minister Trudeau: “These two men have gone through an incredibly difficult ordeal – said Trudeau – it is good news for all of us to know that they are returning to their families. They lived for more than 1,000 days a terrible trial. They have shown determination and resilience day by day and are an inspiration to all of us,” he added.
Trudeau, who gave no further details on the release of Kovrig and Spavor, said his government’s main goal was “to bring these two men home safely” and thanked diplomats and government officials for their “tireless” work.
“It’s wonderfully great to be at home” were Kovrig’s first words visibly excited after hugging his wife Vina Nadjibulla and sister Ariana Botha.
And while Canada celebrates the return of the ‘two Michaels’, China has triumphantly welcomed Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, who landed at Shenzhen’an International Airport in Guangdong. The images were broadcast live by CCTV4, the Mandarin channel of the state network CCTV dedicated to international news: according to Chinese TV there were 10 million viewers.
The 49-year-old daughter of Ren Zhengfei, the billionaire founder of Huawei, had been released a few hours earlier by a judge in Vancouver and had left Canada immediately.
The release came after an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to suspend bank fraud charges and request me to extradite Meng Wanzhou from Canada, who was arrested on December 1, 2018. “Welcome home”: this is the first and dry comment by a Chinese government official at the conclusion of the judicial case of Huawei’s head of finance, Meng Wanzhou, on the way back to China.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian posted on his personal Weibo account – the most popular microblogging platform in China – that China’s position on the case “is consistent and clear: the facts have fully demonstrated that this is an episode of political persecution against Chinese citizens, with the aim of suppressing China’s high-tech enterprises.” The accusation of fraud, reads a brief note from the Foreign Ministry, “is purely invented” and the actions of the US and Canada “are a typical arbitrary detention”.
“Without a strong country I would not have my freedom today.” This is the thanks addressed to China by Meng Wanzhou who, according to the Chinese media, also thanked the Communist Party and the Beijing government. “It is the bright Chinese red that lit the fire of faith in my heart, illuminated the darkest moments and led me on the long journey home. Despite all the twists and turns, this return journey is the sweetest to home,” added Meng, whose story is being strongly blown by propaganda.
Pics from Justin Trudeau’s profile on Twitter and Mango Press
