【Text/Observer Network Zhou Yibo】
"I'm finally home!"
On the evening of September 25, Meng Wanzhou, who was dressed in red, arrived at Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport on a chartered plane by the Chinese government and appeared in global media reports.
After 1,028 days of illegal detention, more than 30 court appearances, and countless fierce battles in Canada, this political persecution of Chinese citizens aimed at suppressing China's high-tech enterprises ended with Meng Wanzhou and the U.S. Department of Justice reaching a suspension of prosecution agreement (DPA).
Under the agreement, Meng Neither pleaded guilty nor accepted a fine, while the United States will drop charges after 14 months, and Canada's extradition process was terminated.
Shen Yi, a professor at the Department of International Politics at Fudan University, believes that the DPA agreement is more like a "step" for the United States to give itself, because the content of the agreement accepted by Meng Wanzhou does not have favorable content for the United States, "essentially a major retreat of the United States." At the same time, considering that the list provided by China to the Us side during the Sino-US Tianjin talks included "the release of Meng Wanzhou", China's attitude toward the Meng Wanzhou incident can also be regarded as a "probe" for voluntary release, which is used to test the biden administration's sincerity in restoring Sino-US relations.
In the eyes of foreign media, this legal and geopolitical dispute involving China, the United States and Canada is also of great significance to end with "Meng Wanzhou returning home". Most media believe that Sino-US and China-Canada relations are expected to ease, and may even cooperate in climate and other fields, but the US crackdown on Huawei continues, and competition in key technology areas is still fierce.
Meng Wanzhou arrives at Shenzhen Bao'an Airport Source: @Xinhua net
Unusual suspension of prosecution agreement
After 1,028 days of illegal seizures, more than 30 court appearances, and countless fierce games, the United States finally chose to end the extradition request to Canada with the Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA), and Meng Wanzhou was immediately released by Canada.
So, what is the special significance of this DPA? What signal does the US move send? How will Sino-US relations develop?
Yang Jie, a senior partner at Shanghai Huiye Law Firm, told the Observer Network that DPA is a special settlement model in the US-Canada judicial system, "In judicial practice, there are some cases in which the prosecution and defense have formed a protracted deadlock. If the prosecution considers that the accused is unlikely to continue to engage in acts harmful to society, this model of reconciliation is often used in order to break the deadlock. ”
Yang Jie pointed out that in general, the accused must accept certain penalties (usually financial penalties) when signing the DPA in exchange for the suspension of prosecution of the defendant by the procuratorate. During the suspension of prosecution, the defendant is required to comply with the relevant agreements and cannot be suspected of new crimes, and the personal freedom of the defendant is not restricted in any way. When the suspension expires, the prosecution of the accused is automatically cancelled.
"The biggest benefit of such an agreement for the defendant is that there is no need to 'confess guilt' and there is no criminal record."
So in this DPA, what exactly does Meng Wanzhou need to comply with? According to the British "Guardian" report, one of the requirements of the agreement shows that Meng Wanzhou, on the basis of insisting on the not guilty plea, cannot deny some of the facts he has admitted, nor can he imply that he signed the DPA involuntarily.
Shen Yi, a professor in the Department of International Politics at Fudan University, believes that the content of this DPA is equivalent to expressing that "(Meng Wanzhou) should get up and brush his teeth and eat according to normal work and rest time", without substantial negative impact, "essentially a major retreat of the US side." ”
"There's a very simple test for this thing. First of all, you go to the American media, and if the U.S. side gets anything in the deal that is beneficial to the domestic politics of the United States, it will immediately spread and start to publicize. On the other side, one can see the power of the Chinese the various allegations made against the matter on the Internet, and whether there is any mention of any transaction in the content they repeatedly tell. Shen Yi said, "Now it seems that there are no sides on either side." This shows that there is no material, that is, there is no news that is good for the US side. ”
On September 24, 2021, local time, In Vancouver, Canada, Meng Wanzhou read a statement outside the courtroom Source: Visual China
Ma Ji, a senior lecturer at Peking University's School of Transnational Law, pointed out, "From a legal point of view, Huawei dares to show its sword, use legal weapons, and directly confront the Canadian government in the Canadian courtroom." It is precisely because of the heated debate between Huawei and the Canadian government in court that the US government realizes that there may be deficiencies or deficiencies in the evidence it has alleged. This is an important reason for reaching an agreement. "In the political whirlpool, Huawei uses the law as a spear to pierce the enemy, and the Chinese government uses the law as a shield to protect enterprises, highlighting the role of the law as a weapon."
"Testing the Biden Administration's Sincerity in Restoring U.S.-China Relations"
Shen Yi pointed out that in Tianjin, when Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng and visiting US Executive Deputy Secretary of State Sherman were negotiating, Xie Feng gave Sherman a list of demands that the US side correct its wrong policies and words and deeds toward China, including the release of Meng Wanzhou. ”
"With a cautious attitude, this incident can be regarded as a positive development of Sino-US relations towards a benign development." Shen Yi said that from the overall point of view, the difficulties facing the United States today are obvious, and maintaining cooperation with China is the only realistic way to solve these difficulties. China's attitude toward the Meng Wanzhou incident can also be seen as a "probe" released on its own initiative to test the biden administration's sincerity in resuming Sino-US relations.
At the same time, Shen Yi stressed that although the Meng Wanzhou incident has come to an end, the attitude and practices of the US side towards Chinese technology companies such as Huawei remain "to be seen", but the results of the Meng Wanzhou incident are also enough to show that this is a steady and firm struggle against the United States, and the embodiment of "seeking cooperation through struggle and unity through struggle".
As for the role played by the Canadian side in the Meng Wanzhou incident, Shen Yi believes that the performance of the Canadian side is even "not like a sovereign and independent country, more like a geographical term, without any independent opinions", "This time Meng Wanzhou returned to China, it was not Canada that released people, it was the United States that signed the DPA, and it was the United States that notified Canada to release people." The United States said that I had suspended the prosecution and terminated the extradition. ”
"There is an old Chinese saying that chestnuts are taken from fire, and Canada is the character who puts his claws into the fire to fetch chestnuts for others, and the result is that the hair is burned and the claws are burned. Anyone who does not measure up to his own strength and wants to squeeze into the framework of the Sino-US strategic game and wants to stand in the middle and be taken as the target of attack must be similarly prepared for thinking. ”
Meng Wanzhou made a brief speech after arriving at Shenzhen Bao'an Airport Source: @Xinhua net
Although the United States and Canada have found "steps" for themselves, the situation of some groups trying to reverse black and white to smear China still exists.
Shen Yi pointed out that some forces are unwilling or unwilling to admit that they have suffered major setbacks, so they try their best to portray a situation in which "the Chinese side shows weakness and exchanges that kind of unrestricted concessions for the release of Ms. Meng Wanzhou."
"We can find from the observation of the public opinion field that those forces that try to lead the rhythm to whitewash the US gains and exaggerate the losses of the Chinese side have no way to find their own favorable discourse in the DPA agreement." Shen Yi said that this force has tried to "confuse the DPA with the plea agreement or out-of-court settlement", "interpret the matter as a transaction between China and Canada", and even stir up old rumors such as "Meng Wanzhou's nationality issue".
Shen Yi believes that this situation also reminds us of the complexity of the environment we are facing now. The strategic game between China and the United States is different from the strategy between countries carried out by elites and relevant full-time departments in our traditional sense, and it involves the overall understanding of the broad masses of the people for the world, for their own country, for China and the United States, and for the forces of all parties, and is a new contest in the field of cognition.
The late boat returned home, and the world paid attention
The signal sent by Meng Wanzhou's smooth return to China shook the world.
The first is Japan, which has suffered the "Toshiba Incident", not only has a number of media reported the incident in the whole process, but also many Japanese netizens lamented in the comment area that "Japan's Toshiba does not have (Huawei Meng Wanzhou) this treatment." ”
"In the 1980s semiconductor dispute between the United States and Japan, Japanese companies were beaten to the ground by [the United States], while Japanese politicians turned a blind eye and no one spoke up, and this is the truth of the 'Japan-U.S. alliance' - friends are only friends when there is a need."
In the 1980s, Japan's economy reached its peak and ranked second in the world. As a Japanese semiconductor giant, Toshiba has a strong competitive advantage in this field. In June 1987, the US House of Representatives passed a sanctions bill on the grounds of "Toshiba illegally exporting high-tech products to the Soviet military", and put pressure on Dongzhi by prohibiting exports to the United States and canceling procurement contracts, causing a serious blow to the Japanese semiconductor industry.
"The essence of the Meng Wanzhou case is that the United States is trying to hinder China's development, and the Chinese government is trying to create a better life for its people, not just for one person or one company." Some Japanese netizens said that as in the past, in the trade frictions between the United States and France, Germany, Britain and Japan, politicians have turned a blind eye to the fact that large (non-American) companies have been "picked down" one after another, and this time China's diplomacy has won.
"To be clear, one of the basic conditions for China to continue negotiations with the United States is that Meng Wanzhou must be released... This has left the United States with no choice but to accept this condition. ”
The Hong Kong and Taiwan media responded more enthusiastically, quickly issuing a number of reports and comments to follow up on the matter.
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, which was concerned about the enthusiasm of the public to welcome Ms. Meng back home, quoted Chinese media reports as saying that "[this is] a sign of the strength of the motherland and the beautiful diplomatic battle that China has fought." ”
Taiwan's "Lianhe Pao" published a commentary article entitled "Meng Wanzhou's Return to the United States with a Long Arm Decline," saying that the model of long-arm jurisdiction of the United States may still be a threat to some countries, but Meng Wanzhou's arrival at the door of the country is a sign of decline. In the symbolic sense of global strategy, the United States is back but no longer the boss, and it is difficult to reach out and manage things, at least "China does not eat this set."
The U.S. media, which is a direct stakeholder, is also extremely concerned about this matter.
Bloomberg published an article titled "The United States pays a price to end the Huawei issue to help Sino-US relations" on the 25th, saying that Meng Wanzhou's return to China means that the United States has implemented a key requirement of the Chinese side on improving relations between the two countries, although the United States will "pay some price" for this, but Meng Wanzhou's return to China will "paving the way" for the improvement of Sino-US relations.
The Biden administration has been dissatisfied with a series of demands made by the Chinese side, including the release of Meng Wanzhou and the lifting of sanctions on Chinese personnel, but the Chinese side has always insisted that the United States take the "first step" to improve relations.
Bloomberg said that this move is the "biggest concession" made by the United States in recent years to ease Sino-US relations, and with a more optimistic attitude, although there are still a series of problems between China and the United States that have not been solved, at least one of the "biggest obstacles" hindering further cooperation between the two major economies has "ceased to exist".
The New York Times commented that the Meng Wanzhou incident has almost become a symbol of the "Cold War atmosphere" between the United States and China, and the end of the nearly three-year case shows that the leaders of the two countries can reach some kind of reconciliation in a major dispute.
The Wall Street Journal said that although China and the United States are in a state of "confrontation" in many ways, Meng Wanzhou's exemption from prosecution removes a "stumbling block" between China and the United States and also shows a "little-known pragmatic aspect" of the relationship between the two countries.
On the Canadian side, according to Agence France-Presse reported on the 25th, Zhao Pu, former Canadian ambassador to China, said that the settlement of the Meng Wanzhou incident has made Canada-China relations "less of a thorn", but Canada and China may "not return to the previous state".
Noah Fraser, general manager of the Canada-China Business Council (CCBC), which aims to promote business dealings, said in an interview with Bloomberg that "business leaders in Both Canada and China will be more worried and uneasy than ever, but this is a necessary first step on the road to rebuilding confidence." ”
In addition to the US and Canadian media, the media of Russia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Australia and other countries have also paid attention to the easing effect of Meng Wanzhou's return to China-US and China-Canada relations.
The Russian news agency reported that the canadian court's release of Meng Wanzhou meant the end of "a debacle that lasted for more than two years." The report also quoted Chinese officials as saying that the Canadian seizure of Meng Wanzhou was a "complete political incident fabricated by the United States."
Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao quoted Wang Jiangyu, a law professor at the City University of Hong Kong, as saying that the Biden administration wants to show a cooperative posture through the Meng Wanzhou case, hoping to exchange China's peach in return, and for China, Meng Wanzhou's return to China is the will of the Chinese state and foreign policy priorities.
French newspaper Le Figaro analyzed that with Meng Wanzhou's acceptance of the terms of the suspension of prosecution agreement, the three-year legal struggle and tensions between Beijing, Washington and Ottawa should come to an end.
ZDF reported that tensions between China and the United States and Canada have eased with Ms. Meng's release.
Australia's SBS World News reported that Meng Wanzhou's return to China, the United States and Canada may end the "three-year-long discord" between China, the United States and Canada.
U.S. crackdown on Huawei continues
Although the Meng Wanzhou incident ushered in good news, the fight over Huawei is not over, and the US Department of Justice's investigation of Huawei is still ongoing.
Reuters reported that The release agreement has exposed Biden to Criticism from Washington's "hawks" against China, who believe the Biden administration is surrendering to China and major players at the center of the storm of global tech competition between the two countries.
According to the Wall Street Journal reported on the 24th, US Commerce Secretary Raimondo said that she will seek to improve US-China business relations, and she has seen common interests in the US-China tensions. But she also called Huawei a "security threat" and will continue to work to prevent huawei from acquiring advanced chips.
Japan's "Asahi Shimbun" reported that Meng Wanzhou's return to China will not change Huawei's difficult situation. Due to U.S. sanctions, Huawei has been unable to purchase high-performance chips and has sold some of its smartphone business.
Meng Wanzhou gave a brief speech outside the court after her release Screenshot of CGTN video
Appendix: 1028 days, the unremitting efforts of the Chinese government and huawei's court battles
The results of "the lighthouse waiting, the late boat returning" made people rejoice, but a careful review of the beginning and end of the incident, it is not difficult to feel the thrilling hardships of this process, as well as the unremitting efforts of the Chinese side and the "ulterior motives" of the US side.
The beginning of the Meng Wanzhou incident can be traced back to a so-called "international arrest warrant" issued by the US side in August 2018. However, the real illegal detention of Meng Wanzhou is Canada, which is clinging to the thighs of the United States.
On December 1, 2018, Meng Wanzhou was arrested by the Canadian government on the grounds of "at the request of the Us side" when transiting through Vancouver Airport in Canada, and the relevant news was not officially released until December 5.
The day after the message was sent, the Chinese Embassy in Canada acted quickly to express strong protest to the United States and Canada. Immediately afterward, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng urgently summoned the US and Canadian ambassadors to China to lodge solemn representations and strong protests.
On December 11, a Canadian court granted Meng Wanzhou bail. But on this day, Trump, who was then the US president, said that if it was beneficial to the United States, he was willing to intervene in the CASE OFJ against Meng Wanzhou.
Although Meng Wanzhou was released from his arrest, he was forced to take an electronic shackle and was "placed under house arrest" in Vancouver. During this period, Canadian Ambassador to China MacQuarian spoke out for Meng Wanzhou many times, but was asked to resign by Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau.
On December 13, 2018, Lu Kang, then spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, confirmed that Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Kovrig had been subjected to compulsory measures by Chinese authorities on suspicion of engaging in activities endangering national security. When questioned by the outside world, Lu Kang made it clear that the two were not related and that "the Chinese side is acting in accordance with laws and regulations."
In this regard, after a period of silence, the Canadian side began to borrow the topic to forcibly associate Meng Wanzhou with these two Canadians. Trudeau said the Chinese side was "entirely politically motivated" and even threatened that former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig had "diplomatic immunity," but was then punched in the face by the fact that "Mr. Kovrig did not have a diplomatic passport when he traveled."
On January 28, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice formally indicted Huawei and Meng Wanzhou. Kirsten Nelson, then Secretary of Homeland Security, claimed that Ms. Meng was involved in a "fraudulent financial program that jeopardizes American security." Wilbur Ross, then U.S. commerce secretary, called Chinese companies "undermining U.S. sanctions" over the years and "using the U.S. financial system to facilitate illegal activities."
Subsequently, the United States card submitted a request to Canada for the extradition of Meng Wanzhou at the deadline. On 1 March 2019, Canada's Attorney General decided to issue an authorization order in the Meng Wanzhou case.
On August 22, 2018, the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of New York issued an international arrest warrant calling for the arrest of Huawei's chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou.
On December 1, 2018, Meng Wanzhou was arrested by the Canadian government on the grounds of "at the request of the US side" when transiting through Vancouver Airport in Canada. The U.S. side then claimed that Meng Wanzhou was suspected of "violating the sanctions and ban on Iran" and sought to extradite her.
On December 5, 2018, Canada released the news of Meng Wanzhou's arrest.
On December 6, 2018, the Chinese Embassy in Canada accused Meng Wanzhou of serious human rights violations and expressed strong protest and demanded that the US and Canadian governments restore Ms. Meng Wanzhou's personal freedom.
On December 8 and 9, 2018, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng urgently summoned Canadian Ambassador to China MacQuarren and US Ambassador to China Branstad to lodge solemn representations and strong protests over Meng Wanzhou's detention.
On December 11, 2018, the High Court of British Columbia, Canada (hereinafter referred to as the "Canadian Court") announced that Meng Wanzhou was granted bail. On the same day, then-US President Trump declared that he was willing to intervene in the US Justice Department's case against Meng Wanzhou if it was conducive to national security interests or could promote a trade agreement between the United States and China.
On January 26, 2019, Canadian Ambassador to China Macquarie resigned at the request of Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau. Earlier, McCallum had publicly stated that Ms. Meng had "strong arguments" against being extradited to the United States.
On January 28, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice formally indicted Huawei and Meng Wanzhou, listing 23 counts.
On January 29, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice submitted a request to Canada for Meng Wanzhou's extradition, and The Chinese side urged the US side to immediately withdraw the arrest warrant and formal extradition request for Meng Wanzhou.
On 1 March 2019, Canada's Attorney General decided to issue an authorization order in the Meng Wanzhou case.
Screenshot of surveillance footage of Ms. Meng being interrogated by the Canada Border Services Agency on December 1, 2018
Faced with the collusion between the United States and Canada, Meng Wanzhou chose to confront the Canadian government head-on through legal weapons. On March 3, 2019, Meng Wanzhou filed a lawsuit against the Canadian government, proposing multiple defense paths.
Subsequently, the lengthy hearing review process began.
In this process, although the Canadian Court ruled that Meng Wanzhou met the criteria of "dual criminality" and was within the scope of extradition, Meng Wanzhou's side also worked hard to make the Canadian Court find that there was an "evidentiary loophole" in the "arrest of Meng Wanzhou", and introduced the focus of the dispute into "procedural abuse" and "evidence adequacy", opening up a new front.
During this period, Meng Wanzhou was illegally detained for one year. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has expressed its solidarity several times and strongly urged the Canadian side to take China's solemn position and concerns seriously, take practical measures to correct its mistakes, release Ms. Meng Wanzhou as soon as possible, and ensure her early and safe return to the motherland.
On the other hand, william Barry, then US Attorney General, is still "borrowing the topic" on this matter, claiming that Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE are "untrustworthy" in cybersecurity issues.
On March 3, 2019, Meng Wanzhou filed a lawsuit against the Canadian government. There are three main defences in the court: dual criminality, procedural abuse, and adequacy of evidence.
On March 6, 2019, Meng Wanzhou appeared in a Canadian court, and the extradition hearing was postponed to May 8.
On May 8, 2019, the Canadian court reopened the hearing on Ms. Meng Wanzhou's extradition and set the schedule for the next trial.
On September 23, 2019, Meng Wanzhou's extradition case was heard again, and the extradition case entered the substantive trial stage, and the prosecution and defense will debate the existing evidence and key issues in the case.
On December 11, 2019, the Canadian court found that there was an "evidentiary loophole" in the Canadian prosecutor's handling of the "arrest of Meng Wanzhou" and agreed with the defense's statement that the prosecution was "catching the wind and catching the shadow".
As the Canadian Court released the key evidence in the Meng Wanzhou case, the key evidence accused by the US side of Meng Wanzhou was found to be materially missing and misleading. The Chinese Foreign Ministry immediately followed up, pointing out that this fully shows that the Meng Wanzhou incident is a serious political incident concocted by the United States for abusing the Canada-US extradition treaty and suppressing Chinese high-tech enterprises and Huawei.
During this period, Lawyer Meng Wanzhou provided the Canadian Court with important evidence obtained from HSBC, which was sufficient to challenge the key evidence requested by the US side for extradition. However, the Canadian side refused to introduce this evidence into the case.
However, with the unremitting efforts of all parties, the Canadian Court finally admitted that there were "deliberate omissions" or "material omissions" in the evidence provided by the US side.
At this time, it had been nearly two years since Meng Wanzhou had been illegally detained. On December 1, 2019, Consul General Tong Xiaoling of the Chinese Consulate General in Vancouver, together with Deputy Consul General Wang Chengjun and Consul Hu Qiquan, visited Ms. Meng Wanzhou's residence and offered condolences.
Tong Xiaoling pointed out that the Chinese government's determination to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its citizens is unswerving, and it will continue to take all necessary measures to this end.
At the same time, the US side tried to reach a so-called "confession agreement" with Meng Wanzhou in exchange for returning to China, which was then explicitly rejected.
On January 20, 2020, the first round of hearings on Meng Wanzhou's extradition case was held in a Canadian court, and the prosecution and defense entered a substantive court debate on whether Meng Wanzhou met the "dual criminality" standard, and Meng Wanzhou appeared in court.
On May 27, 2020, a Canadian court ruled that Meng Wanzhou met the criteria of "dual criminality" and that the extradition case would continue to be tried. The focus of the case is on the two directions of defense: procedural abuse and adequacy of evidence.
On 9 July 2021, a Canadian court rejected Ms. Meng Wanzhou's claim for the introduction of new evidence, disagreeing with the introduction of new evidence obtained from HSBC.
On July 23, 2020, a Canadian court released key evidence in the Meng Wanzhou case, and the key evidence in which the United States prosecuted Meng Wanzhou for "fraud" was materially missing and misleading. On the same day, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said about the Meng Wanzhou incident that the relevant evidence disclosed by the Canadian court fully shows that the Meng Wanzhou incident is a serious political incident concocted by the United States in abusing the Canada-US extradition treaty and suppressing Chinese high-tech enterprises and Huawei.
On August 21, 2020, a Canadian court rejected Ms. Meng's request to release more classified documents related to her arrest and trial, citing national security.
On October 26, 2020, Meng Wanzhou's extradition case continued in a Canadian court, and this round mainly revolved around "procedural abuse".
On October 29, 2020, The Deputy Chief Justice of the Canadian Court, Holmes, ruled that there may be "intentional omission of evidence" or "material evidence omission" in the "case record" provided by the United States in the Meng Wanzhou case, and can therefore be listed as one of the grounds for applying for termination of Meng Wanzhou's extradition.
On December 3, 2020, US media reported that the US Department of Justice is currently discussing an agreement with Meng Wanzhou. The agreement would allow her to return to China from Canada, but only if she acknowledges alleged "misconduct" in the criminal case. In this regard, Meng Wanzhou clearly refused.
On October 27, 2020, local time, In Vancouver, Canada, Meng Wanzhou appeared in court to respond to the lawsuit Source: Visual China
Under the confrontation of the legal battlefield, the important witnesses in Meng Wanzhou's extradition case admitted key facts in favor of the Chinese side under the questioning of the defense lawyer.
In addition to advancing on various fronts, Meng Wanzhou was once exposed to receiving death threats many times.
On September 20, 2021, the 48th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council held a dialogue with the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and Minister Jiang Duan of the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations in Geneva pointed out in his speech that Canada unjustifiably and arbitrarily detained Ms. Meng Wanzhou, a Chinese citizen, for more than 1,000 days and carried out political persecution of Chinese citizens, in order to suppress the development of China's high-tech enterprises. Canada should immediately correct its mistake and lift Ms. Meng's arbitrary detention.
Soon, China's efforts came to fruition. On September 24, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice reached a suspension of prosecution agreement with Meng Wanzhou and notified Canada to withdraw the extradition request, and the Canadian side immediately released Meng Wanzhou unconditionally.
Even so, the US side still found a "step" for itself. Mark Lesko, acting director of the U.S. Department of Justice's National Security Division, said in a statement that without the suspension of prosecution agreement, "the extradition process could have lasted for months, if not years."
At 22:14 Beijing time on September 25, 2021, Meng Wanzhou arrived safely at Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport, and the Chinese side foiled the US-Canada conspiracy with the ending of "lighthouse waiting, late boat returning".
On December 7, 2020, Canadian Federal Police Superintendent Ross Randy, an important witness in Meng Wanzhou's extradition case, admitted that the confiscation of Meng Wanzhou's mobile phone and the blocking of mobile phone signals were "at the request of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation", and the Canadian side would not conduct any inspection of the mobile phone at all.
On January 14, 2020, Lionsgate Risk Management, which provides security personnel for Ms. Meng, testified in court that Ms. Meng had received death threats several times while staying at home in Vancouver, sometimes with bullets in her envelopes.
On March 1, 2021, Meng Wanzhou's case was heard in a Canadian court, and the prosecution and defense will debate the grounds for the "abuse of procedure" complaint.
On June 29, 2021, Meng Wanzhou's case was heard in a Canadian court, and this round of trial mainly revolves around what is in the HSBC evidence to be introduced into the next stage of the trial.
On August 10, 2021, Meng Wanzhou's case was heard in a Canadian court, and from the same day, the court heard "judicial remedies".
On August 18, 2021, the hearing on Meng Wanzhou's extradition case officially ended, and Canadian prosecutors claimed that Meng Wanzhou's defense was "a factual and legal failure", and the Canadian judge will announce the date of the verdict of the case on October 21.
On September 24, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice reached a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with Ms. Meng and notified Canada to withdraw its extradition request. The Canadian court immediately terminated the extradition process, exempted Ms. Meng from all conditions of bail and released her. Subsequently, Meng Wanzhou left Canada on a charter flight from the Chinese government and returned to her homeland to reunite with her family.