Editorial:China lecturing the West on human rights? Oh, please


In this undated photo released by Huawei, Huawei's chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou is seen in a portrait photo.




Since the arrest of a Chinese telecom firm’s executive in Canada on U.S. charges nearly a month ago, a trans-Pacific political saga has been escalating.

Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou was detained on an American extradition warrant as she passed through the Vancouver airport on Dec. 1.

Within weeks, Chinese officials appeared to reply in kind by arresting former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig, who previously worked in Ottawa, and Calgary entrepreneur Michael Spavor.

Since then, both sides have been engaged in a very public airing of grievances.

The latest such complaint came Monday, when China said it was “very dissatisfied” with western allies’ explicit support for Canada in the spat.

“Where were their voices when the senior manager of the Chinese company was illegally detained by the Canadian side at the behest of the U.S. side?” asked Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Chinese government.

“It is quite obvious that the human rights they are talking about have different standards when it comes to citizens of different countries.”

China has quite the gall to lecture anyone on human rights.

Meng was arrested for a very specific reason: The United States is seeking to press fraud charges, accusing her of helping to circumvent economic sanctions against Iran, put simply.

Her arrest in Canada was enabled by an extradition treaty signed between this country and the U.S.

While in detention, Meng has been given access to legal counsel and a hearing in a transparent, independent court system.

She was granted $10 million bail, staying at a home in the Vancouver area while forbidden from leaving Canada for now.

More proceedings are forthcoming to evaluate the legal soundness of the American extradition request.

This is due process at its very best.

The detained Canadians, meanwhile, continue to be held on vague accusations of “engaging in activities that endanger the national security” of China.

Kovrig has had no access to a lawyer, faces interrogation three times daily and is being kept in a prison cell lit 24 hours a day, his employer recently said.

Spavor’s status was not known, at last report.

It is very clear Canada and its allies have no lessons to learn from China on rights of the accused.




haiyaaa ciilaaka luuwa weelas waaa


Canada salah satu negara2 Bule toowlool yg cari aman waaa.

Sekarang mewek2,tebak ntar minta bantuan ke siyapee haaa???

"If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas"