US to Seek Extradition of Huawei CFO - Report

By Nathaniel Mott
published

Huawei might be in for a rough week. Shortly after the Chinese telecom company’s chief executive warned his workers that “mediocre employees” might be laid off in the coming months, news broke (opens in new tab) that the U.S. plans to ask Canada to extradite Huawei’s CFO, Meng Wanzhou.

Canada arrested Wanzhou—who is also Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei’s daughter—at the U.S.’ request in December 2018. The arrest was ostensibly prompted by Huawei skirting U.S. sanctions on Iran, but it was also an all-too-apparent part of the looming trade war with China.

U.S. Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) told The New York Times that China has been “working to creatively undermine our national security interests." Companies like Huawei and ZTE have shouldered the weight of those fears by having their equipment barred from U.S. federal agencies as well as the 5G infrastructure of several other countries.

The U.S cited similar concerns when it imposed export restrictions on Chinese DRAM makers. Meanwhile, tariffs on goods originating from China have been applied to more and more product categories, despite repeated warnings from America’s tech industry. This isn’t just about Huawei (allegedly) violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.

China has grown increasingly hostile with Canada over its dealings with Huawei. The country has reportedly demanded that Wanzhou be freed, and threatened certain “repercussions” (opens in new tab) if it follows other Western countries in banning Huawei’s equipment from its 5G wireless infrastructure. A country known for being meteorologically frigid but personally friendly is now in the middle of a much bigger conflict.

The deadline for the U.S. to file an extradition request for Wanzhou is January 30; she is scheduled to appear in a Vancouver court on February 6. We expect things to get even more interesting as those dates approach.

Nathaniel Mott
Nathaniel Mott
Freelance News & Features Writer

Nathaniel Mott is a freelance news and features writer for Tom's Hardware US, covering breaking news, security, and the silliest aspects of the tech industry.

9 Comments Comment from the forums
  • siman0
    they have also sentenced Canadian citizens to death...
    Reply
  • spentshells
    Well, 5g tower meltdown sounds exciting
    Reply
  • s1mon7
    21702560 said:
    they have also sentenced Canadian citizens to death...

    To be fair, they re-opened the cases of Canadian citizens who previously received lenient sentences for what they were found guilty of and appealed them themselves, with a drug smuggling case getting the most media attention. Drug smuggling normally does get you death sentence in China.

    So far I'm not aware of any arbitrary prosecution. Still following how the situation unfolds is very interesting. Canada is in a very unfair situation though. They acted on behalf of the US (that's recently mistreating them) and they are on the receiving end of China's response for it as well.
    Reply
  • Pedasc
    To be fair, they re-opened the cases of Canadian citizens who previously received lenient sentences for what they were found guilty of and appealed them themselves, with a drug smuggling case getting the most media attention. Drug smuggling normally does get you death sentence in China.

    So far I'm not aware of any arbitrary prosecution. Still following how the situation unfolds is very interesting. Canada is in a very unfair situation though. They acted on behalf of the US (that's recently mistreating them) and they are on the receiving end of China's response for it as well.
    In that case they had a one day trial, invited foreign media, and presented no new evidence which apparently is supposed to be done to increase a sentence like this. They then proceeded put on their best shocked and appalled face when Canada complained.

    China doesn't seem to want to push their relationship with the US too far while they are trying to negotiate trade. But they have nothing to loose by treating Canada badly. Canada is an easy target as they don't have much that they can hurt China with but they are big enough to be notable. My guess is that it's more to deter someone else from working against China's interests than the slim chance if China pushes hard enough they might get Canadians to start to wonder if this is really worth it and give in.
    Reply
  • IceMyth
    21703411 said:
    To be fair, they re-opened the cases of Canadian citizens who previously received lenient sentences for what they were found guilty of and appealed them themselves, with a drug smuggling case getting the most media attention. Drug smuggling normally does get you death sentence in China.

    So far I'm not aware of any arbitrary prosecution. Still following how the situation unfolds is very interesting. Canada is in a very unfair situation though. They acted on behalf of the US (that's recently mistreating them) and they are on the receiving end of China's response for it as well.
    In that case they had a one day trial, invited foreign media, and presented no new evidence which apparently is supposed to be done to increase a sentence like this. They then proceeded put on their best shocked and appalled face when Canada complained.

    China doesn't seem to want to push their relationship with the US too far while they are trying to negotiate trade. But they have nothing to loose by treating Canada badly. Canada is an easy target as they don't have much that they can hurt China with but they are big enough to be notable. My guess is that it's more to deter someone else from working against China's interests than the slim chance if China pushes hard enough they might get Canadians to start to wonder if this is really worth it and give in.

    I dont think Canada is an easy target. What Canada did, is contradict the say "Criminal is not guilty until it is proven not". When USA failed to present any hard evidence in 1st trail then, I would drop the whole case. What they did now is hey USA try to figure out any evidence (or make it) to send her to US. But it is all economic war against Huawei because they are doing better than USA companies in particular Apple and the other companies that are working to rip off and sell people data.

    Stupidity, is to think that China is spying on you while other countries are not. I presonally would trust any country other than USA who failed in all aspects from security (Equifax breach), FaceBook selling your data and allow other apis to do so, to fail to place a law to protect their schools and kids from guns... So, who would you believe or trust!

    I can say more, but in reality nothing will change and Media will keep pouring more oil on the fire. But I predict this, USA - China relations will back to normal whereas other countries will regret this and loose alot.
    Reply
  • TJ Hooker
    21703496 said:
    I dont think Canada is an easy target. What Canada did, is contradict the say "Criminal is not guilty until it is proven not". When USA failed to present any hard evidence in 1st trail then, I would drop the whole case. What they did now is hey USA try to figure out any evidence (or make it) to send her to US. But it is all economic war against Huawei because they are doing better than USA companies in particular Apple and the other companies that are working to rip off and sell people data.
    It's not Canada's job to come up with evidence against her. The US had an arrest warrant out for her, and Canada has an extradition treaty with the US. Canada had an obligation to hand her over. I have heard a few commentators mention that in situations like these sometimes the would-be extraditee would be tipped off prior to flying to the country to avoid this kind of political fallout, but once she landed in Canada the authority's hands were tied AFAIK. The fact that the US seems to be open to using her as a political bargaining chip is unfortunate, but outside of Canada's control.

    What "1st trial" are you talking about?
    Reply
  • IceMyth
    21703671 said:
    21703496 said:
    I dont think Canada is an easy target. What Canada did, is contradict the say "Criminal is not guilty until it is proven not". When USA failed to present any hard evidence in 1st trail then, I would drop the whole case. What they did now is hey USA try to figure out any evidence (or make it) to send her to US. But it is all economic war against Huawei because they are doing better than USA companies in particular Apple and the other companies that are working to rip off and sell people data.
    It's not Canada's job to come up with evidence against her. The US had an arrest warrant out for her, and Canada has an extradition treaty with the US. Canada had an obligation to hand her over. I have heard a few commentators mention that in situations like these sometimes the would-be extraditee would be tipped off prior to flying to the country to avoid this kind of political fallout, but once she landed in Canada the authority's hands were tied AFAIK. The fact that the US seems to be open to using her as a political bargaining chip is unfortunate, but outside of Canada's control.

    What "1st trial" are you talking about?

    Yea my bad there, I thought there was an appearance or a hearing. From what I heard the landing wasnt an issue, but her leaving the plane for medical reasons what the reason that gave Canadian the authority to arrest her.

    Regarding the evidence, true. It is not Canada Job. It is US job, but if they didnt have anything in hand then the arrest/warranty for her was illegal and as you said it is more as deplomatic that Canada and Huawei CFO became part of it.
    Reply
  • redgarl
    21704088 said:
    21703671 said:
    21703496 said:
    I dont think Canada is an easy target. What Canada did, is contradict the say "Criminal is not guilty until it is proven not". When USA failed to present any hard evidence in 1st trail then, I would drop the whole case. What they did now is hey USA try to figure out any evidence (or make it) to send her to US. But it is all economic war against Huawei because they are doing better than USA companies in particular Apple and the other companies that are working to rip off and sell people data.
    It's not Canada's job to come up with evidence against her. The US had an arrest warrant out for her, and Canada has an extradition treaty with the US. Canada had an obligation to hand her over. I have heard a few commentators mention that in situations like these sometimes the would-be extraditee would be tipped off prior to flying to the country to avoid this kind of political fallout, but once she landed in Canada the authority's hands were tied AFAIK. The fact that the US seems to be open to using her as a political bargaining chip is unfortunate, but outside of Canada's control.

    What "1st trial" are you talking about?

    Yea my bad there, I thought there was an appearance or a hearing. From what I heard the landing wasnt an issue, but her leaving the plane for medical reasons what the reason that gave Canadian the authority to arrest her.

    Regarding the evidence, true. It is not Canada Job. It is US job, but if they didnt have anything in hand then the arrest/warranty for her was illegal and as you said it is more as deplomatic that Canada and Huawei CFO became part of it.

    You are totally wrong, there is an international warrant, Canada made the arrest. After bail has been established, the US is having 60 days to request the extradition of the person. At that time, the US is divulging their proof to the Canadian justice system to proceed with the extradition. After that, it is your show.

    If you past the deadline, the person in custody is released and free to go.
    Reply
  • LordVile
    The US and the western world in general should just have a blanket ban on all Huawei and ZTE products. It’s known that China uses them to spy on other countries.
    Reply