• Secret letters, fan fliers and laptop etiquette at the Supreme Court in Vancouver, as Huawei CFO’s bail hearings continue
• Hundreds of members of the public turned up, some demanding loudly that Meng Wanzhou be freed
“Free Meng Wanzhou! We love you!” shouted Joe Luo outside the British Columbia Supreme Court in downtown Vancouver.
The burly businessman was using his lunch break on Monday to protest against the detention of Huawei CFO Sabrina Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in Vancouver on December 1 and faces possible extradition to the US to face fraud charges.
Luo was handing out posters that said “We Love You Huawei” to fellow supporters of Meng, at her bail hearing.
There was no shortage of takers.
A couple of hundred members of the public had converged on the courtroom for the 10am hearing. Some were rubber-neckers. Others were critics of China’s government – including Gao Bing Chen, a prominent anti-Communist-Party blogger, who was clad in a lavender corduroy Mao suit.
But such folk were easily outnumbered by avid supporters of Meng and Huawei.
The crowd filled the 149-seat gallery and about 100 spilled outside in the waiting area, where at least five large televisions were set up to relay proceedings.
Many had arrived in groups of half a dozen of more, animatedly discussing the case in Mandarin during breaks in proceedings. The rousing tones of the Chinese national anthem repeatedly rang out in the gallery, courtesy of a patriotic mobile phone owner.
“The judges here are lawless. Lawless!” said one elderly man queuing outside court. “We are here to support her human rights.”
The motives of others were less clear. One young man with a brown-dyed feather cut chatted amiably with reporters about the case. But he said he was worried he might not fit in the packed courtroom after the lunch break, before cutting to the chase: could the South China Morning Post deliver a “proposal” to Meng’s husband, Liu Xiaozong, please? He proffered a handwritten letter, neatly folded.
Rejected – but undeterred – the enterprising attendee not only fit in the courtroom by walking in with reporters, he squeezed into a prime position in the front row directly behind Meng – and right next to Liu Xiaozong and one of Meng’s lawyers. It’s not clear whether his proposal was delivered.
On Friday, most of the bail hearing’s attendees had been reporters.
But over the weekend, China’s government and state media ratcheted up the rhetoric against Canada and the United States, calling Meng’s arrest “vile” and warning of “grave consequences” unless she were released.
Was that the trigger for the big show of support for Meng?
Full story at https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2177384/its-all-way-huawei-sabrina-meng-wangzhous-supporters
DID HUAWEI VIOLATE IRAN SANCTIONS?
By Professor Dr. Wang,
Former Executive of Halliburton Inc.
No, they didn’t.
CFO Meng Wan Zhou was arrested supposedly for “violating Iran sanction”. This has to be the most grotesque distortion of justice. After all, the United States was the country which unilaterally pulled out in VIOLATION of an agreement they had solemnly signed with Iran alongside multiple nations under UN auspices earlier!
In other words, the guy who broke a solemn promise made, violated the agreement; then made sanction an American domestic law, and is now force-feeding this draconian law arbitrarily upon the rest of the world by arresting someone who refuses to violate a UN-endorsed agreement! Pray, is this making any sense to anybody?
Huawei created a subsidiary to do business with Iran, and the CFO is being charged with lying about the relationship between Huawei and the subsidiary. This seems utterly ludicrous and nonsensical. After all, when I worked at Halliburton Inc, that company did EXACTLY the same thing. Not only d-ck Cheney, our CEO was never arrested; he was invited to join the White House & became Vice President under George W. Bush!
The moral behind this story is for normal businesses to be extremely vigilant and to be aware of the true ugly face of America (and Saudi Arabia). One tosses you into jail for breaking their twisted laws they make up as they go along whilst the other goes after you with a bone saw. Both are really nothing more than thugs and hoodlums. They are far worse than the Italian Mafia because the Mafia have at least some grain of decency to commit their crimes in secret, while the “Thugs in Tuxedos” in Washington and the Saudi Govt officials commit their crimes blatantly and openly. Both show complete disregard for the sovereignty and laws of other countries. They snoop, spy, barge and bully their way through; shamelessly trying to justify their wicked actions by lying, conspiring and smearing their victims... then run publicity campaigns to sway public opinions while accusing others of violations against human rights..!!
Undoubtedly, there are good people in USA & in Saudi Arabia. I don’t wish to generalise, but time and again in America, that if ever the inflated egos of overpaid govt officials and bureaucrats feel threatened, they can suddenly turn into utterly evil, nefarious subhumans capable of the most despicable, horrific and darkest deeds.
The arrest of Meng WanZhou is a case in point.
Some years ago, I went to America starry eyed with high hopes and huge expectations, eager to learn a democratic system supposedly far superior than my country’s. Well, after completing my Ph.D degree, then staying back to gather work experience for a few years, I now stand corrected.
Life in the States has taught me to be proud of my country and my own people. Grass is definitely NOT greener on the other side and the moon out in the West is certainly no rounder or brighter.
American culture is notable for its excessive arrogance and hubris. The country is very strong in “hypes”; yes they talk big but deliver little. China on the hand is just the opposite.
American governments spend vast sums on weapons and war making. They live in the “now”, cater specifically for the interest of the rich and the privileged, and works for their own self-interest, benefits and most of all, their re-election. In contrast, the Chinese government invests heavily on massive infrastructures and the environment, works tirelessly for the ordinary people and the poor, eradicates poverty with methodical and systematic 5 - 30 year plans. These are proven facts. They are neither empty propaganda nor hollow political campaign promises.
I can’t tell you how glad I am to be home again. Not only is the food better, more importantly, I can finally stop worrying myself sick... about my elderly mother getting mucked, my wife getting raped...my children getting bullied, drugged or shot in schools... Having to live in constant fear everyday is the ultimate violation of my human right, it’s good to be back in civilisation.
Super elite still can't compare to god level elite:
India's Richest Man Mukesh Ambani Reportedly Spent $100 Million on Daughter Isha's Lavish Wedding
https://people.com/human-interest/indias-richest-man-mukesh-ambani-spent-100-million-daughter-wedding/
For the nuptials, Mukesh reportedly spent a whopping $100 million, according to Bloomberg.
The ceremony will be held at the family’s home— a 27-story palace in Mumbai, Bloomberg reported.
Meanwhile her sister is having a whale of a time at some high society ballroom event.......
https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/2176294/huawei-founders-debutante-daughter-annabel-yao-i-still#comments
Huawei founder’s debutante daughter Annabel Yao: ‘I still consider myself a normal girl’
• Yao, chosen to perform the opening waltz at Le Bal des Débutantes in Paris, was one of 19 young women to make their society debut this year
• Harvard computer science student and ballerina says, ‘As much as I enjoy coding … I have a passion for fashion, PR and entertainment’
Attacking Huawei will backfire
The arrest last week in Canada of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies, China's iconic company, is a watershed event.
The arrest, made at the behest of the US Justice Department, has roiled markets around the world. It threatens to derail trade talks between the US and China, and to expose American businesses and executives in China to retaliation.
The arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou has roiled markets around the world.CREDIT:ALAMY
But the sense of humiliation Meng's arrest has provoked, and the passions it has unleashed in China, will also have long-term political effects.
Public opinion in China, as well as official statements, has already expressed cold anti-American fury. The sentiment that the US is ruthlessly thwarting China is unanimous. Here, as in many contemporary conflagrations, history should be our guide - and a warning.
It's worth remembering today that an anti-American boycott - of the kind now being popularly mooted - was China's first mass political movement of the modern era. Erupting in 1905, it expressed a long-simmering dissatisfaction with China's Qing rulers for failing to stand up to foreign powers and protect Chinese interests and dignity.
A leading promoter of the boycott was Liang Qichao, China's foremost modern thinker and an early intellectual mentor to its communist leaders. Liang had already warned his compatriots about their lowly status in the world, and prescribed ways to overcome it.
He had returned from the US in 1903, convinced that America's new corporations would become more powerful world-conquerors than Alexander the Great and Napoleon. According to Liang, China urgently needed to accelerate industrial production through capitalist methods carefully regulated by the state. This was how it could withstand the unprecedented power of American capitalist imperialism.
After many calamities and tribulations, China has in fact fulfilled Liang's dream of national pride and dignity - to the point where the US today fears the dominance of a Chinese corporation like Huawei (literally translated as "China's achievement").
Over the past three decades, Huawei has transformed itself from a small maker of telephone switches into the world's largest supplier of telecommunications equipment. In recent months, it passed Apple to become the world's No. 2 smartphone maker, behind Samsung Electronics; it produced what by a broad critical consensus were the best smartphones and laptops of 2018.
Huawei also leads in the revolutionary and strategically vital new technology of 5G, with its 80,000 research engineers and $US13 billion ($18 billion) annual research and development budget.
Full story at https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/attacking-huawei-will-backfire-20181211-p50lj2.html
China's threats over Huawei CFO's arrest rattle Canadian business
'The options (for payback) are essentially limitless,' says Business Council of Canada spokesman
Meng Wanzhou is the deputy chairwoman and CFO for the Chinese tech giant Huawei. She is wanted by the United States for allegedly contravening U.S. trade sanctions against Iran. (fensifuwu.com)
As China continues to threaten Canada with unnamed "consequences" if it doesn't release the chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, some in Canada's business community are openly worried about what's coming next.
"The options are essentially limitless and that's what's concerning about this," Brian Kingston, vice president of policy for the Business Council of Canada, told CBC News.
Meng Wanzhou, CFO of Chinese technology giant Huawei — and also the daughter of the firm's founder — was arrested in Vancouver on Dec. 1. She is wanted for extradition to the U.S. on allegations of fraud, including using a shell company to skirt international American sanctions on Iran over five years.
Since the arrest, China has made it clear that they want Wanzhou released immediately, arguing that she is being treated inhumanely.
"For Canada, if they do not correctly handle this matter, there will be serious consequences. You asked, what kind of serious consequences would these be? I can tell you in one sentence: It is totally up to Canada," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Monday at a news conference in Beijing.
According to Jim Carr, Canada's minister of International Trade Diversification, as of today there are no indications from China of what those consequences might be.
David Mulroney, Canada's former ambassador to China, today told CBC's Ottawa Morning that China appears poised to execute a strategy it calls "kill the chicken, scare the monkey."
Mulroney said the tactic comes into play when China is engaged with adversaries of unequal size. To get a larger player onside — in this situation, the United States — it makes an example of a smaller, more vulnerable player: Canada.
"The warning is that it will go any distance, it will take any measure to defend its national integrity ... 'Look what we are doing to a country like Canada,'" he said.
The former ambassador added, however, that China typically tries to threaten and intimidate other nations to get what it wants without having to follow through on its threats.
Full story at https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/china-threatening-canada-consequences-1.4940382