Huawei’s executive Meng Wanzhou may be freed as early as today, following US Justice Department Officials indicating that they are looking to resolve the criminal charges against her.
According to insiders, the condition of this resolution is that Wanzhou must admit to some wrongdoing in violating sanctions. If Wanzhou admits wrongdoing, then she will likely be given a fine and deferred prosecution — i.e., a slap on the wrist.
#MengWanzhou looks happy as the cat who got the cream as she leaves her Vancouver mansion just now. Didn’t reply when asked if she was heading home soon, just smiled pic.twitter.com/LHe2Vh76yR
— Ian Young (@ianjamesyoung70) September 24, 2021
Pending the decision by a New York court, a second court appearance in Vancouver is likely to follow. If the US and China reach an agreement, the Vancouver Court will likely drop extradition proceedings as there will be no precedent, and Wanzhou could be free of house arrest as early as today.
In December 2018, Wanzhou was infamously detained at Vancouver International Airport on a US warrant related to Huawei’s business in Iran. She has been under house arrest in her mansion in Vancouver ever since.
In response to her detainment, China almost immediately arrested two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, on baseless espionage charges only days after in what many call retaliation for Canada’s part in the diplomatic tussle.
Spavor has been charged with eleven years in a Chinese prison, while Korvig has yet to be sentenced. They have both been imprisoned for over 1,000 days.
While PM Justin Trudeau called the charges “trumped up”, he has yet to take any decisive action but said that the release of these Canadians is central to all discussion.
However, no decision has been formally announced regarding their release.
Moreover, following Wanzhou’s possible release announcement, Trudeau may have totally squandered his only opportunity to bargain. While news is exploding regarding the US’s move to drop charges, no mention has been made regarding the two imprisoned Canadians.
Only time will tell if a deal is reached before the Vancouver Court hearing, but some experts have suggested that Canada is a secondary concern in the US-China discussion.
Colin Robertson, who served as a Canadian diplomat in China, said he expects that the Michaels will be discussed, but that any determination will be made by Beijing and Washinton.
“You would get the plea by Meng Wanzhou, and then at some later date, we would see the two Michaels deported back to Canada, but I would not expect it to follow in a matter of days,” Robertson told the CBC.
“This would be a negotiation involving Canada, but it would be principally between the US and China.”
Thus, it appears that rescuing the two Michaels will ultimately be left to the US and whether they can strike a deal when Canada’s Prime Minister could not.
