Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou receives a warm welcome upon return to China

After more than 1,000 days of house arrest in Vancouver and a 13-hour flight, Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou landed in the “homeland” on Saturday, where it was nearly midnight, Chinese state media reported.

Meng was greeted at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport by dozens of supporters waving flags and banners. As she walked down a red carpet that stretched from her plane to two microphone stands, where she would deliver a speech on the runway, people dressed in hazmat suits rushed up to her to present her with bouquets of flowers.

“I’m sorry I kept you waiting this afternoon,” Meng said. “Finally, I came home.”

Meng paused to bow as cheers rang out from the crowd.

“After more than 1,000 days of waiting, I finally returned to the embrace of my homeland,” he said, adding that the last three years were “a really great struggle.”

An earlier statement by Meng, released by the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, said that his eyes were “blurred with tears” as he approached the “embrace of the great motherland.”

Meng was arrested in December 2018 by the RCMP in Vancouver at the request of US authorities. She was charged with bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud. Meng has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors alleged that Meng knew that Huawei was operating a company called SkyCom, which had been doing business with Iran in violation of US sanctions against the country that limit communications technology.

Meng was released on a $ 10 million bond – $ 7 million in cash and a $ 3 million bond made up of properties owned by four associates. He was ordered to remain under house arrest in Vancouver, where he owns two houses. Meng remained there until Saturday.

In apparent retaliation, Chinese authorities arrested two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, and charged them with espionage. Both were returned to Canada after more than three years in prison and arrived on Saturday morning.

On Friday, US judicial authorities reached a deferred prosecution agreement with Meng, allowing him to escape criminal responsibility.

In return, Meng admitted that the United States’ case against him was factual.

Before Meng’s arrival, supporters told Chinese state media that they sympathized with his years of “sacrifice” and “struggle” and took his release as a sign that he was innocent.

“Canada is a country that governs the rule of law,” the Canadian Department of Justice said in a statement about Meng’s statement on Friday. “Meng Wanzhou was given a fair trial in court in accordance with Canadian law. This speaks to the independence of the Canadian judicial system. “

Ben Cohen is a Star staff reporter in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @bcohenn



Reference-www.thestar.com

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