Extradition hearing of Huawei executive held in Canada expected to proceed
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Reuters, quoting legal experts in Canada, is reporting that Canada is likely to announce on Friday that an extradition hearing against a Huawei Technologies Co Ltd executive can proceed, worsening already icy relations with Beijing.
Meng Wanzhou, Huawei Technologies chief financial officer, was arrested in Vancouver in December at Washington’s request.
In late January the U.S. Justice Department charged Huawei and Meng with conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran.Ottawa has until midnight on Friday (0500 GMT Saturday) to announce whether it will issue an authority to proceed, which would allow a court in the Canadian province of British Columbia to start a formal extradition hearing.
In the meantime BBC is reporting that Huawei has sought to repair its image in the US through a full-page advert in the Wall Street Journal, which says: “Don’t believe everything you hear.”
In an open letter, executive Catherine Chen invited US media to visit the firm to clear up “misunderstandings” created by the US government.
The US has been pressuring its allies to shun Huawei equipment on the grounds of national security.
This is not the first time Huawei has tried to change its image in the West. It recently placed advertisements in two major newspapers and on billboards in New Zealand. This was done as a reaction to Australia, New Zealand, and the US banning or blocking Huawei from supplying equipment for their future 5G mobile broadband networks.
