The Canadian governmen approved extradition proceedings against the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies.
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Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei's founder, was detained in Vancouver last December and is under house arrest. In late January the U.S. Justice Department charged Meng and Huawei with conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran.
Meng will appear in a Vancouver court at 10 a.m. Pacific time (1800 GMT) on March 6, when a date will be set for her extradition hearing.
"Today, department of Justice Canada officials issued an authority to proceed, formally commencing an extradition process in the case of Ms. Meng Wanzhou," the government said in a statement.
China, whose relations with Canada have deteriorated badly over the affair, denounced the decision and repeated previous demands for Meng's release.
The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa expressed its dissatisfaction with and opposition to the issuance of Authority to Proceed by the Canadian Justice Ministry on the case of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou.
"The Chinese side is utterly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes the issuance of Authority to Proceed by the Department of Justice Canada on the case of Meng Wanzhou," said a spokesperson of the Chinese embassy.
"This is not a merely judicial case, but a political persecution against a Chinese high-tech enterprise. The subsequent developments have proved this. The so-called 'rule of law' and 'judicial independence' asserted by Canada can not cover up the mistakes made by the Canadian side on the case of Meng Wanzhou," said the spokesperson.
"Judging from the obvious political interference presented on this case, if Canada really abides by the principle of rule of law and judiciary independence, the Canadian side should refuse the extradition request of the United States and immediately release Ms. Meng Wanzhou in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Extradition Act of Canada," the spokesperson said.
"The final result of the Canadian court to handle this case will be a touchstone for testing whether Canada adheres to the judicial independence or not. We will wait and see," the spokesperson added. ■