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China Imposes Death Penalty On Canadian Convicted Of Drug Smuggling

January 14, 2019

China Imposes Death Penalty On Canadian Convicted Of Drug Smuggling

As was widely expected after a Chinese court ordered a retrial of Canadian national Robert Schellenberg on drug trafficking charges last month, the Canadian national has now been sentenced to death for allegedly smuggling “an enormous amount of drugs” into China. He had earlier been sentenced to 15 years.

The harsh sentence, like the arrests of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor  on vague charges of threatening national security (an investigation is reportedly ongoing, according to Chinese officials), is widely suspected to be retaliation for the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou (who is also the daughter of the conglomerate’s founder).

Breaking- Chinese state media: Canadian Robert Schellenberg sentenced to dead for drug smuggling after Chinese prosecutors appealed his 15-year original sentence.

The harsh sentence, like the arrests of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor  on vague charges of threatening national security (an investigation is reportedly ongoing, according to Chinese officials), is widely suspected to be retaliation for the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou (who is also the daughter of the conglomerate’s founder).

Few details about Schellenberg’s case have been shared with the media, other than the fact that he was arrested in 2014, long before the Huawei dispute erupted. Canadian diplomats had reportedly been working with the Chinese government on the case. The retrial was ordered after Chinese prosecutors argued that Schellenberg’s sentence was too lenient.

Shelly

Robert Schellenberg

In a report published late last week, Canada’s Globe and Mail carried remarks from Schellenberg’s family, who said they feared his life was being used as a bargaining chip in the international dispute.

“There’s no way they are not using him as a pawn,” said Lauri Nelson-Jones, Mr. Schellenberg’s aunt, in an interview.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

China Arrests Third Canadian Citizen As Feud Worsens

December 19, 2018

China Arrests Third Canadian Citizen As Feud Worsens

That didn’t take long.

Three days after warning Canada about “escalation” and “grave consequences” amid a worsening diplomatic crisis, China has arrested a third Canadian national, according to Canada’s National Post, which cited a spokesman for Global Affairs Canada, the international arm of the Canadian government. No further details were provided, other than saying the Canadian government was “aware of a Canadian citizen” being detained.

Global Affairs diplomatically refused to connect this third arrest to the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver earlier this month. The executive, the daughter of one of China’s most successful businessmen, was released on bail last week.

Canada

According to the Straits Times, when asked about the arrest at a press briefing on Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said: “I have not heard about this.”

Former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor are both being held by Chinese authorities for “threatening National Security.”

Kovrig

The National Post noted that China and Chinese media have lashed out at Canada over the arrest of Meng. It also confirmed that the captured Canadian isn’t a diplomat or an entrepreneur.

The arrest of a third Canadian citizen could cloud relations between the two countries, which has been marred amid an ongoing trade dispute between the United States and China.

The National Post could not confirm the identity of the detained citizen. But third-party sources who said they spoke to the family of the person suggest the person is not a diplomatic official, nor an entrepreneur operating in China.

Meng has since been released on bail and is to return to court early next year for what could be an extended legal proceeding.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Canada to Pay Heavy Price for Trudeau’s Groupie Role in US Banditry Against China

December 17, 2018

Canada to Pay Heavy Price for Trudeau’s Groupie Role in US Banditry Against China

Canada to Pay Heavy Price for Trudeau’s Groupie Role in US Banditry Against China

You do have to wonder about the political savvy of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government. The furious fallout from China over the arrest of a senior telecoms executive is going to do severe damage to Canadian national interests.

Trudeau’s fawning over American demands is already rebounding very badly for Canada’s economy and its international image.

The Canadian arrest – on behalf of Washington – of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, seems a blatant case of the Americans acting politically and vindictively. If the Americans are seen to be acting like bandits, then the Canadians are their flunkies.

Wanzhou was detained on December 1 by Canadian federal police as she was boarding a commercial airliner in Vancouver. She was reportedly handcuffed and led away in a humiliating manner which has shocked the Chinese government, media and public.

The business executive has since been released on a $7.4 million bail bond, pending further legal proceedings. She is effectively being kept under house arrest in Canada with electronic ankle tagging.

To add insult to injury, it is not even clear what Wanzhou is being prosecuted for. The US authorities have claimed that she is guilty of breaching American sanctions against Iran by conducting telecoms business with Tehran. It is presumed that the Canadians arrested Wanzhou at the request of the Americans. But so far a US extradition warrant has not been filed. That could take months. In the meantime, the Chinese businesswoman will be living under curfew, her freedom denied.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Peter Schiff: “The American Standard Of Living…It’s Going To Collapse”

December 12, 2018

Peter Schiff: “The American Standard Of Living…It’s Going To Collapse”

Market analyst and financial guru Peter Schiff says that the United States economy is headed for a disaster.  In a recent interview, Schiff said that when the dollar goes away as a reserve currency, so will the American standard of living.

Schiff says the U.S. is flexing more muscle than it has.  After the arrest of Huawei chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, a Chinese businessman who is accused of violating U.S. sanction laws, the Chinese are already planning economically destructive ways to reduce the dollar’s influence and power.

“The dollar, having the reserve currency, that status is in jeopardy. And I don’t think the world likes giving America this kind of power that we can impose our own rules and demand that the entire world live by it. So, I think this has a much bigger and broader ramifications other than what’s going on in the stock market today. I think long-term, this is going to undermine the dollar and its role as a reserve currency. And when that goes, so does the American standard of living because it’s going to collapse.” –Peter Schiff

Schiff added that he thinks China is in a much better position than many are willing to admit.

“People think we have the upper hand because we have this huge trade deficit with China. But I think it’s the other way. I think the fact that they supply us with all this merchandise that our economy needs, and the fact that they hold a lot of our bonds and continue to lend us a lot of money so we can live beyond our means, they’re the ones, I think, that call the tunes and we have to dance to it.” –Peter Schiff

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

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Beijing Threatens “Severe” Retaliation Against Canada If Huawei CFO Is Not Released

December 8, 2018

Beijing Threatens “Severe” Retaliation Against Canada If Huawei CFO Is Not Released

Canada’s extraordinary arrest one week ago of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei founder and billionaire executive Ren Zhengfei, and its decision to charge her with “multiple” counts of fraud – a preamble to her likely extradition to the US to face charges of knowingly violating US and EU sanctions on Iran – has elicited widespread anger in Beijing, which declared Meng’s detention a “violation of human rights” during a bail hearing for the jailed executive on Friday.

That anger has apparently only intensified after the hearing adjourned without a decision (it will resume on Monday, allowing Meng’s defense team to argue for why she should be released on bail, contrary to the wishes of government attorneys who are prosecuting the case).

Meng

And with Canada insisting that it will prosecute Meng to the full extent of the law over allegations that she mislead banks about the true relationship of a Huawei subsidiary called Skycom, angry Chinese officials have decided to issue an ultimatum directly to the Canadian ambassador, who was summoned to a meeting in Beijing on Saturday and told in no uncertain terms that Canada will face “severe consequences” if Meng isn’t released, according to the Wall Street Journal.

China’s foreign ministry publicized the warning in a statement (though Canadian officials have yet to comment):

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng summoned Canada’s ambassador to Beijing, John McCallum, on Saturday to deliver the warning, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The statement doesn’t mention the name of Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, though it refers to a Huawei “principal” taken into custody at U.S. request while changing planes in Vancouver, as was Ms. Meng. The statement accuses Canada of “severely violating the legal, legitimate rights of a Chinese citizen” and demands the person’s release.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Trade Truce? Think Again: Canadian Authorities Arrest CFO of Huawei Technologies

December 6, 2018

Trade Truce? Think Again: Canadian Authorities Arrest CFO of Huawei Technologies

At the request of the US, Canadian Authorities arrest Meng Wanzhou, CFO of Huawei Technologies, over Iran sanctions viol

Trade Truce? Deal with China in 90 days?

Think again on both counts: Canadian Authorities Arrest CFO of Huawei Technologies at U.S. Request

A spokesman for Canada’s justice department said Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver on Dec. 1 and is sought for extradition by the U.S. A bail hearing has been tentatively scheduled for Friday, according to the spokesman. Ms. Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, serves as the company’s CFO and deputy chairwoman.

Ms. Meng’s arrest comes amid a year-long U.S. government campaign against a company it views as a national-security threat. In the past year, Washington has taken a series of steps to restrict Huawei’s business on American soil and, more recently, launched an extraordinary international outreach campaign to persuade allied countries to enact similar curbs.

U.S. authorities have suspected Huawei’s alleged involvement in Iranian sanctions violations since at least 2016, when the U.S. investigated ZTE Corp. , Huawei’s smaller Chinese rival, over similar violations. The Commerce Department released internal ZTE documents that showed the company studied how a rival identified only as “F7” had conducted similar business.

“China will see this as an escalation against Huawei and as an extraterritorial rendition,” said James Mulvenon, general manager at defense contractor SOS International. “There will be tremendous domestic pressure in China to get her back.”

Huawei is the world’s biggest maker of equipment for cellular towers, internet networks and related telecommunications infrastructure. It is also the world’s No. 2 smartphone brand.

Some of America’s closest allies, including most of the countries in the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing pact among English-speaking countries, have followed the nation’s lead.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

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