Following the report saying Huawei CFO Wanzhou Meng, the daughter of Huawei's founder Ren Zhengfei, has been arrested for violating U.S. trade sanctions against Iran, the Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Canada said the Chinese side has urged the US and Canadian side to immediately release Meng.
"At the request of the US side, the Canadian side arrested a Chinese citizen not violating any American or Canadian law." The Spokesperson said, "The Chinese side firmly opposes and strongly protests over such kind of actions which seriously harmed the human rights of the victim."
According to a statement released by the Chinese Embassy in Canada, "China has lodged stern representations with the US and Canadian side", and "urged them to immediately correct the wrongdoing and restore the personal freedom" of Meng.
Meanwhile, Huawei has denied the accusations of violations of Iranian sanctions, saying "The company has been provided with very little information regarding the charges and is not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms. Meng. The company believes the Canadian and U.S. legal systems will ultimately reach a just conclusion."
Canada’ Justice Department spokesman Ian McLeod said Meng was arrested in Vancouver on December 1, and is sought for extradition by the U.S. A bail hearing has been set for Friday.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. prosecutors have been examining whether Huawei broke US trade embargoes to Iran since two years ago.
Earlier this year, another Chinese technology giant, ZTE, was issued with an export ban, following the company's guilty plea to illegally exporting products to Iran. The Department of Commerce of the U.S. lifted its export ban on ZTE in mid-July after ZTE paid the penalty.
