Huawei CFO fights for bail after being admitted to hospital due to hypertension

華為財務長因高血壓入院後爭搶保釋金

Meng Wanzhou is seeking bail prior to her extradition hearing


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. Meng Wanzhou, who is currently being held in Canada, is seeking bail due to health concerns.

Canadian authorities apprehended Meng on Dec. 1 at the request of the U.S. She was arrested in Vancouver during a flight transfer from Hong Kong to Mexico.

Reuters reports that Meng is now fighting to be released on bail due to poor health. She says she was taken to hospital for the treatment of hypertension after her arrest, and is seeking release prior to an extradition hearing.

Meng has also noted “longstanding ties to Vancouver” in her bail application, including her stint as a permanent resident, numerous property holdings in the city, and the fact that her children once attended school there.

It is suspected Meng has been surreptitiously evading U.S. sanctions on trade with Iraq, misleading U.S. bankers into believing Huawei was completely unrelated to Skycom, a telecommunications business that operates in Iran, when in fact the companies are one and the same.

The CFO has maintained that she is innocent in a sworn court affidavit and has stated that she will contest allegations in any trials over in the U.S.

Meng’s detention has enraged Beijing, who has summoned the U.S. ambassador to China to demand his country cancels its extradition request.

Chinese state media has condemned Meng’s arrest as “extremely egregious” and Beijing has threatened to take action if she is not freed.

Analysts are looking now to whether the incident will have any further impact on the U.S.-China trade war. After a meeting at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires on Dec. 1, Xi Jinping and Donald Trump agreed to a 90-day ceasefire, during which neither state will raise further tariffs.

It appears China is unlikely to take direct action, such as canceling the ceasefire, but will be considering more subtle forms of retaliation.