If friends of Huawei want to hit the US where it hurts, they should tackle the legitimacy of US sanctions
- Beijing’s supporters won’t have a strong case against Washington if they focus on legal rights of individuals. They need to ask different questions, like: what gives the US the right to ban foreign companies from doing business with Iran?
The sentencing of Hong Kong’s former home affairs secretary offered hope for both sides. The United States government raised the risk factor for companies looking to grow internationally by paying corrupt fixers for no-bid contracts. And a 69-year-old man, who erred but didn’t do grave harm to anyone in the end, is likely to get most of his remaining years back.
It’s entirely possible Ho will have settled back in Hong Kong before Spavor and Kovrig see the light of day. Meng’s predicament is more difficult to predict, but you can be sure she won’t be held incommunicado for four months.
Those who wish to portray the US and Canada as hypocrites are fighting a losing battle if they focus on the treatment of Ho and Meng. In the US and Canada, sending someone to a jail cell requires a preponderance of evidence that will stand up to public scrutiny.
Let’s take a quick poll. If you were being detained by national law enforcement officers at an airport, would you prefer to be in Beijing or Vancouver? I thought so.
The respect for individual sovereignty in Canada and the US, and the legal protections this requires, is why so many wealthy and well-connected Chinese citizens buy properties there and have their children educated in schools there.
And the judicial systems of the US and Canada are far from perfect. I’d need a separate column to begin to show how these systems have let down minorities in both countries.
Still, if China’s supporters want to use the examples of Ho and Meng to their advantage, they need to back up and ask different questions.
What gives the US government the right to determine what activities constitute corruption and bribery? What gives Washington the right to ban companies of any nationality from doing business with Iran?
The US has exerted its economic and military dominance of the world to set international standards of conduct, and anyone who is suspected of violating these standards runs the risk of detention.
The economic transformation China has achieved gives Beijing the right to raise its voice on the international stage and question the American order. Why does it hesitate?
Robert Delaney is the Post's US bureau chief