‘A sea of flowers’: China’s foreign ministry flooded with bouquets after Meng Wanzhou’s release
- Ministry thanks the public for their kindness but urges them to not send any more flowers
- The flowers ‘represent the Chinese people’s support of the Communist Party’, ministry spokeswoman says
The ministry said the flowers had been sent as expressions of national pride and of gratitude to the government for securing Meng’s release.
“We greatly appreciate your kindness. And we sincerely suggest that you stop sending flowers, although you are welcome to continue to leave messages,” the ministry said.
Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Monday that she and her colleagues were deeply touched by the gestures.
“These flowers represent the Chinese people’s sincere support and affirmation of the [Communist] Party and the government’s ability to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and enterprises, and reflect the hearts of the Chinese people,” she said.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all my friends who care about and support Meng Wanzhou and China’s diplomacy.”
Meng, Huawei’s chief financial officer and daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested in Vancouver in late 2018 and detained on fraud charges at the request of the United States.
In an agreement last week, Meng admitted she had misled HSBC Holdings about Huawei’s business with Iran, in violation of US sanctions. In return, the US dropped its extradition request, allowing her to fly back to China from Canada on Saturday after nearly three years of house arrest.
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Chinese netizens swoon over hero’s return and husband’s greeting for Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou
In an editorial on Saturday, Chinese nationalistic tabloid Global Times said that by “not pleading guilty” Meng had safeguarded her own dignity and that of Huawei, and that the result of the case also “effectively safeguarded China’s national dignity”.
“It was China’s state power that shaped this final result. A strong country encounters more trouble, but only a strong country can ensure we deal with that trouble with dignity,” it said.
The topic “Meng Wanzhou is about to return home” appeared at the top of Weibo’s most popular search terms on Saturday.
