It was a 10-minute appearance to set her next court date, but that didn’t stop the international media and members of the public from crowding into a Vancouver courtroom to see Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou.
She returned to B.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday morning for the first time since federal officials gave the green light for the U.S. extradition process to move forward. Crown and defense agreed to put the proceedings over to May 8, a decision many spectators and members of the media missed because they couldn’t get a seat in the packed courtroom.
In court, her lawyer called this a rare extradition case and voiced concerns about political motivation, singling out comments by U.S. President Donald Trump. He also mentioned issues arising out of Meng’s treatment when she was first detained at YVR in early December, which is the basis of her civil lawsuit against the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency.
"We’re going to see this case parade through the courts for years and years to come, on both the civil litigation side and the extradition side," said Richard Kurland, an immigration expert who spoke outside court. "In all likelihood will see another lawsuit launched in the United States by Huawei, this time against the government of the United States that means torpedoes in the water across US Canada from China."
Kurland expects both the civil and extradition process to last years. "I can’t see it wrapping up in under five years and less President Trump in the next two or three months satisfactorily concludes his trade negotiations with China, in which case I suspect extradition is closed," he said.
Vancouver extradition expert Gary Botting agrees. “Even if Canada decides not extradite Ms. Meng and she gets to go back to China, the United States still has this indictment in the Eastern District of New York. And that indictment, as long as it’s there, they can ask another country that she happens to visit to initiate an extradition proceeding and it’ll happen all over again. It’s a matter of convincing the Americans to strike her name from the indictment, and that’s the only way this is going to be resolved," he said.
Meng’s appearance brought out several protesters, including one man who burned a Chinese flag outside court to express his anger at the government of China for detaining two Canadian businessmen and accusing them of spying. Kurland expects the circus surrounding Meng , who will continue to live under court-ordered surveillance at her Vancouver home, will continue.
“This is way beyond an extradition case. It’s now way beyond a trade negotiation. We are at the international diplomatic level. Face is on the table. China can’t afford to lose. Can the U.S. afford to win? I’m not sure.”
