Sequel to the conclusion of Huawei CFO’s extradition process, a new poll conducted by one of Canada’s mainstream newspapers reveals national sentiment has increased against China.
Essentially, Canada was an oblivious agent in the geopolitical tussle of wills between the United States and China when the United States got it to arrest Huawei CFO, Meng Wanzhou at the end of 2018, pending extradition to the country on charges relating to fraud. That long process was eventually resolved recently with her release, but not without losses.
Shortly after Meng’s arrest, two Canadians were imprisoned in China, with no charges revealed for 18 months. The two Canadians were released on the same day Meng was released.
Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor’s treatment has been viewed by Canada as a way to generate a bargaining chip to secure the release of Meng.
It looks like Canadian citizens agree, with a recently published Globe and Mail poll revealing that 76% of Canadians feel their government should ban Huawei from the country’s 5G networks.
That represents a significant increase from the 53% figure in a similar poll conducted in 2019. The poll strongly indicates that the situation with ‘the two Michaels’ is a major factor for the sentimental shift.
Once again, the activities of China seem to be creating harm to Chinese companies globally. Though there has not been any definitive statement by the Canadian authorities on the security threats of Huawei 5G kit specifically, so if Huawei ends up being banned from the Canadian market, it will probably be as a consequence of its country of origin. A decision on that is expected to be made soon.
