The Huawei boss being detained for possible extradition to the U.S. was taken to Richmond Hospital after her arrest last week at YVR.
According to a sworn affidavit, the Chinese communication giant’s chief financial officer, Wanzhou Meng, was suffering from hyper-tension following her arrest.
The daughter of Huawei’s founder was flying from Hong Kong to Mexico and was intercepted by Canadian authorities, on the behest of the U.S., while changing flights at YVR.
Meng’s health and previous medical history, detailed in the court document, is part of her argument to be granted bail, pending any hearing to decide her extradition to the U.S., where she faces fraud charges. Included in those accusations is the allegation that she misrepresented the connection between her company and a subsidiary called Skycom and its business dealings in Iran, which is subject to U.S. trade sanctions.
Meng had a day-long bail hearing at the BC Supreme Court on Friday – continuing today (Monday) – where Canada’s prosecutor, John Gibb-Carsley, argued that, due to her family’s immense wealth, Meng posed a serious flight risk and should not be granted bail.
Her lawyer says the opposite, in that her wealth should not be a factor and, in the 55-page affidavit, Meng details her ties to Vancouver, where she would live during any fight against extradition to the U.S.
If convicted, she faces more than 30 years in prison. The extradition process could take months, even years, if appeals are made in the case.
"While my work obligations have typically required that I travel extensively, I always try to spend at least 2-3 weeks in Vancouver every summer," reads the affidavit.
In her affidavit, Meng notes that while she has Hong Kong and Chinese passports, she did previously spend some time as a Canadian permanent resident but has long since relinquished that status.
In 2009, she and her husband Xiaozong Liu purchased a home at 4005 28th St. in Vancouver, which was actually broken into over the weekend.
The couple had children who also attended school in Vancouver for some time and later, the family also spent their summers in town. The family’s main residence is in Shenzhen, China.
Meng’s longer term health issues are also detailed in the affidavit, including her struggle hypertension and sleep apnea.
"I continue to feel unwell and I am worried about my health deteriorating while I am incarcerated," the affidavit read.
Meng said that she has had "numerous health problems" during her life, including surgery for thyroid cancer in 2011.
“In May of 2018 I had surgery to remedy health issues related to sleep apnea. I currently have difficult eating solid foods and have had to modify my diet to address those issues.”
She goes on to state she has no criminal record “in China or anywhere.”
If granted bail, Meng says she would surrender both passports and would live at one of her two Vancouver homes; her family would also live in Vancouver with her.
“My father founded Huawei and I would never do anything that would cause the company reputational damage,” the affidavit reads.
“I maintain that I am innocent of the allegations that have been levelled at me.”
In a separate affidavit, Meng’s husband Liu Xiaozong notes that the couple share a daughter, while Meng has three older sons from previous marriages. Their daughter and one of Meng’s older sons have attended school in Vancouver, he notes.
Tensions are now escalating between Canada and China after the arrest and on Saturday, China summoned the Canadian ambassador in Beijing to protest the detention of Meng, the daughter of the communications giant founder, calling it "unreasonable, unconscionable, and vile in nature.”
Furthermore, there was a warning of "grave consequences" if she is not released.
A statement on the Chinese Foreign Ministry's website said that Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng called in Ambassador John McCallum on Saturday over the holding of Meng.
Le told McCallum that Meng's detention at the request of the U.S was a "severe violation" of her "legitimate rights and interests."
"Such a move ignores the law and is unreasonable, unconscionable, and vile in nature," Le said in the statement.
"China strongly urges the Canadian side to immediately release the detained Huawei executive ... or face grave consequences that the Canadian side should be held accountable for.”
The Richmond News was one of the first in the world to break the news of Meng’s arrest at YVR.
Her arrest has infuriated Beijing, rocking stock markets and raising tensions amid an apparent truce in the US-China trade war.
Beijing's latest outcry over the case also led to the suspension of a planned Canadian forestry trade mission from B.C. to China this week.
China has itself faced global criticism over its human rights record and treatment of detained activists and minorities.
Huawei is the biggest global supplier of network gear for phone and internet companies and has been the target of deepening U.S. security concerns over its ties to the Chinese government.
Huawei told the Richmond News last Wednesday that it has “every confidence that the Canadian and U.S. legal systems will reach the right conclusion."
The U.S. has pressured European countries and other allies to limit use of its technology, warning they could be opening themselves up to surveillance and theft of information.
Canada is one of the few remaining Western nations to apparently ignore those warnings and has openly courted the company to do business here, including in B.C. and Richmond, with MLA Teresa Wat having close ties with the tech giant.
Roland Paris, a former foreign policy adviser to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said that Chinese pressure on the Canadian government won't work.
"Perhaps because the Chinese state controls its judicial system, Beijing sometimes has difficulty understanding or believing that courts can be independent in a rule-of-law country. There's no point in pressuring the Canadian government.
Judges will decide," Paris tweeted in response to the comments from Beijing.
David Mulroney, a former Canadian ambassador to China, said U.S. and Canadian business executives could face reprisals in China.
U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, a Republican member of the Senate armed services and banking committees, applauded Canada for the arrest.
With files from the Province and AFP.
-Alan Campbell, Richmond News