John McCallum’s surprise mea-culpa on Jan. 24 was the latest head-snapping development in the saga of Canada’s fallout with China over Meng’s arrest. It came just hours after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly defended him in the face of Conservatives’ demands to fire him.
“I regret that my comments with respect to the legal proceedings of Ms. Meng have created confusion. I misspoke,” McCallum, a former Liberal cabinet minister, said in a statement.
“These comments do not accurately represent my position on this issue. As the government has consistently made clear, there has been no political involvement in this process.”
McCallum’s candid comments about Meng’s legal case, made Jan. 22 to Chinese-language journalists in the Toronto area, raised eyebrows and fuelled speculation they were a political ploy to end Ottawa’s deepening diplomatic crisis with China.
McCallum not only said he thought Meng had strong legal arguments that could help her avoid extradition, he listed several arguments he thought could help her with her case. But by the afternoon of Jan. 24 he was walking back those comments.
“As Canada’s Ambassador to China, I play no role in assessing any arguments or making any determinations in the extradition process,” McCallum said on Jan. 24.
“The Canadian government’s priority—and my priority—is securing the release of the two Canadians arbitrarily detained in China and ensuring that the rights of all of our citizens are protected.”
In the days that followed Meng’s Dec. 1 arrest, China detained Michael Kovrig, a Canadian diplomat on leave, and Michael Spavor, an entrepreneur, on allegations of endangering China’s national security. They remain in Chinese custody.
A day earlier, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer called on Trudeau to fire McCallum for the remarks, which he said raised grave concerns about the politicization of the Meng case.
China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said her government “noted the relevant remarks by Ambassador McCallum” and reiterated its demand that Meng be released from her unjust detention, which she blamed on Canada and the United States.
“We have made our stern position clear,” Hua said on Jan. 24, in translated remarks from her ministry’s website. “In order to change the current situation, the Canadian side needs to face up to the issue squarely, take China’s solemn concerns seriously, and take measures to correct its mistakes.”
At the top of McCallum’s list of Meng’s legal options was a possible defence on the grounds of political interference following comments by U.S. President Donald Trump last month that he might intervene in Meng’s case if it would help him nail down a trade deal with China.
McCallum also said Meng can argue against the extra-territorial aspect to her case and the fact the fraud allegations U.S. officials made against her are related to Iran sanctions that Canada did not sign onto.
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