Sun Yat-sen Statue in Hong Kong
photo copyright D. Carlton Rossi
The author tries to keep promises to others by remembering the quote "a promise made is a debt unpaid". However, so often he fails to keep a promise to himself. One of those promises was not to write coherently in logical form with reasoned arguments which flow because it is rather old-fashioned. It is better to simply state an opinion without support or facts and then move on to the next opinion. If you like someone else's opinion then give then a happy face. Let's say though that this post followed by an extradition analysis will be my last posts--at least until another is written.
The subject of extradition has been dealt with extensively by the author in the past. No doubt the reader didn't pay much attention or give much time to the issue; after all, extradition was an existential issue. However, it has now come to the forefront with respect to the extradition of Meng Wanzhou who was arrested on her way from Hong Kong to Mexico as she stopped over in Vancouver. It is also prominent with respect to the extradition bill that the Chinese government tried to impose on the citizens of Hong Kong even though it does not seem to meet the strict criterion of one country and two systems.
The author reminds the reader that he did not primarily regard the extradition of Mdme Meng as a legal issue. He saw it as a moral issue. There are vast differences between the legal systems of China and Canada. Briefly, one can say that Canada follows "rule of law" while China follows "rule by law. For example, Mdme Meng was arrested legally while Spavor and Kovrig were arrested arbitrarily. However, in both countries the people maintain high moral principles based on religion, philosophy and the family.
The author believed that he could solve the issue of Mdme Meng's extradition by focusing on the family. The family has been the center of Confucianism for thousands of years. In Canada, the family is also of importance; although, its definition and constitution has changed. This is why he made two open proposals to the Canadian government beginning in early December 2018. He proposed that Mdme Meng be allowed to join her family and all Canadian prisoners be allowed to return to their families ie. not just Spavor and Kovrig. He volunteered to meet representatives of the Chinese government at their embassy in Ottawa--if he received permission from the Canadian government to do so.
While the return of prisoners would have been easier before formal declarations were made and evidence presented by the US Justice Department regarding Meng's extradition at the end of January 2019 it is still possible to focus on morality as opposed to legality. Realistically speaking, however, Canadian prisoners will not return until after the federal election because Mdme Meng, Huawei and all of our Canadian prisoners have been placed on the back burner by the Canadian government; although, they claim the detention of Spavor and Kovrig has been their highest priority for the last eight months. If the Chinese government is interested in approaching the issue from the standpoint of morality then they should contact Canada's foreign minister to facilitate the matter. With this introduction as background the author will shortly begin an analysis of extradition as it applies to Mdme Meng and as it pertains to Hong Kong.
D. Carlton Rossi
D.卡尔顿 罗西
2019年9月05日
As a blog it would be easy to say that most politicians do not tell the truth most of the time with one exception--when they are not talking. If you disagree with the premise of the argument or consider it a lie then you will not want to proceed to the more lengthy analysis.
Extradition Treaties and Bill

Extradition treaties are now front page news in both Canada and Hong Kong. It is necessary therefore to define an extradition treaty. Simply put it is an act to expedite the delivery of a person who has been accused or convicted in one jurisdiction to another jurisdiction. It is based on rule of law. A problem arises though when the process becomes political as it has in the case of Mdme Meng in Canada and the attempt to impose an extradition bill on Hong Kong by the Chinese government.
With respect to the extradition of Mdme Meng it began in all probability with a call to Prime Minister Trudeau; although, he obfuscates matters by saying that “Ottawa had a few days' prior notice of the arrest”. Ottawa is a city; so, it is uncertain how it could be notified of anything unless he means the government in Ottawa which to all intent and purposes is Justin Trudeau. Both Trudeau and Trump have distanced themselves with regard to any involvement in the affair. If the case were so clear cut under rule of law then Ottawa didn't need any advanced notice—simply arrest her immediately on the plane rather than interviewing her for 3 hours in immigration detention.
The decision by the US justice department in the Eastern District of New York to call for her arrest in Vancouver does not seem to have been a coincidence. She was traveling from Hong Kong to Mexico with a stop-over in Vancouver, Canada. It is important to know which countries have and don't have extradition treaties with China. The United States, Canada and Japan do not have extradition treaties with China while Mexico and China (Hong Kong) do have one. It appears that the US picked a country—namely Canada—which does not have an extradition treaty with China.
Before one goes on though it is of some importance to describe the China (Hong Kong) extradition treaty with the US. It was signed on December 20, 1996 and came in force on January 20, 1998. Article 3 allows refusal by China (Hong Kong) to surrender a person if it is thought that it “relates to defence, foreign affairs or essential public interest or policy”. Furthermore, refusal to surrender can also be done if prosecution proceedings have already begun in Hong Kong or if the request for extradition were politically motivated. The author highlights details of this treaty because he does not believe it should be a template for a future China-Canada Extradition Treaty which should not be signed under any circumstances.
Why was it important for the US to call for her arrest in a country that did not have an extradition treaty with China? The reason is that if Canada had had an extradition treaty with China then China could have asked for her to be sent back to her home country to by-pass US laws. With respect to Mexico which has an extradition treaty with both China and the US there would have been a tug-of-war between China and the US over which country's claims took precedence. Both the United States and Canada do not have extradition treaties with China, in part, because they don't want prisoners to face execution or torture in a country under “ruled by law” or force.
There may have been other reasons why the United States chose Canada to be the scene of this extradition drama. However, before one outlines these reasons it is necessary to understand China-Canada relations with respect to Canada's foreign policy goals under the Trudeau led Liberal government. Trudeau's father established Canadian relations with China. Justin Trudeau wanted to at least match that achievement through free-trade with China. However, China didn't really want free-trade (or free anything for that matter) because it already had a trade surplus with Canada. What China wanted was an extradition treaty. Canada did not want an extradition treaty, but Buttes and Trudeau were willing to listen to Chinese overtures. It so happens that a treaty would actually undermine the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which was the cornerstone of Pierre Trudeau's just society.
Since the Liberals could only nod their heads as they listened to the Chinese argument about extradition they had to find a way to placate the Chinese in another way. That way was nothing short of selling out to Chinese interests in terms of national security. Minister Bains led the assault on our national security at the instigation of Trudeau when he favoured the sale of Norsat and ITF Technologies. With regard to ITF Technologies the Chinese were mainly interested in the patents to forestall US technological advances in both lasers and photonics. On a larger scale they tried to ensure Canada's third largest infrastructure company became a Chinese company—maybe to benefit SNC Lavalin by eliminating a competitor? There were national security concerns raised over all three sales. The author actually called for Bains' resignation over these egregious errors and giveaways.
Norsat
Needless to say the Amercians were furious over Trudeau's cavalier attitude to national security. By dismantling Canada's national security in favour of China's national security to achieve free-trade with an "unfree" nation whose intentions were potentially hostile in military terms to the US was weakening the security of the United States. For example, Norsat was a supplier to the US military.
The heading image of the Prime Minister clowning says it all. The costumed Trudeau is feeding the dragon. The dragon's hunger will not be slaked with a single chopstick or even a single hand. He tries to satisfy the insatiable hunger of China by putting Canada in the position of a vassal state instead of scaring away the dragon with loud noises.
On August 13, 2019, the Defence Authorization Act forbade U.S. Government agencies from using certain components or services from several companies including Huawei. It means that much of the current technology will have to be thrown out. As a result, compensation will be paid to US companies. This is public information and widely disseminated.
About a week later, on August 22, 2018, an arrest warrant was issued for Mdme Meng. She was charged with conspiracy to defraud multiple international institutions. Apparently, she was aware of the charges and tried to avoid US destinations; although, if true this is not proof of guilt. If Canadian security operations are competent—and there is no doubt about that—then they would also be aware of the charges and our Minister of Public Safety would have been notified and the information passed on to the rest of the Cabinet including the Prime Minister.
At the time, the Liberal government was considering whether or not to allow Huawei to proceed with 5G development in Canada. Security experts were warning the government not to allow Huawei to establish this network because the Canadian information system could be compromised by a foreign government. However, knowledge of the arrest warrant did not dissuade the government from disallowing Huawei's 5G plans. Furthermore, at the time of her provisional arrest for fraud on December 1, 2018, the government still held out hopes for the application of Huawei's advanced technology. Since that time the government has dithered and delayed on any decision about Huawei and has postponed matters until after the election.
Transmountain Pipeline
You may ask yourself why the government is so obstinate regarding its position on Huawei? The author suspects that there is a secret understanding between the governments of China and Canada (including powerful commercial vested interests) regarding the matter. The Liberal government wants to sell heavy oil to China. They bought a pipeline to facilitate the matter. It can be assumed that they wanted to sell the pipeline to China at a later date. When Trudeau was asked why he bought a pipeline he replied flippantly that it was for sale. The Chinese didn't really want bitumen from Canada, but rather were interested in supporting their strongest and most advanced technology company—namely Huawei which leads the vanguard of the AI revolution. Is this really a fair and free trade where bitumen contributing to global warming is swapped for 5G technology from a company which must follow the dictates of an authoritarian regime thus potentially undermining the national security and infrastructure of Canada.
It may be that the reader is somewhat confused about the hypothesis that one might perceive a link between bitumen and high technology. The reason is that the bitumen has always been contrasted with the environment in terms of deleterious effects. Burning refined bitumen produces CO2. While this fact is uncontested it is also true that coal plants produce higher levels of CO2 along with the release of sulfur and heavy metal contaminants into the air or left over in fly ash. Therefore, the Chinese see that burning refined bitumen is better for the environment than coal without costly gasification.

Canadians understand the advantages of 5G technology to their lives. Like most technologies they underestimate the hidden dangers of these advances--especially in the area of privacy. While Huawei with its advanced 5G technology may be a Chinese private company unlike a State Owned Enterprise (SOE); nevertheless, it must answer to the State regarding national security concerns which in China mean almost anything. Therefore, Canadians cannot be assured that information is private nor that the national security of both Canada and the United States may be compromised at some future time.
To refine further the analysis regarding the relationship between heavy oil and 5G technology one must better understand vested commercial interests and their relationship to political concerns. Those interests don't care which political party holds sway because they financially support the two leading parties or the Liberals and Conservatives in order to further their own long-term agenda.
Recently, the Liberal government made two important decisions which involved a matter of delay. They were not represented at the latest hearing regarding the Transmountain Pipeline (TMP). With respect to Huawei they postponed any decision about 5G technology until after the election. The former decision may have been made as a concession to environmentalists and indigenous peoples. The latter one was made in the event the Conservatives gain a majority.
If the Conservatives ban Huawei from participating in 5G technology then they must compensate companies to the tune of over one billion dollars. More importantly though they would lose the opportunity to have China purchase the TMP, build a new pipeline and sell heavy oil to China. If they support 5G of Huawei then the Liberals will benefit through its application in Ontario and Quebec while the Conservatives benefit with regard to remote areas. However, the main advantage to the Conservatives would be in the province of Alberta with regard to the heavy oil industry.
Should the liberals gain a majority they will renew efforts to "trade" Meng Wanzhou for Spavor and Kovrig. This will set the stage for support of the Huawei 5G network. In addition, they will promote the growth of the heavy oil industry and pipelines--even though they are not meeting Canada's commitment to reduce greenhouse gases.
The real point though is that the political process is rigged. It is commercial interests, for example, as represented by the Canada-China Business Council, which are calling the shots. They have embraced the unlikely union between heavy oil and 5G for the purpose of power and profit. They will meet their objective whether it is through a conservative or liberal government. They are not concerned about compromising national security nor international security and survival of species threatened by global warming.
Canadian evangelist Keven Garrett
There are two main reasons why the author has seemingly digressed to the heavy oil and 5G link from the theme of extradition treaties and bills. The first is that China's proposal for an extradition treaty with Canada was to forestall any attempt by the US to seek extradition of a Chinese citizen from Canada. The SU Bin case where a Chinese citizen in Canada was accused of spying on the United States comes to mind. The second reason is that just as there was a secret understanding between parties regarding heavy oil and 5G there was also a secret understanding never confirmed by the government but indicated linking free-trade with a China-Canada extradition treaty. The most obvious example was the arrest and conviction of the Canadian Kevin Garrett on spying charges while the Chinese said that they had detected pests in the canola.
to be continued
D. Carlton Rossi
D.卡尔顿 罗西
2019年9月08日