John
McCallum had been making headlines in recent days for his comments regarding
the Meng Wanzhou, Chinese giant Huawei's chief financial officer who was
arrested in Vancouver on December 1 and is facing extradition to the United
States
Canadian
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday said he had sought and accepted the
resignation of Ottawa's ambassador to China, days after the diplomat sparked
controversy with criticism of the US extradition request for a top Huawei
executive.
"Last
night I asked for and accepted John McCallum's resignation as Canada's
Ambassador to China," Trudeau said in a statement that did not explain why
the decision had been taken.
McCallum
has been making headlines in recent days over comments regarding Meng Wanzhou,
Chinese giant Huawei's chief financial officer who was arrested in Vancouver on
December 1 and is facing extradition to the United States.
Accused of
fraud linked to violations of American sanctions on Iran, she is out on bail,
but her arrest has sparked an escalating diplomatic crisis between Ottawa and
Beijing.
McCallum
briefed lawmakers Tuesday on the plight of two Canadians detained in China and
a third placed on death row in what are widely seen as retaliatory moves by
Beijing.
After the
briefing he told Chinese-language media in Markham, Ontario that he believed
the US extradition request was seriously flawed.
He cited
political comments on the case by US President Donald Trump, the
"extraterritorial aspect" of Meng's case and the fact that Canada did
not sign on to the Iran sanctions that Washington wants her extradited for.
McCallum's
remarks were immediately panned by opposition parties and others for seeming to
undercut the strict hands-off approach to judicial matters touted by the
Canadian government.
The
following day he issued a statement saying that he "misspoke," and
"regrets" that his comments "have created confusion."
But on
Friday, McCallum told The Vancouver Star that it would be "great for
Canada" if the US dropped its extradition request.
"From
Canada's point of view, if (the US) drops the extradition request, that would
be great for Canada," he told the newspaper at a charity function.
"We
have to make sure that if the US does such a deal, it also includes the release
of our two people. And the US is highly aware of that," he said.
Trudeau's
statement hailed McCallum's almost two decades of public service, which it said
he carried out "honorably and with distinction."
McCallum
previously held a number of cabinet posts, including defense minister, minister
of veteran affairs and immigration minister.
The
statement added that, effective immediately, McCallum's deputy Jim Nickel would
represent Canada in Beijing as its charge d'affaires.
No comments:
Post a Comment