China refutes Canada's accusations on arrest of Canadian citizens

BEIJING, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday refuted Canada's recent allegations concerning China's arrest of several of its citizens, asserting that Canada was itself guilty of "arbitrary detention" in relation to the Meng Wanzhou's case.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks in response to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's recent accusations about China "arbitrarily detaining" Canadian citizens and China's approach of "coercive diplomacy."

When asked to comment at a daily press briefing, Wang said that China can in no way accept the label of "coercive diplomacy."

Wang said that the relevant Canadian citizens had been arrested and prosecuted by China's law enforcement agencies, according to the law, on suspicion of committing crimes jeopardizing national security, while Meng Wanzhou had been wantonly detained in Canada for more than 700 days in spite of not having violated any Canadian laws.

Wang said there is mounting evidence showing that American and Canadian law enforcement agencies are suspected of procedural abuse and the illegal interrogation of Meng, while Canada has refused to make public vital evidence from the case.

"This fully exposes the political nature of the case," he said.

"We once again urge the Canadian side to face squarely the fundamental cause of the problem, which can never be solved by covering up the truth and misleading the public," the spokesperson added.

Meng, the chief financial officer of Huawei, was arrested on Dec. 1, 2018 at Vancouver International Airport at the request of the United States, which is seeking her extradition on fraud charges. Both Meng and Huawei have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.