China: Canada violated consular agreement

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Europe

01:03

China's stance on this issue is clear, said Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang at a regular press conference on Monday, referring to the "unreasonable" arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer (CFO) for tech giant Huawei.

"It's up to the Canadian side," said the spokesperson, in response to "curious" questions on what consequences Canada will face.

If the Canadian side doesn't deal with the issue properly, it will face severe consequences, according to China's Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng who summoned the Canadian Ambassador to China John McCallum on Saturday.

On Sunday, Le also summoned the U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad, to lodge solemn representations and strongly protest the arrest of Meng Wanzhou.

"Online debate on Meng's citizenship is meaningless," said Lu, clarifying that the Huawei CFO is a Chinese citizen based on the Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China.

And the Canadian side has admitted this, the spokesperson repeated.

"According to the consular agreement reached between Canada and China, when a Chinese citizen is arrested by the Canadian government, the Chinese embassy should be notified immediately," said Lu.

"However, the Chinese side didn't get the notice," lamented Lu.

"What has been done to Meng is inhumane and is a violation of human rights," said the spokesperson.

Detailed online reports suggest that Meng has been treated inhumanely since her detention, and is not getting the necessary medical treatment for her health condition.