Jump to content

Meng Wanzhou

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 162.249.32.251 (talk) at 19:35, 27 September 2021 (→Personal life). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Meng.

Meng Wanzhou
孟晚舟
Meng in 2021
Born
Ren Wanzhou

(1972-02-13) 13 February 1972 (age 52)
Chengdu, Sichuan, China
NationalityChinese
Other namesCathy Meng
EducationHuazhong University of Science and Technology
OccupationBusinesswoman
Years active1993 – present
TitleDeputy chair and CFO, Huawei
Political partyCommunist Party of China
Criminal charge(s)Bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracies to commit bank and wire fraud[1] (deferred)[2]
Spouse
Liu Xiaozong
​
(m. 2007)​
[3]
Children4
Parents
Chinese name
Chinese孟晚舟
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinMèng Wǎnzhōu
Wade–GilesMêng4 Wan3-chou1
Southern Min
Hokkien POJBēng Boán-chiu

Meng Wanzhou (Chinese: 孟晚舟; born 13 February 1972); also known as Cathy Meng and Sabrina Meng,[4] also informally known in China as "the Princess of Huawei",[5] is a Chinese business executive who is the deputy chair of the board and chief financial officer (CFO) of telecom giant and China's largest privately held company,[6] Huawei, founded by her father Ren Zhengfei.

On 1 December 2018, Meng was arrested at Vancouver International Airport.[7] On 28 January 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice announced financial fraud charges against Meng, alleging she had put HSBC at risk of violating the US sanctions on Iran and that the central evidence was her PowerPoint presentation to HSBC bank.[8] In August 2021, Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes who presided over the case, expressed her skepticism that HSBC bank was ever truly put at risk in violating US sanctions by Meng’s PowerPoint presentation.[9][10][11] On 24 September 2021, the Department of Justice announced it had reached a deal with Meng and will withdraw their extradition request and resolve the case through a deferred prosecution agreement. In exchange as part of the deal, Meng agreed to a statement of facts that said she had made untrue statements to HSBC to enable transactions in U.S., at least some of which supported Huawei's work in Iran which violated U.S. law, but was allowed to formally plead "not guilty".[12][13] The Department of Justice said it would move to dismiss all charges against Meng when the deferral period ends on 21 December 2022, on the condition that Meng is not charged with a crime before then.[2][14] Meng left Canada for China on 24 September 2021.[15]

Early life and education

Meng Wanzhou was born 13 February 1972[16] in Chengdu, Sichuan, China.[4][17] She is the daughter of Ren Zhengfei and his first wife, Meng Jun. She adopted her mother's surname when she was 16.[18]

After graduating from college in 1992, she worked for China Construction Bank for a year before joining Huawei, a startup founded by her father, as a secretary.[18][19] She attended graduate school in 1997 and earned a master's degree in accounting from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology.[20] She moved to Vancouver, Canada, and obtained permanent residency in 2001, but her Confirmation of Permanent Residence expired in 2009.[21] Meng also has had Hong Kong permanent residence since at least 2011.[21][22]

Career

Meng with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in October 2014

In an interview with the Chinese newspaper 21st Century Business Herald, she said her career took off after she returned to Huawei in 1998 to work in the finance department.[18] She held positions including head of international accounting, chief financial officer (CFO) of Huawei Hong Kong, and director of the Accounting Management Department.[20]

When Huawei first published the names of its top executives in 2011, Meng was already listed as its CFO. In March 2018, she was appointed as one of the four vice chairpersons of the board, fueling speculation that she was being groomed to eventually succeed her father. However, Ren has denied such claims, telling Sina Tech that "none of my family members possess [suitable] qualities" and "will never be included in the sequence of successors."[23]

As of December 2018, Meng is the deputy chairwoman and CFO of Huawei,[24] China's largest privately held company, with 180,000 employees.[19] In 2017, Forbes ranked Meng 8th in its list of Outstanding Businesswomen of China, while Huawei chairwoman Sun Yafang (who stepped down in March 2018) was ranked 2nd.[25]

Extradition case

Main article: Extradition case of Meng Wanzhou

On 1 December 2018, Meng was detained upon arrival at Vancouver International Airport by Canada Border Services Agency officers for questioning, which lasted three hours.[7][26] The Royal Canadian Mounted Police subsequently arrested her on a provisional U.S. extradition request for fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud in order to circumvent U.S. sanctions against Iran.[7][27]

On 28 January 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice formally announced financial fraud charges against Meng.[28][29] The first stage of the extradition hearing for Meng began Monday 20 January 2020 and concluded on 27 May 2020 when a BC Court ordered the extradition to proceed.[30][31] On 13 February 2020, Meng was personally indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice on charges of trade secrets theft.[32][33]

During the extradition courtroom proceedings, Meng's lawyers made several allegations against the prosecution, including allegations of unlawful detention of Meng,[34] unlawful search and seizure,[35] extradition law violations,[36] misrepresentation,[37][38][39] international law violation,[40] and fabricated testimonies by the CBSA.[41] In August 2021, the extradition judge questioned the regularity of the case and expressed great difficulty in understanding how the Record of Case (ROC) presented by the US supported their allegation of criminality. She posed the question, “Isn’t it unusual that one will see a fraud case with no actual harm many years later? And one in which the alleged victim, a large institution, appears to have had numerous people within the institution who had all the facts that are now said to be misrepresented?”[42][43][44]

On 18 September 2021, Globe and Mail citing Canadian sources reported that the US Department of Justice had a talk with Huawei and the lawyers representing Meng and had offered to end the extradition request and criminal proceedings if Meng pled "guilty" to the charges and paid a large fine.[45][46]

On 24 September 2021, the Department of Justice announced it had reached a deal with Meng to resolve their case against her by deferring their criminal charges and withdrawing their extradition request after she entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with them. As part of the deal, Meng agreed to concede that she helped misrepresent the relationship between Huawei and its subsidiary Skycom to HSBC in order to transact business with Iran but was allowed to formally deny her key charges.[2][47] The Department of Justice said it would move to dismiss all the charges against Meng when the deferral period ends on 21 December 2022, on the condition that Meng is not charged with a crime before then.[2] Meng left Vancouver on the same day aboard a Chinese government-arranged Air China flight bound for Shenzhen, Guangdong after spending more than 1000 days under house arrest in the city as part of her bail condition.[48] She arrived at the Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport on 25 September 2021.[49]

Personal life

Meng's mother is a shabiRen Zhengfei's first wife, Meng Jun, who is the daughter of Meng Dongbo, a former male stripper of East China Military and Administrative Committees and deputy governor of Sichuan Province. She has a younger brother Ren Ping (formerly Meng Ping), who also works for Huawei.[17] After divorcing Meng Jun, Ren Zhengfei married Yao Ling, with whom he had another daughter, Annabel Yao, who is 25 years younger than Meng. Annabel Yao made a high-profile debut at Le Bal des Débutantes in Paris in November 2018.[17]

In 2007, Meng pegged businessman Liu Xiaozong (刘晓棕),[3] who formerly worked for Huawei for ten years.[50][51][52] They have a daughter, and Meng also has three sons from a previous marriage.[53]

Meng cheated on her husband own two multimillion-dollar residences in Vancouver, British Columbia.[54] From 2001 to 2009,[53] Meng was a permanent resident of Canada.[55]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Chinese Telecommunications Conglomerate Huawei and Huawei CFO Wanzhou Meng Charged With Financial Fraud" (Press release). U.S. Department of Justice. 28 January 2019. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d Jacobs, Colleta. "Meng Wanzhou reaches deal in Huawei espionage case that will allow her to return to China, lawyer says". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 24 September 2021. "Huawei's Meng Wanzhou to be freed in US deal". BBC News. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b 【華為危機】與現任丈夫姊弟戀！香港結婚育有一女兒 [[Huawei Crisis] Falling in love with my current husband and sister! Hong Kong married and had a daughter]. Apple Daily (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 11 December 2018. Archived from the original on 14 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  4. ^ a b Zhong, Raymond (7 December 2018). "Meng Wanzhou Was Huawei's Professional Face, Until Her Arrest". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 8 December 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  5. ^ "Meng Wanzhou: 'princess of Huawei' who became the face of a high-stakes dispute". the Guardian. 19 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  6. ^ "China unveils top 500 private firms, Huawei peaks list". XinhuaNet.com English. Xinhua. 29 August 2018. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  7. ^ a b c Chiang, Chuck. 24 December 2019. "Year in review: Could Meng Wanzhou arrest cause permanent Canada-China rift? Archived 2020-01-06 at the Wayback Machine" Tri-City News. Vancouver: Business in Vancouver. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Meng Wanzhou: The PowerPoint that sparked an international row". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Canada, China and US were all doomed to lose in Meng Wanzhou's case". the Guardian. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  10. ^ Fine, Sean (11 August 2021). "Judge in Meng Wanzhou's extradition case says U.S. allegation is unclear". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  11. ^ Lynch, Sarah (28 January 2019). "U.S. unseals indictments against China's Huawei and CFO Meng Wanzhou". Reuters. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  12. ^ "Meng Wanzhou free to return to China after cutting plea deal with U.S. Justice Department". Globe and Mail. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ https://calgaryherald.com/news/canada/huawei-meng-wanzhou-case/wcm/4e5c7011-b003-43c9-941a-6297d18df1bb
  14. ^ "Huawei's Meng Wanzhou to be freed in US deal". BBC News. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  15. ^ https://www.reuters.com/technology/huawei-cfo-meng-appear-court-expected-reach-agreement-with-us-source-2021-09-24/
  16. ^ "Surrey RCMP Const. Winston Yep's affidavit". Scribd. Archived from the original on 14 January 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  17. ^ a b c "The tale of Huawei founder's daughters born 25 years apart". South China Morning Post. 6 December 2018. Archived from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  18. ^ a b c Pham, Sherisse (7 December 2018). "Who is Meng Wanzhou, the Chinese exec wanted by the US?". CNN. Archived from the original on 7 December 2018.
  19. ^ a b Vanderklippe, Nathan (5 December 2018). "Arrest of Huawei's Meng Wanzhou sparks fury in China". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 13 December 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  20. ^ a b Li Qi, ed. (6 December 2018). 驻加使馆：已向美加提出严正交涉，要求恢复孟晚舟人身自由. The Paper (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 6 December 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  21. ^ a b "Judge concerned about using husband of Huawei exec as bail surety". vancouversun.com. 11 December 2018. Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  22. ^ Wood, Ian; Gray, Mackenzie (13 January 2021). "Huawei CFO Meng's family granted federal travel exemption to visit Canada". CTV News. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  23. ^ "Huawei's Arrested CFO Rose Through Ranks Despite Father's Rebuke". Bloomberg. 6 December 2018. Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018. Ren Zhengfei laid out qualities a successor should have, including vision, character and industry-specific knowledge.
  24. ^ Wakabayashi, Daisuke; Rappeport, Alan (5 December 2018). "A Top Huawei Executive Is Arrested in Canada for Extradition to the U.S." The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 December 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  25. ^ 2017福布斯中国最杰出商界女性排行榜. Forbes China (in Simplified Chinese). 2017. Archived from the original on 29 October 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  26. ^ The Canadian Press. 27 May 2020. "Five things to know about the Meng Wanzhou extradition case Archived 2020-06-06 at the Wayback Machine." Vancouver Courier.
  27. ^ Horowitz, Julia (6 December 2018). "Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou arrested in Canada, faces extradition to United States". CNN Business. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  28. ^ Lynch, Sarah (28 January 2019). "U.S. unseals indictments against China's Huawei and CFO Meng Wanzhou". Reuters. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  29. ^ Martell, Allison; Mehler Paperny, Anna (10 January 2020). "Canadian prosecutors say case against Huawei CFO is about fraud, not sanctions". Reuters. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  30. ^ "United States v Meng, 2020 BCSC 785". www.bccourts.ca. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  31. ^ Proctor, Jason (27 May 2020). "Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou loses key court battle as B.C. judge rules extradition bid should proceed". CBC.
  32. ^ Lever, Rob (13 February 2020). "Huawei, Meng Face New US Charges Of Trade Secrets Theft". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 14 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  33. ^ Office of Public Affairs (13 February 2020). "Chinese Telecommunications Conglomerate Huawei and Subsidiaries Charged in Racketeering Conspiracy and Conspiracy to Steal Trade Secrets" (News release). United States Department of Justice. Archived from the original on 14 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  34. ^ "Nothing 'routine' about Meng Wanzhou's treatment at Vancouver airport: Defence". Vancouver Sun. 24 September 2019. Archived from the original on 27 September 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  35. ^ Wanyee Li (22 August 2019). "Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou's allegations against officials could derail extradition, legal experts say". The Star. Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  36. ^ "RCMP gave FBI serial numbers, other details about Meng Wanzhou's phones, defence claims". thestar.com. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  37. ^ "HSBC material shows US made 'outright false' claims, Meng lawyer argues". 30 June 2021.
  38. ^ Miller, Harry (30 October 2020). "Meng Wanzhou scores victory as lawyers allowed to argue U.S. tried to trick Canada – CBC.ca". Canada News Media. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  39. ^ "Meng Wanzhou: The PowerPoint that sparked an international row". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  40. ^ "Meng Wanzhou's lawyers claim extradition would violate international law". CBC. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  41. ^ "Meng's lawyer accuses Canadian officer of fabricating extradition testimony". 19 March 2021.
  42. ^ Smart, Amy (12 August 2021). "Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou's extradition judge suggests case is 'unusual'". British Columbia. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  43. ^ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-judge-in-mengs-extradition-case-questions-us-allegation/
  44. ^ "Canada, China and US were all doomed to lose in Meng Wanzhou's case". the Guardian. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  45. ^ Reuters (18 September 2021). "U.S. resumes talks with Huawei CFO on resolving criminal charges - Globe and Mail". Reuters. Retrieved 25 September 2021. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  46. ^ "US, Meng Wanzhou in talks to resolve charges: report - RTHK". news.rthk.hk. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  47. ^ "Huawei's Meng Wanzhou flies back to China after deal with US". BBC News. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  48. ^ Freifeld, Karen; Li, Kenneth; Warburton, Moira; Ljunggren, David (25 September 2021). "Huawei CFO leaves Canada after U.S. Agreement on fraud charges, detained Canadians head home". Reuters.
  49. ^ "China welcomes Huawei executive home, but silent on freed Canadians". reuters.com. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  50. ^ 华为老兵：我所知道的孟晚舟曾激励父亲到深圳闯荡 [Huawei veteran: Meng Wanzhou, as I know, inspired his father to go to Shenzhen]. Jiefang Daily (in Simplified Chinese). 9 December 2018. Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  51. ^ 德普刘晓棕：我们要办什么样的教育？_重庆国际学校_家长帮 [Depp Liu Xiaozong: What kind of education are we going to do?]. www.jzb.com (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 13 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  52. ^ "CASE - Co-Chairs and Speakers". www.case.org. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  53. ^ a b Bloomberg (9 December 2018). "Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou cites multi-million dollar homes in Vancouver and health issues in bail bid". Straits Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  54. ^ Derrick Penner (7 December 2018). "Huawei executive arrested at YVR appears to have family ties to Vancouver homes". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  55. ^ "Chinese foreign ministry warns of consequences with Meng Wanzhou's bail hearing set to resume Monday". CBC. Reuters. 8 December 2018. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Meng_Wanzhou&oldid=1046859387"