The chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei celebrated her first day out on bail in Canada on Wednesday with well-wishing guests and boxes of pizza.
Accused of sanctions busting and forced to abide by a curfew and wear an ankle bracelet as she awaits possible extradition to the United States, China’s ‘Princess of Huawei’, Meng Wanzhou, could be said to have fallen spectacularly from grace.
But Meng, heiress to her billionaire father’s global tech conglomerate, is managing to surround herself with a few home comforts.
Huawei’s CFO was arrested on December 1 on a U.S. warrant for alleged sanctions-breaking dealings with Iran, while changing planes in Vancouver.
She faces more than 30 years in jail if convicted, but was freed on $10 million Canadian ($7.5million U.S.) bail Tuesday night pending the outcome of an extradition hearing, which could take months, or even years, if appeals are made in the case.
Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou is seen outside a parole office in Vancouver on Wednesday
A security guard is seen above escorting Meng to the parole office a day after she was granted bail by a British Columbia judge
A pizza delivery man arrives at Meng’s residence in Vancouver on Wednesday
An unidentified man receives the boxes of pizza from the Domino’s delivery man at Meng’s home in Vancouver on Wednesday
The following morning, Meng was spotted by AFP answering the front door of her Vancouver house to three visitors bringing flowers who arrived in a sedan with diplomatic plates.
Outside, a handful of local residents walked their dogs past a group of journalists while a security guard watched from a car down the block.
Later, Meng stepped out to offer reporters slices of pizza that she’d had ordered in (they politely declined).
Meng’s husband Liu Xiaozong in 2009 bought the six-bedroom house where she must stay in Vancouver’s Dunbar neighborhood – a leafy quiet enclave of single-family homes a few blocks from an urban forest.
Although valued at a hefty $5.6million Canadian ($4.2million U.S.), the house – on a large corner lot with a view of the Pacific coast city’s majestic north shore mountains – does not stand out as particularly ostentatious.
Individuals with flowers exiting from a vehicle with consular plates also arrived at the residence
The man, who are likely Chinese diplomats, are seen handing flowers to Meng upon arriving at the residence on Wednesday
The Meng case has generated enormous media interest due to the global ramifications. Reporters are seen above outside her home in Vancouver
Colleen McGuinness, who lives in the neighborhood, said the reaction to the executive’s arrival has been muted.
‘I don’t think I’ll see her at the grocery store,’ McGuinness told AFP.
‘She’s obviously been here before, she’s just another person in the neighborhood, but with a bit of an entourage.’
Meng’s husband Liu resided at the 28th Avenue home up until 2012 while working on a Masters degree, and the couple’s young son attended a local pre-school.
Meng’s in-laws have also spent several summers at the house, and her mother and eldest son visited too.
‘While my work obligations have typically required that I travel extensively, I always try to spend at least 2-3 weeks in Vancouver every summer,’ she said in court documents.
The couple bought a second home in the tony Shaughnessy neighborhood worth an estimated $16.3million Canadian ($12.2million U.S.). It is currently being renovated.
Meng’s case has divided the Pacific coast city’s large Chinese-Canadian community.
‘I was surprised at the amount of vitriol I’d gotten from supporters of Meng, saying she should be released,’ Justin Fung, whose parents immigrated from Hong Kong in the 1970s, said on Twitter.
Meng is seen above on the right waving goodbye to her visitors after their stay at her home in Vancouver on Wednesday
‘I felt this is about the rule of law, and I was surprised at how some of these folks were speaking about human rights issues.’
Speaking to AFP, Fung said the controversy, however, is not likely to affect Meng directly: ‘We’re a pretty low key city, we routinely get Hollywood stars come through and people are not badgering them.’
While on bail, Meng is required to wear an electronic anklet and a security team paid by her has been assigned to monitor her movements in Vancouver.
She also has an 11pm to 7am curfew.
Speaking through her lawyer, Meng sought to put a brave face on her situation – saying she looked forward to spending time in Vancouver with her family, and maybe applying for a doctorate program at the University of British Columbia while the extradition case plays out.
Family photos submitted to the court showed her smiling and striking poses at tourist spots around the city, including Stanley Park with the Lions Gate bridge in the background, and on a boat in False Creek.
Her lawyer, David Martin, argued that she was not a flight risk because it would otherwise ’embarrass China itself.’
Meng also cited health reasons for requesting bail.
‘I have been working hard for 25 years and if I were to be ordered released my only simple goal is to be with my husband and my daughter,’ she said.
‘I haven’t read a novel in years.’
As CBC News commented, ‘she may have time to finish War and Peace, Anna Karenina and the complete works of Marcel Proust before her extradition odyssey is done.’