A8
NATION/WORLD
East Oregonian
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Trump comments upend U.S. approach to Huawei, trade talks
By PAUL WISEMAN AND
ROB GILLIES
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The
United States and China
have taken pains this week
to emphasize that their trade
talks are entirely separate
from the U.S. case against
a top Chinese technology
executive. But with a few
words, President Donald
Trump obliterated the dis-
tinction, saying he’d wade
into the case if it would help
produce a trade agreement
with China.
China
has
already
detained a former Canadian
diplomat in what appears to
be retaliation for Canada’s
arrest of Meng Wanzhou,
the chief financial officer of
telecommunications giant
Huawei. On Wednesday,
Canadian Foreign Minister
Chrystia Freeland expressed
concern that another Cana-
dian may have also been
taken into custody.
A Canadian court on
Tuesday released Meng on
bail, confining her to Van-
couver and its suburbs while
she awaits possible extra-
dition to the United States.
The U.S. accuses Huawei,
the biggest global supplier of
network gear for phone and
internet companies, of using
a Hong Kong shell company
to do business with Iran in
violation of U.S. sanctions.
But on Tuesday, Trump
raised the possibility that a
U.S.-China trade deal might
be reason enough for him to
intervene.
“If I think it’s good for
what will be certainly the
largest trade deal ever made
— which is a very import-
ant thing — what’s good
for national security — I
would certainly intervene if
I thought it was necessary,”
Trump told Reuters in an
interview.
The comment suggests
Meng could be a political
pawn in negotiations and
makes things more awkward
for Canada, which arrested
her on America’s behalf
during a Dec. 1 layover at the
Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP
Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, right,
waves goodbye to visitors at her home in Vancouver on
Wednesday.
Vancouver airport.
Canadian Prime Minis-
ter Justin Trudeau bristled at
Trump’s assertion, saying:
“Regardless of what goes on
in other countries, Canada
is, and will always remain,
a country of the rule of law.”
Freeland said it was “quite
obvious” any foreign country
requesting extradition should
ensure “the process is not
politicized.”
In what appears to be
retaliation against Canada
for arresting Meng, Chi-
nese authorities on Monday
detained a former Canadian
diplomat, Michael Kovrig, in
Beijing.
On Wednesday, Freeland
said she was worried that
another Canadian had been
detained in China.
“We are aware of a Cana-
dian who got in touch with us
because he was being asked
questions by Chinese author-
ities. We have not made been
able to make contact with
him since he let us know
about this,” Freeland told a
news conference. “We are
working very hard to ascer-
tain his whereabouts, and we
have raised this case with the
Chinese authorities. We are
in touch with his family.”
Canada has also asked
China for extra security at its
embassy because of protests
and anti-Canadian sentiment
and has advised foreign ser-
vice staff to take precautions,
a senior Canadian official
told reporters.
Meng’s arrest came the
same day that Trump and
Chinese President Xi Jinping
agreed over dinner in Bue-
nos Aires to a 90-day cease-
fire in a trade war that has
shaken global financial mar-
kets and raised worries about
the impact on the world
economy.
The truce was meant to
buy time for more substan-
tive talks over U.S. allega-
tions that China steals U.S.
technology and forces Amer-
ican companies to hand over
trade secrets in exchange for
access to the Chinese market.
U.S.
officials
have
insisted the sanctions case
against Meng had nothing
to do with the ongoing trade
talks. Top White House eco-
nomic adviser Larry Kudlow
told “Fox News Sunday” that
“there’s a trade lane ... and
there is the law enforcement
lane. They are different.”
“Both Canadian and
American officials have
emphasized that the Meng
arrest is separate from the
trade talks,” said Gregory
Yaeger, special counsel at the
Stroock law firm and a for-
mer Justice Department trial
attorney.
“Trump’s remarks could
be interpreted as creating the
appearance that the arrest
also had political motiva-
tions. This could undermine
the U.S.’s reputation as a
country that follows the ‘rule
of law,’ and could ultimately
undermine both the Meng
prosecution and the trade
talks,” Yeager said.
What happens with Brexit after May survives leadership vote
LONDON (AP) — Brit-
ish Prime Minister The-
resa May won a no-confi-
dence vote by lawmakers
from her party Wednesday.
Fellow Conservatives who
object to some terms of the
Brexit deal May’s govern-
ment struck with the Euro-
pean Union initiated the
challenge that would have
ended her leadership of both
the party and the country.
May said after the results
were in that she plans to
keep pursuing an agreement
that Parliament will support
before Britain’s departure
from the European Union,
set for March 29. These are
the next steps as she tries to
win approval for her pro-
posed Brexit deal:
Lobbying EU leaders
for concessions
May plans to attend a
two-day summit starting
Thursday in Brussels and
try to convince remaining
EU leaders to sweeten the
divorce deal now on the
table.
She needs to do so
because strong opposition
to the existing agreement
exists in all of the U.K.’s
political parties, including
May’s own. The Conser-
vatives’ 200-117 no-con-
fidence vote illustrates the
deep resistance she faces.
What kind of recep-
tion can May expect in
Brussels?
Europe’s key power bro-
kers have said they are
unwilling to renegotiate the
legally binding agreement
that has been agreed to by
May’s government and the
bloc’s other members.
However, EU leaders
indicated willingness this
week to consider statements
that might make it easier for
May to persuade the reluc-
tant Parliament to pass the
plan.
The main sticking point,
as it has been almost from
the start of negotiations,
is the post-Brexit border
between Northern Ireland,
which is part of the U.K.,
and Ireland, which is an EU
country. Critics in May’s
party don’t like how the cur-
rent deal proposes dealing
with customs checks, taxes
and trade issues the U.K.
hasn’t had to consider as an
EU member.
How long does she
have to win Parliament’s
backing?
May has said she intends
to bring the proposed agree-
ment to Parliament for a vote
by Jan. 21. A vote originally
was scheduled for Tuesday
night, but the prime minis-
ter acknowledged lawmak-
ers would reject the deal if
they considered it then.
Britain is scheduled to
leave the EU on March 29,
so there is significant time
pressure for progress.
May could face another
“no-confidence” vote
Her victory on Wednes-
day means Conservative
Party members cannot try
to oust May as their stan-
dard-bearer in the next year.
However, the prime min-
ister still could be the sub-
ject of a confidence vote
in Parliament’s House of
Commons.
Opposition Labour Party
leader Jeremy Corbyn has
indicated his party would
trigger such a vote when it
was likely to pass. Smaller
parties have pressed Corbyn
to challenge May sooner not
later.
Season’s Greetings
From Our Family To Yours
Read this book, and you’ll understand
a lot about what makes Oregon Oregon.
Designed by Kailee Wright
of Hermiston OR.
She was the winner of our
annual Holiday Design Contest.
— Jackman Wilson, Editorial Page Editor, The Register-Guard
Donate This Holiday Season in Our Annual
Charity Drive
Community Bank will match at 50¢ on every
dollar collected, up to $500 max match per
branch through Dec. 19, 2018!
Donations at our
Pendleton Branch
will support:
Donations at our
Hermiston Branch
will support:
Free Craft Saturdays
for Kids
Empowering children through sports,
adventure activites, art and music
Donations at our Heppner Branch will support:
“Grit and Ink” tells a story
that is very worthy of being told.
— Kerry Tymchuk, Executive Director, Oregon Historical Society
Small-town family business history at its best.
—Richard Baker, U.S. Senate Historian Emeritus
NOW AVAILABLE AT
The Neighborhood Center Food Bank
Donations at our Milton-Freewater Branch
will support:
Milton-Freewater City
Light & Power
Energy Assistance
Program
PLUS - The City of Milton-Freewater will match the funds collected up to
$5,000!
IN PRINT AND eBOOK FOR KINDLE
Also available from local booksellers or call 800-621-2736
books.eomediagroup.com/grit-ink
Local Money Working
For Local People
www.communitybanknet.com
Member FDIC
Pendleton
157 S Main St
541-278-9000
Hermiston
50 E Theater Ln
541-289-4480
Heppner
127 N Main St
541-676-5745
Milton-Freewater
504 N Main St
541-938-6361