Canada's Ambassador to China Fired After Controversial Huawei Comments

John McCallum publicly took issue with US extradition request
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 27, 2019 12:58 PM CST
Canada's Ambassador to China Fired After Controversial Huawei Comments
John McCallum, Canadian ambassador to China, arrives for a cabinet meeting in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019.   (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada's (now former) ambassador to China lost the job amid the ongoing extradition case involving Huawei exec Meng Wanzhou. The US says Wanzhou, the Chinese telecoms giant's CFO, violated sanctions against Iran and is seeking her extradition; she was arrested in Canada in December, at the request of the US, and Canada's involvement in the situation has hurt its relationship with China. On Tuesday, the then-ambassador, John McCallum, said the US extradition request was seriously flawed, per the BBC. He apologized the next day, saying he "misspoke," but on Friday he said it would be "great for Canada" if the US decided not to make the request, the Guardian reports. On Saturday, Canada PM Justin Trudeau said that the night prior he "asked for and accepted" McCallum's resignation, thanking him for his service but not giving a reason for his termination. (See the background on the case here.)

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