Huawei is a Mainland China-based multinational telecom manufacturer supported and promoted by the Chinese government. Last December, Canadian customs officials arrested the company's CFO, Meng Wanzhou, at the request of the U.S. government.
Meng is the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, a former People's Liberation Army officer who started the company in 1987. She is accused of defrauding a number of financial institutions in violation of U.S. government backed sanctions against Iran.
The Chinese government asked the Canadian government to release Meng, and the Canadian government refused. The Chinese threatened "severe repercussions," and a short time later detained two Canadians who have been living and working in China. Shortly after that, a Canadian meth dealer had his sentence "upgraded" from imprisonment to death.
In March, China announced that it will no longer purchase canola from Canadian farmers, based on "pest infestation."
Most Canadian canola is grown on the Canadian Prairies, which is also a producer of NHL hockey players and home to many more hockey fans, all of whom tune-in to the Canadian Broadcasting Company's Hockey Night in Canada, especially now that the playoffs are on.
A major advertiser for Hockey Night in Canada is Huawei, whose name is featured prominently during broadcasts (see above).
When I first noticed this I thought, Why hasn't Huawei pulled its sponsorship? Then I thought, Why would they when what it is paying is but a pittance when compared to the return it is getting for showing Canadians who's boss? The U.S. government showed Canada who's boss when, in an effort to destabilize it or as a condition of the free trade agreement renegotiations (or both), it asked Canada to detain Meng next time she passed through Vancouver.
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