Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, who is fighting extradition to the US from Canada, has written a heartfelt letter to the Chinese tech firm's 188,000 employees.
Meng was arrested in Vancouver during a stopover on December 1, and the US formally requested her extradition on January 30. Meng is the daughter of Huawei's CEO and founder, Ren Zhengfei.
In her letter to staff on Monday, Meng said she had been brought to tears by the support she had received from Huawei employees. "Your concern has warmed my heart and your support has filled me with power," she said.
In a show of defiance to US authorities, she also said that while her movement had been restricted by the arrest, "my inner self has never felt so colorful and vast." Meng is under constant surveillance and is wearing a GPS tracking device, which she is funding.
The US indicted Meng in January, claiming that she covered up Huawei's links to a company that tried to sell equipment to Iran — a violation of US trade sanctions. Meng and Huawei have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and on Wednesday a spokesman for Meng said that "political factors" motivated her arrest.
While formal extradition hearings are set to begin in January 2020, Meng's lawyers on Wednesday argued for a stay on extradition proceedings based on comments made by President Donald Trump, who told Reuters in December that he could "certainly intervene" in Meng's case if he thought it would help the US-China trade war.
Here is the full text of the Meng Wanzhou letter, as translated by Huawei:
Thank you, my closest partners.
Despite being physically restricted to a very limited space during my time in Vancouver, my inner self has never felt so colorful and vast.
I have never before had the opportunity to connect so closely with the 188,000 Huawei employees. Everything has a good side, and this kind of close connection is as warm as a spring breeze.
Every time a court hearing has finished, I have seen Huawei employees staying up all night just to follow my case in distant time zones. This has brought me to tears. Over the past few months, so many people at Huawei, including those I don't know, have shown concern for my safety and left me messages on the Xinsheng Community [Huawei's internal online forum]. They have constantly been sending me their best wishes and cheering me up with their messages. Every time I saw these messages, an indescribable feeling would arise from the bottom of my heart. I have even seen former employees, who are now settled in Vancouver, line up early in the morning at the court before every hearing to support me in any way they can.
Your concern has warmed my heart and your support has filled me with power. I believe that every time I take a step forward, there are 188,000 Huawei employees taking that step with me. So no matter what difficulties or pressures I face, I will always remain determined from the bottom of my heart.
I believe it is this power that joins our hands together and makes Huawei's will as strong as a fortress.
Thank you all.
Thank you for your support and concern. Let's work together to push forward!
