Ministry calls for Meng's release after 1,000 days of detention

China said on Thursday that it will never allow its citizens to fall prey to political persecution by other countries, as it called for the immediate release of Huawei Technologies' financial chief, Meng Wanzhou, who has been detained by Canadian authorities for 1,000 days.

The Foreign Ministry also asked the United States to withdraw its arrest warrant for Meng and its extradition request to Canada, which detained the Huawei executive in December 2018 at Vancouver International Airport.

An online petition demanding the immediate release of Meng, which was launched by the Global Times last week, has drawn nearly 15 million signatures from netizens around the world.

Meng's extradition hearing on whether she should be sent to the US to face bank fraud charges ended in Vancouver last week. British Columbia Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes said she would announce the date of her ruling on the extradition request on Oct 21, according to Reuters.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a news conference on Thursday that Meng's case is a political incident plotted by the US, with Canada as an accomplice, as well as a deliberate crackdown on Chinese enterprises.

The US and Canada have repeatedly cited laws to defend their actions, but it is clear that the US is using these laws as a tool to suppress other countries for its own selfish gains, which is not legitimate, Wang said.

He said Canada has ignored the US' true political intentions. The fact that Meng has not violated any Canadian laws and has been unreasonably and illegally detained for 1,000 days, made Canada an accomplice of the US, Wang said.

"I wonder where is the sense of right and wrong, and the human rights that Canada claims to champion?" Wang asked, adding that Canada risking its own interests to serve the US was counterproductive and self-defeating.

"China will never allow or accept any form of political coercion and abuse of justice," he said, as he urged Washington and Ottawa to answer China's call for justice, end Meng's detention and ensure her safe return to China.

In a phone call with Meng on Wednesday, Chinese Ambassador to Canada Cong Peiwu blasted Ottawa for its detention of the Huawei chief financial officer, stressing that "any attempt to bully or oppress Chinese nationals will inevitably be hit hard".

The Chinese government resolutely safeguards the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and enterprises, Cong said.