Chinese analysts said from China's perspective, Schellenberg's sentence is a pure criminal case while Spavor's case was not an important factor in relations with Canada and the sentencing was based on Chinese law.
Meanwhile, some Canadian lawmakers and officials have been constantly calling for the release of Meng as they believe Meng's case was highly politicized that led to the detention of the two Canadian nationals in China.
Former Canadian lawmakers and diplomats urged Trudeau to step in to end the extradition trial of Meng, AFP reported in June 2020, as they consider the case as a bargaining chip for releasing Kovrig and Spavor. They said the detention of Meng was a major cause of the souring China-Canadian ties, urging in an open letter that Trudeau should release Meng.
Meng's case is entering its final stage of arguments as a court in Vancouver is hearing arguments from both sides regarding remedies, and the judge will evaluate whether the allegations are valid. It is set to wrap up by August 20.
According to Meng's lawyers, the case was mired in controversy from the beginning, including the politicization of it by former US president Donald Trump, violations of Meng's rights during her arrest, the US' misleading evidence and is a brazen violation of customary international law.
The case has been widely considered a "political hot potato," damaging China-Canada relations over the past few years. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has repeatedly called the case a political maneuver, and urged Canada to release Meng.
Gary Botting, a Canadian legal expert and author of several books on extradition, told the Global Times in an earlier interview that the case was a political gambit from the outset in a bid to throw cold water on Huawei's aspirations to promote its 5G technology.
Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei, leaves the B.C. Supreme Court during a break in her extradition hearing on Tuesday local time in Vancouver, British Columbia. Photo: VCG
Stop being US running dogThe two cases involving the Canadians have drawn wide coverage from Western media, which portrayed the Trudeau government as an "innocent victim," and described the verdicts as big tests for the strained relationship between Canada and China and hyped the sentencing as plunging China-Canada relations to their lowest point in decades.
"Trudeau should know his government's choice of being a US running dog is the reason behind the frosty bilateral ties and following allies' steps to pressure China won't put an end to the dilemma of the China-Canada relationship," Wu Xinbo, director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Canada's attempt to pressure China by using "Megaphone Diplomacy" or ganging up is totally futile and will only head toward a dead end, Wu said.
Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of China Foreign Affairs University, pointed out that the so-called support from the US and its allies further proved that those countries have been colluding with each other on containing China, which only makes the situation worse as China will not yield to political coercion.
Trudeau is in an embarrassing position given the current dilemma with two Michaels, facing opposition domestically and internationally, which shows that he lacks political wisdom, he noted.
"If he can't properly handle this dilemma, it would only cast a shadow over the upcoming election," Li said.
The Dandong court said Spavor would be deported, but did not specify whether it would be before or after he serves his prison sentence.
According to China's Criminal Law, if a foreigner is sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment and subject to deportation at the same time, the foreigner shall serve the sentence and then be deported by police. The foreigner will be not allowed to enter China for a certain period of time.
The icy relationship between Beijing and Ottawa will only be resolved if Canada is willing to commit itself to pushing forward bilateral ties and distancing itself from the poisonous impact of US' hostile policy toward China, experts noted.
