This new original podcast unravels the complex web of international intrigue surrounding the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou
VANCOUVER, Thursday, April 25, 2019 — Today, CBC Vancouver launches Sanctioned: The Arrest of a Telecom Giant. This original podcast explores how the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou thrust Canada into the middle of an international technology trade war. Hosted by CBC Radio One’s Stephen Quinn, the six part podcast can be found on all podcast streaming platforms.
“We’ve been covering Huawei and Meng on The Early Edition for quite a while, there is a huge appetite from our audiences to learn more about this very global story unfolding in our own backyard,” says Stephen Quinn. “I am so proud of all the work the team has done on Sanctioned. Whether you are new to the Huawei story or have been following it from the beginning, I promise you will learn something new, I know I did.”
The podcast follows the arrest of Meng Wanzhou and also explains the context behind the story, including:
- Huawei as a telecommunications superpower
- Meng’s influence in the family business
- The history of sanctions on Iran
- 5G technology and how it will impact the world
- The rising tensions between Canada, China and the U.S.
“CBC Vancouver is in a unique position to tell this story,” says Shiral Tobin, Director, Journalism and Programming, CBC British Columbia. “Meng’s arrest in December at the Vancouver International Airport thrust Vancouver into the global spotlight,” Tobin says. “And our journalists were on the front lines when international media descended. They knew the court system, they knew Meng’s lawyers and they had the contacts needed to tell this story in full.”
Sanctioned: The Arrest of a Telecom Giant is produced by Jason Proctor and Vivian Luk. It can be found on CBC Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and other podcast streaming platforms. For more information go to cbc.ca/sanctioned.
Here is a summary of episodes:
Episode 1: The Arrival - Meng Wanzhou lands in Vancouver on what was supposed to be a routine transit stop. Instead, she finds herself under arrest, accused of violating economic sanctions in Iran and facing the possibility of jail in the United States.
Episode 2: The Family Business - As Meng Wanzhou appears in a Vancouver courtroom for the first time, the story of her remarkable career with Huawei emerges. And questions are raised about the Chinese government's role in the powerhouse firm her father built from the ground up.
Episode 3: PowerPoint - Meng Wanzhou faces a week in a British Columbia jail. It's a remarkable change in fortunes for a woman who once welcomed former Federal Reserve chair Alan Greenspan to an economic forum. And a revolution in Iran leads to sanctions that will one day make a PowerPoint presentation Exhibit A in the case of the People V Meng.
Episode 4: Firestorm - News breaks of Meng's arrest and the international media descends on Vancouver as Meng Wanzhou's local real estate holdings make her a poster-child for a city riven by real estate speculation by wealthy Chinese.
Episode 5: Retaliation - As Meng Wanzhou's lawyers craft a plan for her release, China shows its displeasure with the arrest of an icon by arresting two Canadians accused of spying. President Donald Trump weighs in on the situation and Meng's friends step forward to support her.
Episode 6: Indictment - Now living under a form of house arrest, Meng Wanzhou plans her legal strategy as tensions simmer between the U.S., China and Canada. Prosecutors unseal an indictment against Meng and Huawei and a Canadian faces the death penalty.
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Media Contact:
Jennifer Rhyne
Manager, Communications, Marketing & Brand
CBC British Columbia
Email: jennifer.rhyne@cbc.ca
Phone: (604) 662-6696
Cell: (604) 379-6570
