London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 09, 2025

‘Finally, I am home’: Meng Wanzhou lands in China to hero’s welcome

‘Finally, I am home’: Meng Wanzhou lands in China to hero’s welcome

Chinese state media has portrayed her return as a sign of a strong, resilient country and a diplomatic victory for Beijing.

Huawei Technologies’ executive Meng Wanzhou landed in China on Saturday evening, after nearly three years under house arrest in Canada, to a hero’s welcome cheered by supporters in a homecoming state media portrayed as a sign of a strong country and a diplomatic coup for Beijing.

State broadcaster CCTV showed a teary-eyed Meng, wearing a red wraparound dress, receiving a bouquet of roses and being greeted by an assembled crowd waving mini national flags on the tarmac of the international airport of Shenzhen, Huawei’s base, after her flight landed at 9.50pm.

Meng waved to the 100-strong crowd and acknowledged the shouts of “Welcome home”. She then gave a brief speech, addressing Zhang Xin, deputy provincial governor of Guangdong, and Shenzhen mayor Qin Weizhong, and beginning by saying: “Finally, I am home.”

Meng Wanzhou’s first words were: ‘Finally, I am home.’


Meng, Huawei’s chief financial officer and executive director, reached a deal on Friday with prosecutors in New York that effectively resolved a US fraud case that had kept her in legal limbo in Vancouver since late 2018 as she fought extradition to the United States. The case involved HSBC and US sanctions against Iran.

She mentioned President Xi Jinping twice in her speech on the airport tarmac, referring to him as Chairman Xi.

“Chairman Xi cares about the safety of every Chinese citizen, and he also has my situation in his heart, I am deeply touched by this,” she said.

Meng, who said she would be subject to quarantine measures, then entered a gold-coloured minivan to take a Covid-19 test. She was to be taken to a quarantine spot, CCTV reported.

The live broadcast of her arrival was watched by nearly 100 million viewers at its peak.

Meng Wanzhou waves to the crowd as she steps out of the charter plane.


The reception for 49-year-old Meng, daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, was unusually grand even by Chinese standards. Red carpets were rolled out on the tarmac, and state television, including CCTV, provided live coverage for hours.

To show her release was a symbol of state power, China’s ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu, accompanied Meng on the flight from Vancouver.

Xinhua confirmed on Saturday morning that her return was a result of “unremitting efforts of the Chinese government”. People’s Daily, mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, said in an editorial Meng’s release was “a major victory of the Chinese people” and showed “no power can stop China’s advancing steps”.

Supporters welcome Meng Wanzhou in Shenzhen.


Throughout the day, internet users were busy tracking her flight CCA552, chartered by the central government, as it made its way across the Arctic Ocean, many describing her as the country’s heroine.

At the arrival hall in Shenzhen Baoan International Airport, thousands of people had gathered to welcome her home. Some held banners, flowers and Chinese national flags. Others wore red masks with the national flag printed on them.

Banners displayed the message “Welcome home Ms Meng Wanzhou” while chants of “Meng Wanzhou, you’re a heroine. We love you” could also be heard. Airport security staff were on hand to keep order.

The tallest skyscraper in Shenzhen, the 555-metre Ping An Finance Centre, was also lit up with the message “Welcome home Meng Wanzhou” on Saturday evening.

Meanwhile, CCTV quoted foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying as saying the actions of the United States and Canada regarding Meng were “typical arbitrary detentions.”

“Facts have already fully proved that this is an incident of political persecution against a Chinese citizen, with the purpose of suppressing China’s hi-tech enterprise,” Hua was quoted as saying.

“The fraud accusations against Meng are purely ­fabricated with HSBC, which the US refers to as a ‘victim’, offering ­sufficient documents to prove Meng’s innocence. The actions of the United States and Canada [on Meng] are typical arbitrary ­detentions.”

A welcome home message on Ping An Finance Centre in Shenzhen.


Hua did not mention Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, freed from detention in China as part of a three-way deal involving Meng. The pair, whose release was announced by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, arrived in Calgary in western Canada early on Saturday. Trudeau greeted the pair at the airport.

The “two Michaels” – as they were dubbed by international media – were detained just days after Meng, on what Ottawa had contended were “trumped up” espionage charges.

Meng’s deferred prosecution agreement, which will see charges shelved then dropped, was approved at a US Federal Court hearing in Brooklyn, which she attended via video link.

She then made a brief appearance at the Supreme Court of British Columbia, where the request for her extradition was withdrawn and her bail conditions lifted, bringing to a close a marathon case that had thrown China’s relations with Canada and the US into crisis.

The extradition saga began after Meng was arrested at Vancouver International Airport in December 2018. She was wanted by the US for allegedly defrauding HSBC by lying about Huawei’s dealings in Iran, putting the bank at risk of breaching US sanctions.

A giant screen displays the message ‘Welcome home Meng Wanzhou’ at Shenzhen Baoan International Airport.


Chinese social media was filled with images and texts of Meng on Saturday.

A tearful Meng gave a brief statement at the airport before she left Canada for China.

“I thank my motherland and the people in my motherland for their support and help. They are the biggest support for me to hold on until now,” she told reporters.

Meng also released a statement on her flight to Shenzhen, in which she once again thanked the authorities for her release.

“For the past 1,028 days, I have been stumbling around, and it was difficult to choose between a thousand things; for the past 1,028 days, I have been wandering day and night, even if I had a thousand words to say; for the past 1,028 days, there have been endless mountains and rivers, and I did not know which way to return.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
×