Members of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday urged banks not to use Huawei Technologies Co Ltd’s (華為) equipment due to national security concerns, after Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Japan moved to restrict the Chinese telecom’s business.
However, Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) told the committee that the commission needs to look at domestic regulations and WTO agreements to see whether it has the right to restrict banks from using Huawei’s equipment.
Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou (孟晚舟) was arrested on Dec. 1 in Canada on a US extradition request, after US authorities launched an investigation into alleged breaches of US sanctions on Iran by the Chinese firm.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Several nations have expressed national security concerns about the use of Huawei’s products, which have been dubbed a “Trojan horse,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yu Wan-ju (余宛如) said.
The company has provided products to financial institutions to develop digital finance services, Yu said, urging the commission to ban domestic banks from using Huawei’s equipment.
Koo said that most banks in the nation use components made by IBM Corp in their servers, which he called their “core equipment.”
“I do not think Huawei has a high market share in terms of such equipment,” he said.
However, the commission would review the issue soon, Koo said, adding that it does not use any Chinese-made cybersecurity equipment.
Yu said that Taiwanese banks, including Web-only banks that are to be launched next year, should not be allowed to use any software or hardware made in China.
“At least state-owned banks should not use Huawei’s equipment, nor their chairpeople and presidents use Huawei smartphones or the messaging app WeChat (微信),” she said.
DPP Legislator Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) said financial institutions that use Huawei’s products should detail the type of equipment they use.
Koo said he does not use WeChat.
“The FSC and financial institutions know that national security is important, but we have to confirm if such a ban is legal,” Koo said, adding that it is easier to ask state-run banks to ban Huawei’s products, but it would be another story for private banks.
Most Taiwanese banks use IBM products, so it would not be a problem if the commission were to ban the use of Huawei products in the financial sector, a bank manager told the Taipei Times by telephone on condition of anonymity.
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