A Chinese government spokesman yesterday took issue with US claims that telecoms giant Huawei Technologies Co (華為) poses a threat to other countries’ information security because of Chinese laws.
The comments by China’s National People’s Congress spokesman Zhang Yesui (張業遂), ahead of the annual session of China’s rubber-stamp parliament, followed news that Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou (孟晚舟), who was arrested by Canada at the request of the US, is suing the Canadian government over her treatment.
Lawyers for Meng, who is staying at a property she owns in Vancouver after her release on bail, on Sunday said that she was suing the Canadian government, its border agency and the national police force, alleging she was detained, searched and interrogated before she was told that she was under arrest.
Photo: AP
The US is seeking Meng’s extradition to face charges she misled banks about the company’s business with Iran.
Washington has been lobbying its allies to shun Huawei’s products on national security grounds, saying Chinese law requires the company to provide it with intelligence on its foreign clients whenever requested.
Zhang said that US officials were taking China’s national security law out of context and “playing up the so-called security risks” associated with Chinese companies.
The 2017 law borrows from other countries’ experiences and is designed explicitly to “protect human rights and the lawful rights of individuals and organizations,” Zhang said.
“This kind of behavior is interference into economic activities by political means and is against World Trade Organization rules. It disrupts an international market order that is built on fair competition,” Zhang told reporters.
“This is a typical case of double standards that is neither fair nor ethical,” he added.
Washington’s accusations have been underscored by Meng’s arrest on Dec. 1.
Huawei also faces other allegations in the US related to alleged theft of technology.
Meng is due in court tomorrow to set a date for the extradition proceedings to start. It could be several months or even years before her case is resolved.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lu Kang (陸慷) yesterday also accused Canada and the US of abusing their bilateral extradition treaty.
He reiterated China’s demand that the US withdraw its accusations against Meng.
China urges Canada to “immediately release Ms Meng Wanzhou and let her return to China in safety while ensuring her legitimate and justifiable rights and interests and not repeat [Canada’s] mistakes,” Lu said at a daily news briefing.
In related news, state media reported that China suspects detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig of spying and stealing state secrets.
Another Canadian in detention — businessman Michael Spavor — was one of Kovrig’s main sources of intelligence, Xinhua news agency said, citing Chinese authorities.
The pair were detained in December just days after Canada arrested Meng.
Chinese authorities had previously said that the two men were under investigation on suspicion of endangering national security.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
RSS