Germany on Thursday said that it would phase out the use of components from Chinese telecom giants Huawei Technologies Co (華為) and ZTE Corp (中興) in its 5G networks in the coming years due to national security concerns.
It was the latest move by Berlin to reduce economic reliance on Beijing that some experts fear has left it vulnerable, and follows warnings from the EU that the firms pose a risk to the bloc.
Parts from Huawei and ZTE would no longer be used in “core” 5G mobile networks by the end of 2026 at the latest, the German Federal Ministry of the Interior said.
Photo: Reuters
In 5G access and transmission infrastructure, the systems of the telecom firms must be replaced by the end of 2029.
“We are protecting the central nervous systems of Germany as a business location — and we are protecting the communication of citizens, companies and the state,” German Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser said.
“We must reduce security risks and, unlike in the past, avoid one-sided dependencies,” she said.
The ministry said that 5G networks form part of Germany’s “critical infrastructure” and are important for the functioning of sectors ranging from health to transport and energy.
Telecoms networks must be protected from cyberattacks, which could be an “existential threat,” it added.
Officials have reached agreements with Germany’s 5G network operators, Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefonica, on banning Huawei and ZTE.
Government sources had already indicated in September last year that Berlin was considering such a move, although the dates announced are later than those originally envisaged to give companies time to adopt the new measures.
Faeser would not be drawn on whether she feared retaliatory measures from China, although she said that Beijing had been informed about the bans.
“For me, as interior minister, it is a matter of finding regulations for telecommunications networks, for critical infrastructure, and I have done that,” she told a news conference.
In response to the ban, Huawei said there was “no specific evidence” that the firm’s “technology has cybersecurity risks.”
“Huawei has developed into a continuously innovative, secure, and reliable telecom equipment supplier in the German market,” a spokesperson said.
Beijing’s embassy in Berlin also said the move was driven by “groundless accusations.”
“There is no evidence indicating that these Chinese companies are a danger to any country,” the embassy said, according to state news agency Xinhua.
“Whether Germany can handle this issue fairly and justly will be a touchstone for its own business environment,” it added.
Factors that authorities looked at when deciding on the ban included whether the manufacturer was directly or indirectly controlled by the Chinese government, or whether they had been involved in activities that had a detrimental impact on Germany or other EU states.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, last year described Huawei and ZTE as a risk to the bloc and called on EU member states to exclude the companies’ equipment from their mobile networks.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
RSS