Huawei sacks employee arrested in Poland on spying charges

HONG KONG/WARSAW (Reuters) - Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei said on Saturday it had sacked an employee arrested in Poland on spying charges in a case that could intensify Western security concerns about the company.

Poland’s internal affairs minister, Joachim Brudzinski, called for the European Union and NATO to work on a joint position over whether to exclude Huawei from their markets following the arrest of the Chinese employee and a former Polish security official on Friday.

Huawei, the world’s biggest producer of telecommunications equipment, faces intense scrutiny in the West over its relationship with China’s government and U.S.-led allegations that its devices could be used by Beijing for spying.

No evidence has been produced publicly and the firm has repeatedly denied the accusations, but several Western countries have restricted Huawei’s access to their markets.

In August, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a bill that barred the U.S. government from using Huawei equipment and is mulling an executive order that would also ban U.S. companies from doing so.

Brudzinski said Poland wanted to continue cooperating with China but that a discussion was needed on whether to exclude Huawei from some markets.

“There are concerns about Huawei within NATO as well. It would make most sense to have a joint stance, among EU member states and NATO members,” he told private broadcaster RMF FM.

“We want relations with China that are good, intensive and attractive for both sides,” he added.

Seeking to distance itself from the incident, Huawei said in a statement it had sacked Wang Weijing, whose “alleged actions have no relation to the company.”

“In accordance with the terms and conditions of Huawei’s labor contract, we have made this decision because the incident has brought Huawei into disrepute,” the statement said.

“usual suspects”

Trump’s Deplorable Intervention Over Huawei
His careless words are an affront to the rule of law.
By Editorial Board
December 19, 2018, 5:30 PM CST
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-12-19/trump-huawei-trade-comments-an-affront-to-rule-of-law

Earlier this month, at the request of American prosecutors, Canadian authorities arrested Meng as part of a probe into sanctions violations. Trump then volunteered that he might get involved — if the price was right. “If I think it’s good for what will be certainly the largest trade deal ever made — which is a very important thing — what’s good for national security — I would certainly intervene if I thought it was necessary,” he said.

This is deplorable. Politicizing Meng’s arrest is an affront to basic civic values. It endangers Americans doing business in China. It makes a mockery of broader U.S. sanctions policy, which is apparently now up for deal-making. It’s an affront to Canada, which was trying to do the right thing and is seeing its citizens detained for its trouble.

Donald Trump’s deplorable intervention over Huawei
By David Shipley
20 December 2018 — 12:56pm
https://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/donald-trump-s-deplorable-intervention-over-huawei-20181220-p50ned.html

With his comments on the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, an executive at the Chinese electronics giant Huawei Technologies, President Trump has threatened to transform a misguided trade war with China into something far more dangerous.

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