Posted on 05/13/2018 6:42:17 PM PDT by Zhang Fei
ZTE, a Chinese telecommunications company with a record of systemic corruption, is bidding for major contracts in Australia, including Telstra's 5G mobile network and a transport contract in Western Australia, even after being criminally sanctioned in the United States.
An investigation by Fairfax Media has found ZTE not only paid $US12.8 million ($17 million) in bribes to secure one contract in West Africa, but had a designated internal department and multiple layers of management to approve these payments, according to a former insider.
Documents show the bribes were meticulously recorded and ran to more than 20 per cent of one contract's value, helping to explain how ZTE rapidly became the world's third largest supplier of telecommunications equipment by 2012.
The bribery revelations come just weeks after Washington banned US companies from supplying components to ZTE, following criminal charges being brought against the company for breaching sanctions with Iran and North Korea.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump surprised some by saying that even though US sanctions had hurt the Chinese phone company, he intended to help ZTE return to business. Products could contain backdoors
ZTE and its compatriot, Huawei, are also banned from bidding on government contracts in the US, over fears their products could contain backdoors allowing an element of surveillance and even control from agencies in China.
Despite ZTE's long list of misdemeanours and ongoing security concerns, the West Australian government and Telstra continue to deal with the Shenzhen-based company.
Fairfax Media has been told ZTE is one of two companies shortlisted for a $120 million contract to roll out a communications system for Perth's metropolitan rail system.
The system will control signalling and operations and is designed to ultimately run the city's driverless train network.
The other short-listed bidder for the contract is Huawei, which was banned on
(Excerpt) Read more at afr.com ...
Any thoughts?
“Taking Over” is the ChiCom agenda. Everything they can, worldwide. And we hear so little about China as a threat in the MSM.....
They doubtless pay the MSM a pretty penny to make sure we don’t hear more than so very little.
One reason Australia is a target is that their communications, ISP and telco providers are notoriously monopolistic and notoriously expensive for poor/slow service. They are also rather censorious although that may or may not bother the Chinese.
Bribes given to AFRICANS..?
Good God, I’m shocked. SHOCKED..!!! (here are your winnings, sir..)
Ehm.....not nice, but it’s no more evil than France, which makes bribes given to leaders in Africa (and many other places) tax-deductible.
And so what..? Yes, they are real business expenses, in this France and China are simply being realistic.
Yet covertly supplying Iran and North Korea is a totally different kettle of fish and for that ZTE does really merit retribution.
Cutting off ZTE from US phone inputs was absolutely the right thing and we shouldn’t let up at all.
What’s more, when we do retaliate like that it should be COMPLETELY owing to selfish interest, even if the rest of the world benefits hugely (which is probably does).
I have no hostility to most of the outside world but that IS the way things are run in 90% of the world.
From my dad who was stationed in the Phillipines during WW2. Bribery is the standard method of business over there. It is just simply what they do.
“Cutting off ZTE from US phone inputs was absolutely the right thing and we shouldn’t let up at all.”
Trump already let up and is begging to get those contracts back in force. See other thread.
If ZTE controls any significant part of AUS comms, then I assume they would have the potential to collect and archive all comms.
Not a good thing. That alone is reason not to let them in. The money/bribes are secondary.
OTOH, it looks like the penalties should not be reversed while the PLA is in charge of ZTE, nor any sensitive contracts given out to ZTE or to Huawei.
Giving them control of autonomous traffic control seems foolish.
Which Trump?
President Trump doesn’t beg, so who are you talking about?
> “Taking Over” is the ChiCom agenda. <
Right you are. ZTE moving into Australia is not business news. It’s political news.
Any Red Chinese business is linked to the PLA or CCP operations. Take that as a given.
Never let them anywhere near your telecommunications systems or data-collection/storage operations.
They are Communist spies - PERIOD.
I don’t believe foreign companies in general should be allowed to own critical infrastructure, but, yes, I think there are specific risks associated with China right now.
Trouble is... our telcos are pretty awful currently, so the offer may seem very attractive.
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