Huawei ‘Doubles’ Up As Spy Agency? Another Chinese Executive Charged With Espionage In Poland

On Wednesday (11 January), Poland charged a Chinese sales director of telecom major, Huawei Technologies Co. with espionage and put him under detention, reports Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Officials also arrested a Polish national on the same charge. Poland neither accused Huawei itself of any wrongdoing nor did it reveal if the two arrested persons compromised any sensitive information.

This development in Europe comes after the high-profile arrest of Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer, Meng Wanzhou, by Canadian authorities, on allegations that the company violated US’s sanctions on Iran.

The US and other European countries have often alleged that Huawei was closely aligned with the authoritarian Chinese government and works in tandem to assist its intelligence operations across the world.

Huawei, which is the largest supplier of telecom equipment in the world, has been accused of transferring sensitive telecom data of overseas citizens to China.

Also, it is also alleged that Huawei built its telecom empire by stealing patents and other intellectual property (IP) from non-Chinese companies.

"You should not turn a blind eye when states, as a matter of national policy, are stealing intellectual property from their competitors," US National Security Adviser John Bolton had earlier stated. "Huawei is one company we've been concerned about. There are others as well."

Taking precautions

Countries like the US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, have already banned Huawei’s network infrastructure products and many other European nations have upped the scrutiny of its equipment.

Also Read: China Looks Out For Its Own: Threatens Canada Of Grave Consequences If Huawei CFO Is Not Released