Won't allow Huawei inside US due to national security threat, says Trump

International News

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said his administration will not allow Huawei, the Chinese technology giant, inside the country as it is related to the national security.
"We're not allowing Huawei into our country. We have not changed on that," Trump told reporters responding to a question.
"We can do business for non-security things with Huawei because that's -- we'll do that. But anything having to do with the national security, we're not dealing with Huawei," Trump said.
Meanwhile, Senators Marco Rubio and Ron Wyden sent a letter, urging Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to update the State Department's travel advisories to alert US citizens travelling to countries that use Chinese surveillance and monitoring systemsThey urged Pompeo to tell people about the threat they face through the use of Chinese technologies like "smart city" and "safe city" systems.
"The Chinese government is exporting advanced surveillance and monitoring systems as part of a broad effort to spread its authoritarian model abroad and influence foreign countries," they said.Chinese companies like Huawei and China National Electronics Import and Export Corporation are selling, loaning, or transferring to foreign governments so-called "smart city" and "safe city" systemsa broad array of surveillance and monitoring technologies, including cameras, facial recognition along with artificial intelligence and cloud systems, that can be used to track and monitor individuals, the Senators said in the letter.

 According to The New York Times, more than 18 countries now use Chinese intelligent monitoring systems.These include Germany, which has strong privacy and human rights protections, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, which do not, the letter said...Read More

Big tech firms cut employees' access to Huawei, 5G rollout in jeopardy

Company News

Some of the world’s biggest tech companies have told their employees to stop talking about technology and technical standards with counterparts at Huawei Technologies Co Ltd in response to the recent US blacklisting of the Chinese tech firm, according to people familiar with the matter.
Chipmakers Intel Corp and Qualcomm Inc, mobile research firm InterDigital Wireless Inc and South Korean carrier LG Uplus have restricted employees from informal conversations with Huawei, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker, the sources said.
Such discussions are a routine part of international meetings where engineers gather to set technical standards for communications technologies, including the next generation of mobile networks known as 5G.
The US Department of Commerce has not banned contact between companies and Huawei. On May 16, the agency put Huawei on a blacklist, barring it from doing business with US companies without government approval, then a few days later it authorized US companies to interact with Huawei in standards bodies through August “as necessary for the development of 5G standards.” The Commerce Department reiterated that position on Friday in response to a question from Reuters.

 Nevertheless, at least a handful of major US and overseas tech companies are telling their employees to limit some forms of direct interaction, the people said, as they seek to avoid any potential issues with the US government.Intel and Qualcomm said they have provided compliance instructions to employees, but declined to comment on them further.A spokesman for InterDigital said it has provided guidance to engineers to ensure the company is in compliance with US regulations.

Huawei CFO set to return to Vancouver court as China-Canada fallout grows

International News

Huawei Technologies Co.’s chief financial officer is set to return to a Vancouver courtroom Wednesday ahead of planned extradition hearings as deteriorating relations with China over her arrest exact a growing toll on Canada.

Meng Wanzhou is scheduled to appear for another preliminary hearing at the Supreme Court of British Columbia as her defense lawyers seek to discredit the US handover request and argue Canada improperly arrested her in December at Vancouver’s airport. Those matters must be dealt with first before extradition hearings can begin, her defense has said.

The main focus of Wednesday’s appearance, set for 10 am Vancouver time, is to schedule subsequent court dates, including those related to any legal applications that Meng’s team plans to bring forward ahead of extradition hearings, according to a statement from Canada’s justice department. There may also be discussions about administrative matters including minor bail amendments, it said.

China has accused Canada of abetting "a political persecution" against its biggest technology company and has demanded the release of Meng, daughter of billionaire Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei. Since December, China has detained two Canadians on national security grounds, holding them in secret jails. China also sentenced two other Canadians to death over drug charges, halted Canadian canola imports and last week suspended import permits for two major Canadian pork exporters.


 Meng, released on C$10 million ($7.4 million) bail in December -- has been living with her husband and youngest daughter at one of the family’s two luxury homes in Vancouver, speaking regularly by phone to her father. She had indicated in bail hearings she would like to move from her house valued at C$5 million to her other C$13.3 million residence once renovations at the latter are complete.