Upon listening to BBC’s Newscast podcast on Huawei, I looked into this Chinese telecom company, and why exactly we have all been hearing its name all across the news lately.
In January of this year, the UK agreed on allowing the Chinese telecom giant, Huawei, to participate in 35% of their journey towards its 5G networks. After months of criticism, particularly from the US, and nationwide fears, they are now looking to change their plans.
Although Huawei officials have long claimed to be independent from the Chinese Communist Party, both the US as well as citizens of the UK themselves have argued that China’s current climate and behaviour towards Hong Kong proves to indicate a warning sign. This includes perhaps spying and a window for the CCP to gain information under the guise of a mutually-beneficial agreement. In May, the US introduced a sanctions bill to protect national security through limiting Huawei’s ability to access US built microchips and software. After this, western intelligence agencies and the UK's National Cyber Security Centre began a thorough review of this decision. China’s tension with Hong Kong in recent times have grown the idea that the country is becoming more and more authoritarian, which in turn has caused a rise in concern over allowing a close partnership with them in the UK. As stated in the podcast, “Members of Parliament argue that Huawei acts as a vehicle to allow spying by the CCP - they want no involvement with Huawei”.
Tom Tugenhadt, chair of the China Research Group, stated : "We recognise the need for businesses to deliver and roll out better and faster communication as fast as possible but the government must be able to deliver a safe network by the next election." Huawei has been embedded into the UK’s telecom infrastructure for 15 years now, but despite the MP’s views, many companies have claimed they need at least 5 years to remove the equipment if the UK wishes to avoid blackouts, excessive costs and delays in government plans in the journey to deliver the new and fast broadband to citizens.
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I highly recommend giving this podcast a listen for a deeper understanding of the company and the role it plays for the UK! https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08k4207
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