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HUAWEI

Denmark expels two Huawei staff over work permit issues

Denmark has ordered the expulsion of two employees of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei because their residence and work permits were not in order, Copenhagen police said Monday.

Published: 4 February 2019 18:41 CET
Denmark expels two Huawei staff over work permit issues
Photo: REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo/Ritzau Scanpix

“On Thursday, the Copenhagen police carried out a routine check of the residence and work permits,” at Huawei's offices, a Copenhagen police source told AFP.

“In two cases, the people didn't have the proper paperwork.”

The pair, who were not identified, were ordered to leave the country, the source said.

Huawei, founded by former army engineer Ren Zhengfei, has become a leading supplier of the backbone equipment for mobile networks, particularly in developing markets thanks to cheaper prices.

Spearheading cutting-edge 5G equipment has also seen it make inroads into developed markets.

However, a growing number of Western states are turning their backs on Huawei, on concerns its technology could be a Trojan horse for Beijing's intrusive security apparatus as Chinese law requires all firms to cooperate with the intelligence services.

Huawei strenuously denies its equipment could be used for espionage.

Copenhagen police said the expulsion of the two Huawei employees was in no way linked to espionage concerns.

READ ALSO: Data of over 40,000 in Denmark may have been shared with Cambridge Analytica 

SECURITY

Swedish Huawei ban is legal, court rules

A Swedish ban on Chinese telecoms company Huawei was confirmed in court on Tuesday, citing the country's security as a just reason for banning its equipment in a 5G rollout.

Published: 23 June 2021 07:14 CEST
Swedish Huawei ban is legal, court rules
Photo: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

The administrative court in Stockholm ruled that the decision of the Swedish telecoms authority, PTS, to ban the use of equipment from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE in a new Swedish 5G telecom network last October — a move that irked Beijing — was legal.

Equipment already installed must also be removed by January 1st, 2025.

“Sweden’s security is an important reason and the administrative court has considered that it’s only the security police and the military that together have a full picture when it comes to the security situation and threats against Sweden,” judge Ulrika Melin said in a statement.

Huawei denounced the ruling, but did not say whether it would appeal.

“We are of course noting that there has been no evidence of any wrongdoings by Huawei which is being used as basis for this verdict, it is purely based on assumption,” Kenneth Fredriksen, the company’s vice-president for Central, Eastern Europe and the Nordic region, told AFP.

Huawei will now evaluate the decision and the “see what kind of actions we will take to protect our rights,” Fredriksen added.

After the UK in the summer of 2020, Sweden became the second country in Europe and the first in the EU to explicitly ban Huawei from almost all of the network infrastructure needed to run its 5G network.

Beijing had warned that PTS’ decision could have “consequences” for the Scandinavian country’s companies in China, prompting Swedish telecom giant and Huawei competitor Ericsson to worry about retaliation.

“We will continue to be available to have constructive dialogues with Swedish authorities to see if we can find pragmatic ways of taking care of security and at the same time keeping an open and fair market like Sweden has always been,” Fredriksen said.

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