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Huawei exec's extradition hearing pushed to March
by Staff Writers
Vancouver (AFP) Jan 29, 2019

Huawei: what you need to know
Beijing (AFP) Jan 29, 2019 - Chinese tech giant Huawei overtook Apple to become the second-largest smartphone seller in the world in 2018.

It remains a privately held company, and little is known about its reclusive founder Ren Zhengfei, a former Chinese army engineer who rarely speaks to the media.

The company was dragged into the spotlight late last year when Ren's daughter and senior Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada at the request of the United States.

AFP takes a look at the company's history:

- Ex-soldier founder -

Ren founded Huawei in 1987 with a few thousand dollars.

In a rare interview with selected foreign media earlier this year, Ren said he only saw his children for one month a year while in the military.

After founding Huawei he worked 16-hour days, with barely any time for his family.

"Especially my youngest daughter, I was even more distant from her. So all I can say is, as a father, I feel I owe them," according to a transcript of the interview.

- Number 2 smartphone maker -

The Shenzhen-based company is one of the world's leading suppliers of telecommunications networks and has a presence in 170 countries.

It is the second-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world after Samsung Electronics, having overtaken Apple in 2018, and is ranked 72nd on the Fortune Global 500.

The company expects sales revenue of $108.5 billion in 2018, rotating chairman Guo Ping said in a New Year message to staff in December.

- Government links? -

Ren remains Huawei's president but there are concerns that his former role could mean close links with the military and government, which Huawei has consistently denied.

The arrest of Ren's daughter, Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, has been characterised by Beijing as a means of keeping the company out of world markets.

- 5G behemoth -

Fifth-generation mobile communications are the next milestone in the digital revolution, bringing near-instantaneous connectivity and vast data capacity.

They will enable the widespread adoption of futuristic technologies such as artificial intelligence and automated cars and factories -- advances China is desperate to lead.

Huawei's status as a leading world supplier of the backbone equipment for telecoms systems gives China an inside track for leading this field.

- Daughter, executive, heir? -

Described as the "princess" of Huawei, Meng was a possible heir to the throne.

She had quietly risen through the ranks at the firm, sparking speculation that she would one day succeed her father, making her one of the world's top female corporate bosses.

Meng, who for unknown reasons took her mother's surname, has been keen to stress her own "humble" beginnings, with Chinese media reporting that one of her first tasks involved secretarial work.

- Blocked in countries -

Over the past year, various countries have raised security concerns about Huawei's technology, barring the firm from participating in the 5G network rollouts.

This includes the US, Australia and New Zealand.

Britain's largest mobile operator BT said it would remove Huawei equipment from existing 3G and 4G network while several European Union countries, Japan and Canada are still examining the risks of using Huawei equipment.

The extradition hearing for a top Huawei executive at the center of a diplomatic row between Ottawa and Beijing was pushed back to March on Tuesday, after the US unveiled sweeping charges against her and the Chinese tech giant.

Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's chief financial officer and the daughter of its founder, was indicted along with Huawei and two affiliates in a US case related to alleged Iran sanctions violations that has inflamed tensions with China.

She was arrested at Washington's request on December 1 as she changed planes in Vancouver, and was later released on bail pending a decision on extradition to the US.

In Meng's first court appearance since being released, the judge moved the start of her extradition hearing to March 6, a month later than previously scheduled, in order to allow the defense time to review the evidence in the case.

Extradition cases can take months or years, noted David Lametti, Canada's new attorney general.

"By the time all the individual's rights are exhausted, they can actually take a long time," he told journalists in Ottawa.

At the end of the process, if a judge orders an extradition, the attorney general would have the "final say," he added.

The case has drawn Canada into an escalating diplomatic crisis with Beijing, which has detained two Canadians in what was widely seen as an act of retaliation for Meng's arrest.

Over the weekend, Canada sacked its ambassador to China after he said that he believed the US extradition request was flawed.

China reacted furiously to the US criminal charges, saying they were the product of "strong political motivations and political manipulations."

The company also denied any wrongdoing.

Canadian officials have confirmed to AFP that they received a formal extradition request from the US.

The US Justice Department has announced 13 charges against Meng, Huawei and two affiliates.

The indictment was unsealed as China's top trade negotiator arrived in Washington for high-stakes talks with US officials, which could complicate efforts to avert a deepening of their trade war.

In addition, 10 US federal charges were filed against two Huawei affiliates for allegedly stealing technology from T-Mobile.

- 'Brazen and persistent' -

FBI Director Christopher Wray said both sets of charges "expose Huawei's brazen and persistent actions to exploit American companies and financial institutions, and to threaten the free and fair global marketplace."

But acting US Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said there was nothing in the indictment that alleged Chinese government involvement in either case.

The Chinese foreign ministry accused Washington of using "state power to discredit and crack down on specific Chinese companies in an attempt to strangle the enterprises' legitimate and legal operations."

It renewed Beijing's demand for the US to drop its warrant against Meng and for Canada to release her.

The accusations against Meng allege that between 2007 and 2017, she, Huawei and subsidiaries sought to mask their business with Iran in violation of US and UN sanctions on the country.

Meng in particular "repeatedly lied" to bankers about the relationships between the companies, especially with Skycom, a Huawei affiliate in Iran, according to the charges.

That violated US laws, the Justice Department said, because the Iran business involved US-dollar transactions processed by banks through the United States.

Huawei and the affiliates also lied to US authorities, obstructing the investigation, they said.

The second case charged that Huawei made a concerted effort to steal technology related to a phone-testing robot dubbed Tappy from a T-Mobile USA lab in Washington state.


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CYBER WARS
Huawei ban blamed as new Australian mobile network axed
Sydney (AFP) Jan 29, 2019
An Australian telecommunications company on Tuesday cancelled plans to create the country's fourth mobile phone network, blaming a recent security-driven ban on China's Huawei. TPG claimed having its "principal equipment vendor" barred from 5G networks meant the project was no longer viable. The company said had already spent Aus$100 million (US$71 million) on building a new network, a potential boon for consumers. But the decision could smooth the way for government approval of a merger bet ... read more

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