Huawei, a Communication Upgrade Headache

"The federal government has no choice but to announce that Huawei will not be allowed [given Chinese national security laws and the United Ststes' position on Huawei]."

"This would be an easy way to demonstrate to the Americans that we are taking security questions related to China seriously."

Guy Saint-Jacques, former Canadian ambassador to China 

"All of our key allies have banned Huawei gear [banning Huawei is a] no-brainer."

"I don't think I would expect a lot of immediate dramatic reaction on China's part, just simply because the Olympics are coming up. And China wouldn't want to do anything that would rock the boat."

"And so if you're going to pull a band-aid off, you might as well do it now [since Canada-China relations are at such a low ebb in any event]."

David Welch, professor of political science, University of Waterloo

"[Going the same route as our Five Eyes allies who have taken action to block or restrict Huawei equipment is] of critical importance."

"All of the members have to have roughly the same perspective on the security of their broader infrastructure networks. But there's also the kind of political symbolic perspective. It would have been significant had ... one of the members of the Western alliance sort of broken ranks and embraced Huawei when everyone else was rejecting it."

"If we don't ban Huawei gear, it's very likely our Five Eyes allies will say, all right, you can't participate in the same way that you've been participating because there are potential leaks in your communications infrastructure."

Kim Nossal, professor emeritus of international relations, Queen's University

The Huawei brand logo is seen on a building in the sprawling Huawei headquarters campus in Shenzhen, China, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

"[In the time period since the government's 5G security review was first announced in 2018], existing rules have remained in effect, and so we have continued selling network equipment -- several hundred million dollars worth -- to Canadian operators."

"Most Canadian cities and provinces have had Huawei equipment in their networks for many years, without incident. Indeed, we are proud of our security record in Canada."

"For years, Huawei equipment has been closely and routinely scrutinized by the government and its security agencies. There have been no security incidents -- none -- relating to Huawei equipment in Canada."

Alykhan Velshi, vice-president of corporate affairs, Huawei Canada

Through the last few years with Canada and the world at large grappling with Beijing's 'hostage diplomacy' whereby the regime whose rage is readily piqued, decides to take a foreigner into custody charging them with exploitation or drug smuggling or more commonly, sabotage, in reaction to what the Communist Party of China sees as an affront to China's dignity, as punishment for lack of respect and discretion, two Canadians spent almost three years in prison following the arrest on an extradition warrant by the U.S. for Huawei's CFO.

Countries the world over have condemned China for its violently harsh treatment of its minority Uyghur population in Xnjiang, along with the persecution of Tibetans. Its territorial claims to disputed areas of the South China Sea and its actions in Hong Kong denying its agreed-upon semi-autonomy to quash its aspirations in democracy, alongside its threats to Taiwan have not endeared China to much of the world. Under President Xi Jinping with his ruler-for-life ambitions The CCP has become increasingly belligerent.

Its Belt and Road initiative to gain it greater trade advantages and financially obligating impoverished countries in Africa and the Middle East in indebtedness to the massive infrastructure loans in pursuing the widespread, China-advantageous old Silk Road spells out Beijing's route to the future as a world power. But for the West in particular, it is China's ongoing cyber-spying in intelligence gathering and exploiting of corporate and military secrets through cyber surveillance and rogue cyber-warfare that disturbs the free world.

Of the Five Eyes intelligence coalition comprised of Britain, New Zealand, Australia the United States and Canada, only Canada's government alone has failed to declare that its 5G national communications upgrade would exclude Huawei. Canada has made no response whatever to China's constant interference in internal Canadian affairs, its covert infiltration of Canadian society, academia, corporate business, and politics. Nor the moves Beijing has taken to punish Canada for its Meng Wanzhou detainment through halting its imports of key agricultural products.

Despite all the diplomatic 'tiger' slings and arrows Beijing has directed Canada's way, the Trudeau government has continued to tread lightly, absorbing the insults while abstaining from taking counter actions itself. China has warned Canada of 'consequences' should Huawei not be included in its 5G upgrade. Canada quavers, China emits bellicose threats. Huawei has been banned in the West's communications systems a little late in the day, but later is better than not at all. 

The fear that Huawei equipment in the next-generation wireless networking risks security is a well-founded caution, particularly in view of China's laws stating that companies with any state connection -- as almost all have -- are legally obligated to cooperate with China's intelligence services. China appeals to its expatriate community's loyalty to China, to be faithful to their country of origin by willingly cooperating with Chinese intelligence as well.

In the arguments for banning Huawei by Canadian China experts, former Ambassador Saint-Jacques predicts China would "probably retaliate by banning one of our exports", or some such similar and symbolic measure of its displeasure with Canada. Pointing out that to do so would mean selecting a product they would be able to obtain elsewhere, something fungible, so that China would not deprive itself and its population of badly needed products like pork and soya. With agri-foods "there is a limited number of countries where they can source their products", he points out.

Large Canadian telecoms would not be impacted deleteriously by the Huawei ban, since having pro-actively moved independently, to change to Nokia products while awaiting a government decision, to build their 5G networks with equipment from other sources. There "seems to be a lot of agonizing over a decision which, in effect,  has already been made" by Canada's large telecoms, noted Fen Hampson, professor of international affairs at Carleton University.

The situation will hit other, smaller telecom companies who will be faced with the expense and work of removing Huawei equipment from their existing infrastructure, and whether government would be prepared to underwrite their costs. Even for the leading wireless carriers the cost of removing Huawei equipment would land in the hundreds of millions of dollars. As Telus informed government in3018, "a full ban on Huawei for 5G will force operators to replace their existing 4G Huawei equipment -- an expensive and complex proposition over an elongated time frame".

Should the Trudeau government finally proceed with banning Huawei, national and cybersecurity experts warn that prohibition of Huawei equipment won't alone ensure securing Canada's 5G networks against cybertheft and intrusion. Toronto-based Citizen Lab's reported cautioned that banning Huawei "will not solve the issue of foreign operators conducting espionage, disruption, or attack operations against the Government of Canada, private companies, or private persons who rely on non-Huawei equipment." 

Meng Wanzhou delivers a statement to members of the media as she exits provincial court in Vancouver, Canada, on Sept. 24. Photographer: Jimmy Jeong/Bloomberg

"[Security concerns go beyond Huawei]; All 5G equipment has terrible cybersecurity flaws."

"China doesn't need Huawei to hack us."

"China can hack us right now."

"Banning Huawei doesn't make us safe."

Stehanie Carvin, associate professor of international relations, Carleton University

Beijing's Deadly Stranglehold

"The federal government has to come to the conclusion that the appeasement strategy that has been followed so far, has produced no result."
"That's the kind of behaviour we have to prevent going into the future. We are a small player for China, but I think we can exact a price especially when we're working with others [to prevent Beijing's bullying tactics]."
"The Chinese must come to the conclusion that the extraction process [of Huawei's CFO Meng Wanzhou on an American extradition warrant] will drag on for years and they decided to up the ante by launching the formal trial [of two Canadians arrested in China under false pretenses of espionage]."
Guy Saint-Jacques, former Canadian Ambassador to China

"The case has already been developed, it's very likely that they [abducted Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor] will be found guilty of these serious charges."
"The trial itself, because it impinges on national security matters, would probably only amount to half a day. And we [Canada] wouldn't have any access to the proceedings."
"They [Chinese Communist Party] don't have the principle of judicial independence. And therefore, these decisions are made by the Chinese Communist Party."
Charles Burton, associate professor, Brock University

The two Canadians, abducted a year and a half ago in China while they were there on business affairs, as Communist China state retaliation against the arrest several weeks earlier of Huawei's Chief Financial Officer, the daughter of its founder, in response to a U.S. warrant for her arrest and extradition to the U.S., are pawns in a Canada-China standoff, and are guaranteed a guilty verdict on the trumped-up charges of espionage, endangering China's security.

Imprisoned, eventually charged with the crime of espionage, formally ratified just a week ago, the two men have been held virtually incommunicado; not permitted to see their families, to hire lawyers, with only a few sporadic consular visits. Now, under COVID rules, not even that; consular visits as rare as hen's teeth, no longer allowed. They have been exposed to relentless questioning and suffer dire physical and psychological conditions, with constant light and subtle but mind-destroying tactics, given no access to a course of legal action to defend themselves.

Meng Wanzhou leaves her Vancouver home with a security detail.

Don Mackinnon/AFP/Getty Images

Huawei's CFO, on the other hand, has been given bail, and leave to live a normal life in Vancouver at either of her two luxury mansions. Charges against Michael Kovrig, a Canadian diplomat on leave, are "completely baseless" and "groundless", according to Robert Malley, president of the International Crisis Group, a conflict resolution organization that had hired him. In his work, Kovrig was "open and transparent"; on the other hand, Chinese officials have been anything but; failing to provide any evidence that the two men were involved in espionage activities as Chinese authorities claim..

They are being used as leverage, to force the government of Canada, to secure their release by waiving the U.S. arrest warrant, despite the extradition treaty between the United States and Canada, and allowing Meng Wanzhou to go free. "It's deeply disappointing, but it's wholly unsurprising. From the very beginning, this has been a political case, not a legal one", observed Mr. Malley, of the standoff between the government of Canada's position and the coercive one of China.

"We are using a wide range of public and private measures to ensure that everything is being done to get the Michaels home", assured Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The two Michaels could be forgiven in believing otherwise. For in response to Beijing's belligerent and strident accusations of Canada behaving in a 'racist' manner by arresting Ms.Meng, and refusing to see 'the error of their ways', releasing her and apologizing, thus securing the release of the Michaels, Canada has been adamant that its position follows the rule of law.

Meng Wanzhou leaves B.C. Supreme Court after losing bid to stop her extradition

But the government of Canada also has not committed itself to reacting in a manner that would give further offence to China. Whereas China arrested two Canadians without cause, gave two other Canadians arrested on drug trafficking charges death penalties, halted the importation of canola products, beef and swine exports from Canada as further penalties, Canada has quietly sought to appease Beijing. Where it has the option of reciprocating on trade issues through the imposition of stiff duties on Chinese imports into Canada, and withdrawal of Canada from the Asian Bank controlled by Beijing, for starters.

The suspense around the government of Canada holding off on making a final decision over whether to allow China's premier telecommunications giant Huawei, whose growth and prominence came at the expense of Canada's Nortel Communications when Huawei used cyberespionage to hijack Nortel secret data to benefit themselves and in the process bringing Nortel to ruin should finally spur Canada to reject Huawei as a partner in Canada's 5G upgrade as its Five Eyes partners have done. To such a scenario, Beijing warned Canada there would be 'consequences'.

Chinese prosecutors said Friday that Michael Kovrig, right, and Michael Spavor have been charged. (The Associated Press/International Crisis Group/The Canadian Press)