Huawei and governments that live in glass houses
Even in the strictest technological environments, typically characterized by pragmatism, concrete specifications and objectivity, reputation is still an extremely important and valuable asset. We can discuss the benefits of this or that device until we’re blue in the face, but what really counts is the result of tests to determine certain parameters under standardized conditions. It’s the same with security: we can put forward all the hypotheses we like based on geopolitics, strategy or even culture, but at some point we’re going to have to put some real evidence on the table. A few weeks ago I discussed this in an article entitled “Extraordinary statements require extraordinary evidence”, and on Tuesday, during the second day of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, one of Huawei’s rotating chairman, Guo Ping, used exactly the same argument at the plenary conference, employing an ironic and highly communicative style very different to typical Chinese corporate orthodoxy.
Let’s be clear: for the time being, neither the Trump administration nor previous governments have provided any evidence to back the accusations against Chinese companies, most of which are outlined in a highly speculative 2012 Congressional report, other than the kind of corporate espionage similar to that carried out by all technology companies on new products and — when they have an…
