New Zealand raises concerns with China on South China Sea, Taiwan

 New Zealand ... expressed concerns over the South China Sea and tensions in the Taiwan Strait ...

March 25, 20238:54 AM GMT+8

New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta speaks during a session of the UN Human Rights Council, which voted to hold an urgent debate about Russia's deadly invasion of Ukraine at Kyiv's request, amid widespread international condemnation of Moscow's attack, in Geneva, Switzerland February 28, 2022. Fabrice Coffrini/Pool via REUTERS

SYDNEY, March 25 (Reuters) - New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta said on Saturday she had expressed concerns over the South China Sea and tensions in the Taiwan Strait during talks with her Chinese counterpart at the end of a visit to Beijing.

Mahuta also said in a statement she "noted New Zealand’s deep concerns regarding the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong", during her meeting with Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Qin Gang.

"Nanaia Mahuta expressed concerns over developments in the South China Sea and increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait," the foreign minister's statement said.Mahuta said she reiterated New Zealand’s condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. China is a key ally of Russia and both have criticised the U.S. and NATO for undermining global stability.

Mahuta arrived in China on Wednesday for the four-day trip, the first by a New Zealand minister since 2019, and also met China's top diplomat Wang Yi as well as business and women leaders.

Wang told Mahuta that China and New Zealand had always respected and trusted each other, according to a statement by the Chinese foreign ministry.

New Zealand has long been seen as the moderate voice on China in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance also involving the United States, Australia, Britain, and Canada. But New Zealand's tone on security and China's growing presence in the South Pacific toughened in the past year after China and the Solomon Islands struck a security pact.

New Zealand has consistently expressed concerns about the potential militarisation of the Pacific, amid China's military buildup in the South China Sea.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the option of using force to take the island under its control, and claims a large part of the South China Sea.

Mahuta said the countries looked forward to resuming in-person dialogue on a range of issues following a gap of several years in face-to-face contacts.

She invited Qin to visit New Zealand, and also flagged a potential visit by New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins to China, perhaps this year. Hipkins became prime minister in January after Jacinda Ardern resigned.

Reporting by Sam McKeith; Editing by Stephen Coates

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/new-zealand-raises-concerns-with-china-south-china-sea-taiwan-2023-03-25/

Canada bans China's Huawei Technologies from 5G networks

 Ottawa joins allies fearing Beijing could compel company to aid espionage

A temporarily closed Huawei store in Beijing amid coronavirus restrictions on May 12. Huawei says that it has over 1,500 employees in Canada, two-thirds of whom work in research and development, and that there will be Huawei equipment in Canada for years to come.   © AP

May 20, 2022 09:32 JST
https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Canada-bans-China-s-Huawei-Technologies-from-5G-networks

TORONTO (AP) -- Wireless carriers in Canada won't be allowed to install Huawei equipment in their high-speed 5G networks, the Canadian government said Thursday, joining allies in banning the giant Chinese technology company.

Canada had been the only member of the Five Eyes intelligence-pooling alliance not to bar or restrict use of equipment from Huawei Technologies in its 5G networks. The U.S. and the other members -- Britain, Australia and New Zealand -- previously banned Huawei.

"We are announcing our intention to prohibit the inclusion of Huawei and ZTE products and services in Canada's telecommunications systems," Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said.

Canada's ban also includes ZTE, one of China's biggest tech companies and one that is state-owned.

Champagne added that "providers who already have this equipment installed will be required to cease its use and remove it." He said Canada's wireless companies won't be offered compensation.

Canada's major wireless companies already had started working with other providers.

"There are many hostile actors who are ready to exploit vulnerabilities in our defenses," Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said.

Mendicino said the government did an extensive review and is redoubling efforts to protect Canadians.

The U.S. government has been lobbying allies like Canada for years to exclude Huawei from new ultrafast 5G mobile networks over worries that China's communist rulers could compel the company to help with cyberespionage. The U.S. has warned it would reconsider intelligence sharing with any countries that use Huawei gear.

The company has repeatedly denied the allegations.

"We're disappointed but not surprised. We're surprised it took the government so long to make a decision," Huawei spokesman Alykhan Velshi said. "We see this as a political decision, one born of political pressure primarily from the United States."

Velshi said there will be Huawei equipment in Canada for years to come. He said the company has over 1,500 employees in Canada, and two-thirds of them work in research and development.

The development of 5G, or fifth-generation, networks will give people speedier online connections and provide vast data capacity to meet ravenous demand as more and more things link to the internet and as innovations such as virtual reality, immersive gaming and autonomous vehicles emerge.

Huawei is the biggest global supplier of network gear for phone and internet companies. It has been a symbol of China's progress in becoming a technological world power -- and a subject of U.S. security and law enforcement concerns. Some analysts say Chinese companies have flouted international rules and norms and stolen technology.

China, the U.S. and Canada completed what was effectively a high-stakes prisoner swap last year involving a top executive from Huawei who had been charged with fraud by the U.S.

China jailed two Canadians shortly after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, Huawei Technologies' chief financial officer and the daughter of the company's founder, on a U.S. extradition request. They were sent back to Canada in September, the same day Meng returned to China after reaching a deal with U.S. authorities in her case.

Many countries labeled China's action "hostage politics," while China has described the charges against Huawei and Meng as a politically motivated attempt to hold back China's economic and technological development.

"The decision should have been taken two or three years ago, but it's a case of better late than never," Guy Saint-Jacques, a former Canadian ambassador to China, said of the move to ban Huawei. "We are faced with a China that is a lot more aggressive in the conduct of its foreign policy but also in the way it obtains information to achieve its goals."

Saint-Jacques said that under Chinese law no company can refuse a request from the Chinese government to share information, so it would have been impossible to allow Huawei's participation.

He expects China to retaliate.

"I expect we will hear from them pretty rapidly," he said. "They use trade as a weapon, and I suspect that's what we'll see in this case."

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Canada-bans-China-s-Huawei-Technologies-from-5G-networks

Western allies condemn Hong Kong election over ‘erosion’ of democracy

 G7 countries expressed their ‘grave concern over the erosion of democratic elements’ after Sunday’s election.

BY THIBAULT SPIRLET

December 21, 2021 11:42 am

All 90 seats but one were won by pro-establishment candidates in Hong Kong's Legislative Council Election | Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

The EU, the G7 and Five Eyes leaders on Monday expressed their “grave concern” after Sunday’s Hong Kong’s Legislative Council Election (LegCo), where pro-China candidates claimed an overwhelming victory marked by a historic low turnout.

“The European Union regrets this violation of democratic principles and political pluralism,” the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said in a statement.

Since the 2020 National Security Law and Hong Kong electoral reforms passed in March, amid intense pro-democracy protests against the bill, Hong Kong’s political system allows only “patriots” — according to Beijing’s definition — to run for office and criminalizes dissent.

All 90 seats but one were won by pro-establishment candidates, according to the South China Morning Post. Only 30 percent of Hong Kong’s 4.4 million eligible voters cast their ballots, the lowest turnout since Britain handed Hong Kong over to China in 1997.

G7 countries also raised concerns in a statement to express their “grave concern over the erosion of democratic elements” in Hong Kong. They added that the changes to the electoral system, which included the “reduction of the number of directly elected seats and establishment of a new vetting process to severely restrict the choice of candidates on the ballot paper, undermined Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy under the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ principle.”

In a more assertive statement, the Five Eyes countries — the U.S., the U.K. and Canada, which are also in the G7, plus Australia and New Zealand — said they were “gravely concerned at the wider chilling effect of the National Security Law and the growing restrictions on freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.”

“We urge the People’s Republic of China to act in accordance with its international obligations to respect protected rights and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong,” they said.

Under the “one country, two systems” principle, Hong Kong, one of China’s Special Administrative Regions (SAR), can continue to have its own government system and benefit from a high level of autonomy. The EU and G7 leaders all hold the position that the National Security Law effectively puts in jeopardy Hong Kong’s special status, and called on China to abide by the principle and international commitment to democratic representation.

“The Central Government of China has firmly implemented the principle of One Country, Two Systems and the Basic Law, and supported the HKSAR in developing democracy in an orderly manner in accordance with law,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Monday, adding the Hong Kong’s election “was held in a smooth and orderly fashion in accordance with law.”

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-g7-condemn-hong-kong-election-violation-democratic-principles/