Nation: China urges rights of Huawei manager
▶ Poland claims man was involved in espionage, company fires him
China’s Embassy in Poland has urged Warsaw to deal with the arrest of a Huawei employee fairly and lawfully and said it opposes any unfounded accusations.
The remarks come after media reports on Friday that said Poland had arrested a Huawei employee for alleged involvement in espionage.
The embassy said Saturday that it will monitor developments and protect the legitimate rights of Chinese citizens. It also asked the Polish foreign ministry to arrange a consular visit as soon as possible.
Huawei said it had fired Wang Weijing, who was arrested on suspicion of breaking Polish law, the company said in a statement on Saturday.
“Huawei has decided to terminate the employment of Wang Weijing. His alleged actions have no relation to the company,” according to the statement sent to the Global Times on Saturday.
Huawei further explained that in accordance with the terms and conditions of Huawei’s labor contract, the company made the decision because the incident in question has brought Huawei into disrepute.
Reuters reported that the Poland’s Internal Security Agency detained a Chinese citizen and a former Polish security official on January 8 over spying allegations, citing Stanislaw Zaryn, a spokesman for the Polish security services. The two men have been informed of the charges against them and will be held for three months. Sources said Wang is the sales manager of Huawei in Poland.
Huawei complies with all applicable laws and regulations in the countries where it operates, and the company requires every employee to abide by the laws and regulations in the countries where they are based, the statement added.
The arrest comes after the detention of Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, in Canada based on a US request on December 1. She was later released on bail and is scheduled to reappear in court on February 6.
The incident also comes amid widening scrutiny from Western countries of the tech company, claiming that it poses a national security risk. But Huawei has repeatedly denied this.