A Warsaw court heard an espionage case involving a former Polish secret services agent and a former Huawei employee on Tuesday, just as some European countries are considering whether to exclude Huawei's equipment from their 5G telecom networks.
Poland arrested the two men in January 2019 on suspicion of spying for China, fueling an international debate over the potential security risks of using Huawei equipment in communications networks.
Huawei has repeatedly denied that its equipment can be used by Beijing authorities for espionage, but the United States has been pressuring countries to Block the Chinese tech company. In Europe, only Britain and Sweden have placed bans on Huawei so far.
Polish prosecutors accused Wang Weijing, 39, of spying for China for more than seven years under the guise of being a Huawei executive trying to strengthen the company's influence over the Polish government and enable it to manage Poland's technology infrastructure, court documents show.
Wang was also alleged to recruit a former Polish secret services agent who revealed to him ways to influence the country's radio networks for rescue and public safety services, prosecutors say. Wang has been in custody since his arrest.
The Polish defendant, Piotr D., who worked in the top echelons of government for many years, is accused of "offering himself as a source of information" regarding public administration.
Both men have denied any wrongdoing.
Huawei, which fired Wang after his arrest but funded his legal fees, told Reuters in a statement last month that its activities are "in accordance with the highest standards of transparency and adherence to laws and regulation."
In response, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement late on Jan. 11, saying the Chinese Embassy in Poland had made an appointment with the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and requested that Poland inform China about the case as soon as possible, arrange consular visits, and handle the case fairly and properly according to the law.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/polish-trial-begins-huawei-linked-china-espionage-case-2021-05-31/
