Taiwan Digital Minister Audrey Tang has asserted that there is no such thing as “pure private companies” in China and that using Chinese equipment in core telecom infrastructure is similar to inviting a Trojan horse into the network.
“There’s no such thing as pure private companies in China. From the perspective of the PRC, the ruling party can change your leader whenever the situation is intense,” Audrey Tang, a hacker-turned-cabinet member said.
“If you include them [China-linked companies] in the infrastructure then you have to be very careful every time you update the system, as that could make the network vulnerable to allowing a Trojan horse inside the system,” she said.
Audrey’s remarks came as countries around the world are mulling a ban on Chinese company Huwaei from their 5G network due to security threat.
“While the world is talking about whether or not to include China-linked companies in 5G infrastructure, we already did that in the 4G era,” Tang said.
Recently, the United Kingdom announced its decision to ban British companies from buying Huawei-produced equipment for 5G networks from the end of the year.
Applauding UK’s decision, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that countries need to be able to trust that 5G equipment and software will not threaten national security, economic security, privacy, intellectual property, or human rights.