Song Liuping, Huawei’s chief legal officer, says there is no
evidence to show that Huawei is a security threat to the
US
Huawei Technologies filed a motion in a United States court on
Wednesday for a summary judgment on its lawsuit against the US
government, which banned purchases of the Shenzhen-based company’s
telecom equipment.
“The US government has provided no evidence to show that Huawei
is a security threat,” said Song Liuping, Huawei’s chief legal
officer. “There is no gun, no smoke. Only speculation.”
Huawei has asking the court to rule on whether it is
constitutional for the US to implement a military spending
provision that bars the government and its contractors from using
Huawei equipment, Song said in a Shenzhen media briefing on
Wednesday, citing a company statement.
The US government should halt its state-sanctioned campaign
against Huawei because it will not deliver cybersecurity, he said,
adding that banning Huawei using cybersecurity as an excuse “will
do nothing to make networks more secure.”
“Politicians in the US are using the strength of an entire
nation to come after a private company … They provide a false sense
of security, and distract attention from the real challenges we
face,” Song said.
In August 2018, in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act
(NDAA), the US Congress prohibited US government agencies from
contracting with Huawei or with companies that use Huawei
equipment. The US government accused Huawei of having a close
alliance with the Chinese government and said its equipment could
be used to spy on Americans. Huawei denies the allegation.
On March 6, Huawei filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Texas
against the US government. It said when Congress called it out by
name, that violated the Constitution’s Bill of Attainder clause,
which prohibits Congress from singling out a company or individual
for punishment without a trial.
On Wednesday, Huawei said in a complaint that Section 889 of the
2019 NDAA singled out Huawei by name and not only barred US
government agencies from buying Huawei equipment and services, but
also barred it from contracting with or awarding grants or loans to
third parties who buy Huawei equipment or services – even if there
is no impact or connection to the US government.
“The judicial system is the last line of defense for justice.
Huawei has confidence in the independence and integrity of the US
judicial system. We hope that mistakes in the NDAA can be corrected
by the court,” Song added.
Glen Nager, Huawei’s lead counsel for the case, said Section 889
of the 2019 NDAA violates the Bill of Attainder, Due Process and
Vesting clauses of the United States Constitution. The case is
purely “a matter of law” as there are no facts at issue, thereby
justifying the motion for a summary judgment to speed up the
process, Nager said.
Huawei said it expects the US to take the right approach and
adopt honest and effective measures to enhance cybersecurity for
everyone, if the US government’s real goal is security.
A hearing on the motion is set for September 19.
On May 15, the US Commerce Department added Huawei to its Entity
List on national security grounds. On May 21, it granted Huawei a
license to buy US goods until August 19. The action raised concerns
about whether Huawei may have to downsize its production because of
a lack of chip supply and software support from US firms.
“This sets a dangerous precedent. Today it’s telecoms and
Huawei. Tomorrow it could be your industry, your company, your
consumers,” Song said in the media briefing.
Culled from asiatimes.com
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