As the U.S. and the rest of the world see the danger of using Huawei due to its ties with the Communist regime in China, Beijing has been openly warning other countries of “consequences” if they do not sign up with Huawei. Some have not responded well to the attempted coercion
A voice recording on November 15, 2019, revealed that Feng Tie, China’s Ambassador to Denmark, had made such a threat to Bárður Nielsen, the Primary Minister of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Feng warned that if the Faroe Islands’ telecom company Føroya Tele did not sign the 5G network contract with Huawei, the islands would not have a chance to sign a free trade agreement with China. Feng visited the Faroe Islands at least twice in the past two months.
Fishing accounts for more than 90 percent of the Faroe Islands’ exports. Seven percent of the islands’ Salmon exports go to China. The islands opened an office in Beijing this year in order to further their exports. Many Denmark politicians criticized the CCP and expressed that they would protect Denmark and its autonomous territory the Faroe Islands.
A few days before the Faroe Islands incident, Wu Ken, China’s Ambassador to Germany, warned, “There will be consequences if Germany decides to exclude Huawei from the German market. The Chinese government will not stand by without taking any action.” Wu further linked German car industry to Huawei’s position in Germany.
Back in January 17, 2019, Lu Shaye, then China’s Ambassador to Canada, stated at a news conference that there would be “consequences” if the Canadian government prohibited Huawei from providing 5G network equipment to Canada. Ralph Goodale, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety responded that Canada would not yield to Beijing on national security issues.
Sources:
1. Epoch Times, December 22, 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/12/22/n11738051.htm
2. Epoch Times, December 20, 2019
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/19/12/20/n11735005.htm