ROWLEY ACCEPTS TELECOM GIFTS FROM CHINESE SPY FIRM

THE Keith Rowley Government has accepted telecommunications gifts from a Chinese corporation banned from doing business in the United States and several other countries. 

Huawei Technologies Company – which gave Rowley 50 tablets and an Ideahub Interactive Smart Board – was blocked four years ago from operating in the US. 

First the Donald Trump administration and then the Joe Biden regime accused Huawei of using its infrastructure to spy on other countries. 

The corporation is a major global telecommunications player and the second-largest smartphone manufacturer, and operates retail smartphone stores in Trinidad and Tobago. 

Rowley personally accepted the Huawei gifts at a recent function at Carenage Police Youth Club and Homework Centre. 

It was at this event that the Prime Minister touted T&T becoming a cashless society. 

Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT), T&T’s largest telecom provider, was recently hacked, with hundreds of thousands of items of sensitive data accessed by criminals. 

Rowley said the TSTT breach was a national security issue. 

The US imposed the ban after accusing Huawei of being a repeat offender in intellectual property theft. 

On May 15, 2019, then-President Trump issued an executive order prohibiting the use of Huawei telecom equipment. 

In 2020, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) branded Huawei a national security threat. 

The American administration claims the apparatus enables the Chinese Government to conduct surveillance on targeted governments, institutions and individuals. 

The allegations mounted when Huawei ventured into fifth-generation (5G) systems. 

The order cut the company from utilising the essentials of Android smartphones in the US. 

In addition, Huawei was denied access to Gmail, You Tube, Google Drive and Google Play Store. 

Several other countries, including European nations and Australia, have also barred the Chinese company from their respective networks or restricted the use of its equipment. 

In May 2022, Canada banned Huawei from operating its 5G network, citing national security implications. 

Several senior Canadian officials stressed that the decision aimed at protecting national interest, safeguarding the telecom industry and responding to cyber threats. 

Last January, the Biden Government in the US said it was considering cutting off Huawei from American suppliers, in what was another direct blow to the Chinese firm. 

Huawei depends on such US firms as Intel Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. for processors used in laptops and smartphones. 

Biden has generally restricted the sale of semiconductors to several Chinese companies, and has gotten Japan and the Netherlands to adopt similar positions. 

Despite the international blacklisting, the Rowley Administration has taken cutting-edge technology gifts from Huawei for use in the official law enforcement system. 

T&T’s major crime nightmare includes extensive drug trafficking and gun running, which involves international racketeers who likely use modern technology to conduct communications. 

The acceptance of the Huawei gifts by Rowley is expected to disturb the United States Embassy and various crime-fighting organisations, including Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), which have provided widespread support in recent cocaine busts. 

The US assistance includes critical intelligence gathering. 

US Ambassador Candace Bond is piloting historic assistance to T&T in counter-crime measures. 

But now the Rowley Government has accepted gifts from a Chinese telecommunications giant that has been banned and repeatedly denounced by the US and its allies.