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Businesses China Technology

Huawei Personnel Worked With China's Military on Research Projects (bloomberg.com) 169

Several Huawei employees have collaborated on research projects with Chinese armed forces personnel, indicating closer ties to the country's military than previously acknowledged by the smartphone and networking powerhouse, Bloomberg reported Thursday. From the report: Over the past decade, Huawei workers have teamed with members of various organs of the People's Liberation Army on at least 10 research endeavors spanning artificial intelligence to radio communications. They include a joint effort with the investigative branch of the Central Military Commission -- the armed forces' supreme body -- to extract and classify emotions in online video comments, and an initiative with the elite National University of Defense Technology to explore ways of collecting and analyzing satellite images and geographical coordinates. Those projects are just a few of the publicly disclosed studies that shed light on how staff at China's largest technology company teamed with the 'People's Liberation Army on research into an array of potential military and security applications.
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Huawei Personnel Worked With China's Military on Research Projects

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  • by williamyf ( 227051 ) on Thursday June 27, 2019 @10:27AM (#58834568)

    motorola and cisco, and juniper and lucent and HPE and IBM and DEC, and GE and Tandem computers, and Cray, and SGI and others did not worked with the USoA military in research projects?

    Go figure...

    • by Anonymous Coward

      Yes but when Huawei does it it's Bad because China.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by TWX ( 665546 )

        Yes but when Huawei does it it's Bad because China.

        Well yes, actually. I trust my own government more than I trust China's government.

        The bigger difference is that the companies the GP post cited are not owned by the United States government.

        • by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Thursday June 27, 2019 @11:00AM (#58834752)

          Hmm... which government can cause more trouble to you when they find out you do something they don't like?

          • by Shaitan ( 22585 )

            Assuming for either case you'd be located where they can get their hands on you, definitely China.

          • which government can cause more trouble to you

            The one that

            * locks up infants and toddlers in detention centers,
            * tortures Muslims in Gitmo,
            * has police gunning down blacks on the street without trials by the thousands every year,
            * conduct massive spying on you,
            * conduct massive spying on your friends,
            * jailed
            * conduct industrial espionage [theguardian.com] on its competitors [cnn.com]
            * murdered Natives by the million,
            * stole massive amount of technologies in its early days of industrialization [google.com],
            * stole massive amount of prime lands from Mexico
            * launched endless number of wars aro

            • by Anonymous Coward

              As opposed to:
              * Actively and aggressively arrest and illegal immigrants killing them or returning them to North Korea for execution.
              (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_immigration_to_China)

              * Forces abortion of excess population and kills or marginalizes parents who have more then allowed number of children,
              * tortures any dissident anytime for simply disagreeing with the government many of whom will disappear never to be seen again,
              * turns police on peaceful protests and slaughters whole groups wholesale

            • Ivan, your country shot down a civilian airliner recently so fuck right off on that shit.

              Also, which prison does your country use to torture Muslim prisoners?

              Do you even know what your country does to people who cross the border without paperwork?

              You said something about "Natives," do you mean like all the groups in Siberia and Central Asia that had their cultures and languages stripped away, and still have no rights or land today? Or like, Georgians in Georgia?

            • I'd like to see China lock me up, from where I'm right now. THAT might start World War 3, given the hothead currently in charge.

        • by PolygamousRanchKid ( 1290638 ) on Thursday June 27, 2019 @11:27AM (#58834904)

          The bigger difference is that the companies the GP post cited are not owned by the United States government.

          No, in the US those companies own the US government.

        • by Junta ( 36770 )

          Well yes, actually. I trust my own government more than I trust China's government.

          That's probably a reasonable call. Whatever controversies are associated with the US government, at least we are allowed to talk about them.

          not owned by the United States government.

          This I would not bank on as a general rule for world governments. If you don't trust a government, private ownership won't be a huge burden so long as that ownership is under a given government's jurisdiction. If a government is not trustworthy, they generally roll through any semblance of private ownership they may have as it suites them. It may be a level of indir

    • Don't forget Sony and the US Navy PlayStation super computer!
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • by TigerPlish ( 174064 ) on Thursday June 27, 2019 @11:01AM (#58834764)

        Yes, but that knowledge counters the FUD that is needed to compete with non-US companies.

        Oh get off your high horse on this.

        It's dumb-simple. Stupidly simple. So clear Ray Charles could see it:

        BUY TELCO INFRASTRUCTURE FROM YOUR OWN COUNTRY. Is that so hard to understand? If you're China, buy Chinese. If you're America, buy Made in USA. If you're Europe, buy Ericsson.

        I expect every telco to spy on its client. So, buy local telco. I'd rather have my own government to the spying on America than some other country.

        Fucking globalists, this is part of the end result after nearly half a century of globalization.

        • by ugen ( 93902 )

          Personally, I'll take the Chinese spying on me over the US government anytime, while living in the US. I mean, Chinese government has pretty much nothing to do with my life. But our own can definitely affect me.

          So - if the choice is about who knows my secrets, I know which one I prefer.

          Your childish "allegiances" do not make sense in the real world.

          • Personally, I'll take the Chinese spying on me over the US government

            Your childish "allegiances" do not make sense in the real world.

            Really? It's not allegiances. It's security and practicality.

            I don't want my infrastructure coming from places which we exert no control over. Every time I see a piece of American-branded IT gear with a "Made in China" or "Hecho en Mexico" sticker I want to fucking scream.

            It's outrageous that we must depend on other countries for our most basic needs. It wasn't this way until we sold our country out in the past 50 or so years in the name of a quick buck.

        • by Shaitan ( 22585 )

          "I expect every telco to spy on its client. So, buy local telco. I'd rather have my own government to the spying on America than some other country."

          No doubt. But in the void if I'm only given the choice between the government of the most brutal murderer in recorded history and the one who liberated Europe from the second most brutal I know I'd prefer the liberator. The US essentially had most of Europe occupied after their push on the Nazis and could have solidified that occupation but instead provided aid

        • by gtall ( 79522 ) on Thursday June 27, 2019 @12:01PM (#58835102)

          Sure, except American telco infrastructure is built in China, and India, and Vietnam, etc. So is Ericsson's.

          Your solution is to nationalize the telcos. Errrrrmmmm...last time the U.S. got anywhere close to that was Ma Bell. Let's just say innovation was not their middle name.

          BTW: you owe your standard of living to globalization. Of course we could go back to the 1930s, that was a wonderful time of isolation with the extra boost it gave the Great Depression and helped cause WWII because there were no effective governors of Germany's and Japan's behavior. It is no surprise that the rise of isolationist sentiment has tracked the rise of autocrats today.

          The most isolationist regimes are also the most repressive. They need that outside enemy to force their choke hold on their pop.'s freedom.

        • BUY TELCO INFRASTRUCTURE FROM YOUR OWN COUNTRY. Is that so hard to understand?

          If the US just did this and then shut up I don't think anyone would have a problem with that. However, they are NOT doing this - they are actively advocating and bullying other countries and companies to not buy Chinese without providing any proof at all of nefarious activities and often when the main competitor just happens to be a US company.

          This has all the hallmarks of lying to promote the commercial interests of the US and it is not the first time they have done this...unless you really believe tha

        • Fucking globalists, this is part of the end result after nearly half a century of globalization.

          AMEN!!!

        • There is nothing wrong with buying from Allies.

          There is nothing wrong with Americans buying European gear and Europeans buying American gear.

          It isn't just "oh it has to be made here." The important thing is that it is made by a country that, in case of war, would be fully on your side.

          And in the case of 5G, the US contributions so far have been R&D that is shared with European partner companies who will actually make the products. The way to buy US tech is in this case is to buy gear made in Europe. Thi

        • by Cederic ( 9623 )

          Europe is not a country. Very few countries develop telco equipment.

          We may as well buy from America, we're letting the US snoop all our data anyway.

    • by wiggles ( 30088 ) on Thursday June 27, 2019 @11:00AM (#58834762)

      This is why China/Russia don't trust those companies, and the US and Europe shouldn't trust Huawei for the exact same reasons.

    • I was thinking the exact same thing. So, and our companies do not work with our military?
      • I was thinking the exact same thing. So, and our companies do not work with our military?

        The difference is they are OUR companies working with OUR military. China is OUR adversary in every space. What is there to understand?

    • Yeah, I'm usually in these threads talking about how bad China is, but this is obvious propaganda.
      • by Shaitan ( 22585 )

        Only if you pretend that the military of a democracy presents the same threat to a democracy that the military of regime like China does.

    • by Archfeld ( 6757 )

      DEC ? As a former DEC, then Compaq employee I am quite sure no DEC personnel have worked with the US government in a long time.

      Digital Equipment Corporation, also known as DEC and using the trademark Digital, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1950s to the 1990s.Wikipedia

      Industry:

      Computer manufacturing

      Fate:

      Acquired by Compaq, after divestiture of major assets.

      Successor:

      Hewlett-Packard, (2002 - present), Compaq, (1998 - 2002)

      Founded: 1957

      Defunct: 1998
      Key people:
      Ken Olsen (founder,

      • What point are you trying to make? DEC did military contracts and their computers were used in weapons systems, and the companies that acquired DEC did more of the same.

        • by Archfeld ( 6757 )

          Merely that comparing what a company or companies that are 20 years defunct has no bearing on a company that is currently involved very deeply in government surveillance. Also I might add the idea of being involved in government research and deployment in the US or UK is hardly the same as that of a company under the auspices of the government of China.

          • U.S. government does 100 times the evil things Chinese government is accused of around here. Supporting genocide, giving money to despots to make weapons of mass destruction, destabilizing governments and regions, wars for power and profit that kill hundreds of thousands...

            worse than what China has done in past 50 years...

      • In the Olden Days when I was a kid and the local public library had a VAX card catalog I would move the cursor so it looped over to the top the screen, then I'd type over the "Public Library" part with "Military Database Blah Blah Blah" or whatever, it was a lot of fun.

    • Why should the US government be upset with US companies working with the US government? Honestly, the fact this is "insightful" shows how pathetic this site now is. If you don't believe there should be at least some level of concern with Chinese companies running potentially large portions of your countries infrastructure then you are living in some utopian fantasy world. It doesn't mean you believe the Chinese people to evil, it just makes sense not to hand over the keys to the kingdom. And while the econo

  • I think the problem is universal abuse of technology by governments. Hard to find a "good actor" anywhere.

  • by Paul Doom ( 21946 ) on Thursday June 27, 2019 @10:29AM (#58834584) Journal

    Luckily this has never happened anywhere else in history. Shocking. I am going to coin a new term: "military industrial complex"(tm)

    • OR, if you prefer, "the partnership that has kept 4 generations of young men alive and not permitted a major war in 70 years".

      • Name a war that China started? So you are right. Military collaboration is expected from major companies and has worked. Which means this is a non-story story.
        • Started, none. Supported and prolonged? Well... that list is slightly longer.

        • by Zorro ( 15797 )

          Nepal.

          Korea.

          Vietnam Invasion.

          South China Sea.

          And many more wars.

          • by Shaitan ( 22585 )

            Tibet

        • by gtall ( 79522 )

          The wars with Vietnam.

        • by Shaitan ( 22585 )

          "Name a war that China started?"

          What you mean like the invasion of Tibet?

        • Name a war that China started?

          The "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution" launched by Mao against the Chinese people in 1966.

      • by mspohr ( 589790 )

        If you don't count the dead.

        Winter War 153,736–194,837 173,071 1939–1940 Finland vs. Soviet Union Finland – Part of World War II
        Greco-Italian War 27,080+ 27,080 1940–1941 Greece vs. Italy Southeast Europe – Part of World War II
        Continuation War 387,333+ 387,333 1941–1944 Finland and Germany vs. Soviet Union Northern Europe – Part of World War II
        Soviet–Japanese War 33,420–95,768 56,574 1945

        • You quadruple-counted Afghanistan, 1978–present, 1979–1989, 2001–present, and unlabeled but presumptively 2001-present.

  • by Anonymous Coward

    and I'm not even American. Am I an American agent now too? Where's my badge? You guys are being ridiculous.

    • by Shaitan ( 22585 ) on Thursday June 27, 2019 @12:23PM (#58835242)

      Are you suggesting there is any comparison between being an American agent and a Chinese agent? Lets avoid creating the impression there is some kind of equivalency here. One is a democracy whose constitution has been watered down somewhat in recent times, the other is a brutal regime that has murdered tens of millions, burned thousands alive, tortured millions more in concentration camps and executed prisoners to sell their organs.

      That's like creating an equivalence between between any prison guard and a soldier who herded jews into gas chambers.

      In all this my democracy and is more open and accepting than yours nonsense and calling anymore who doesn't agree a nazi I think people have lost sight of the fact that there a very wide gulf between some asshat saying things that aren't accepting on social media and actual monsters like Russia under Stalin, Germany under Hitler, and China under Mao's regime. Of the three only China is still ruled by those monsters. Putin is bad but he is no Stalin and Stalin was no Mao.

      • That's like creating an equivalence between between any prison guard and a soldier who herded jews into gas chambers.

        Let's try creating an equivalence between between any DHS agents who locked up infants and toddlers in detention centers [nytimes.com] and a soldier who herded jews into gas chambers.

        • by Cederic ( 9623 )

          We could, but it would be fucking stupid.

          The DHS being overwhelmed and under resourced is hardly comparable to a deliberate campaign of genocide.

          I don't recall the Jewish population of Poland demanding access to Germany and putting their children at risk by illegally invading either, but maybe that part was omitted by the history books.

      • I should really start proofing what I write on here.

        With all this "my democracy is more open and accepting than yours" nonsense and the habit of calling anymore who doesn't agree with that a Nazi; I think people have lost sight of the very wide gulf between some asshat saying things on social media which aren't accepting and actual monsters like Russia under Stalin, Germany under Hitler, and China under Mao's regime. Of the three only China is still ruled by those monsters. Putin is bad but he is no Stalin

    • and I'm not even American. Am I an American agent now too? Where's my badge?

      You don't get any sort of badge or medal just for being on the right side.

      But thank you. That's what you get. Our thanks. Same thing Americans usually get for their service.

  • Bloomberg, the journalists behind the Supermicro scandal!
    • by Anonymous Coward

      Good observation. It is EXACTLY like the supermicro story.
      This "report" has nothing to do with security and everything to do with politics.
      I used to trust Bloomberg's reporting.
      But now - Not so much.

    • I was thinking the same thing. I'll be very surprised if any other "news" organizations corroborate this story.
  • Using Chinese Slave Labor for years and years. Steve Jobs even got slave liver from there!

    • If Steve received an illegal liver - a practice that is far more common in the West than all but a few Jewish surgeons in Miami are aware - it likely came from South America.
  • by gweihir ( 88907 ) on Thursday June 27, 2019 @11:15AM (#58834852)

    This must be the most demented "accusation" against them I have seen for a long time.

  • by JustAnotherOldGuy ( 4145623 ) on Thursday June 27, 2019 @11:35AM (#58834942) Journal

    "Over the past decade, Huawei workers have teamed with members of various organs of the People's Liberation Army"

    Why is this "news"? Or rather, why would anyone consider it newsworthy?

    Of course they did, why would anyone think Huawei wouldn't work with the PLA?

    It's like announcing that General Electric or Ford worked with the US Military.

    "Private industry and the military work together on stuff, film at 11."

    What's next, the discovery that water is wet and fire is hot?

  • Chinese Megacorp worked for Chinese military! Whoever would have thought this would happen?!?? ...
    Seriously?

  • Name a major U.S. tech corporation that hasn't done research for U.S. government

  • Huawei workers have teamed with members of various organs of the People's Liberation Army. Maybe the spleen?
  • by ClarkMills ( 515300 ) on Thursday June 27, 2019 @01:39PM (#58835772)

    Cisco Personnel Worked With US Military on Research Projects

    Several Cisco employees have collaborated on research projects with American armed forces personnel, indicating closer ties to the country's military than previously acknowledged by the smartphone and networking powerhouse, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

    Bloomberg... the ones that brought you the article about embedded chips on motherboards that was never corroborated

    I think I'll file this under "Trade war propaganda".

  • Astonishing... And how is it different from Microsoft, Google and Intel working with US military? And ofcourse a shitload of other american hardware/software companies......
  • I'm not sure how or why this is news. I thought Chinese companies working with the military was A priori knowledge.

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