Former security secretary and chair of the New People’s Party Regina Ip said on Sunday that she would switch to using Huawei phones to support the company.
Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver on December 1, and faces possible extradition to the US on charges related to business dealings with Iran. China has decried Meng’s detention as “unconscionable and vile” and has called for her release.
Ip, who leads one of the pro-Beijing parties in the Legislative Council, said she would support Huawei personally.
“I won’t call on the public to buy Huawei, but personally I will definitely switch to a Huawei phone to support the company,” Ip said.
“It’s not just a trade war but also a technology war. Huawei’s phone export has already exceeded Apple’s, and it is competing for market leadership in 5G. So the American government will be highly concerned with every move of Huawei executives,” she added.
Ip also said on a radio programme that she would not use Apple’s phone as they were “unsafe.” She said that American telecommunication devices were dangerous because they could be subject to surveillance by the US government.
On Sunday, the pro-Beijing Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) held a protest outside the US consulate in Central, demanding Meng’s release.
FTU’s Michael Luk and Bill Tang led a crowd of about 40 people, who chanted slogans such as “down with US hegemony” and “America is finished when Huawei gets 5G.”
Luk said that the arrest of Meng was politically motivated: “Trump said publicly that China has had its way for too long. His trade war specifically targets the ‘Made in China 2025’ strategic plan.”
One protester wore a Donald Trump plastic mask, while another held a figure of Justin Trudeau depicting him as America’s puppet.
Luk also criticised Canada’s move as unlawful and in violation of human rights, and called on the public to support China’s brands.
Asked about former Hong Kong official Patrick Ho, who had been convicted of bribery by a New York court, Luk and Tang said his case was different from Meng’s and that they did not want to “muddy the focus” of the protest.
