On the principle that it’s never over until the fat lady sings, the anti-Huawei choir have struck up again over the British government’s unexpected decision to proceed with Chinese involvement in the 5G rollout.
It is a limited involvement to be sure – 35 percent – but not so limited as to call off the Cold War dogs.
Boris Johnson was expected to roll over when Mike Pompeo – like a member of the cast of the Sopranos – came over with an offer we couldn’t refuse: relief from the Twitter apoplexy of Donald Trump, who reportedly hung up the phone on the British PM when he didn’t get his own way over Huawei.
Johnson refused. Cue a frantic second wave of lobbying from the Deep State still furious about the prospect of reds beside the bed, and from more than one foreign embassy inside the parliament. Nancy Pelosi weighed in too (even the Sopranos have sisters).
Also on rt.com ‘Is the democratic system so fragile?’ Audience applauds as Pelosi’s Huawei scare session prompts rebuke from Chinese delegateThis week, a “bipartisan”letter from the other side of the Atlantic has been despatched to Boris Johnson, asking him to think again.
Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi lining up with the Trump administration is not something you see every day, nor is the dismal list of British MPs who earlier signed a letter representing the British end of the carefully choreographed minuet.
The proximate cause of their anxiety of course is that they say Huawei is, like all Chinese businesses, subject to the authority of the “Communist Party of China” (in a way that British and American companies are not similarly subject to their national governments, presumably).
They claim that Huawei’s involvement in the 5G rollout would be an open invitation to spying by the Chinese government (which makes you wonder why the US government permits, say, Apple, to have its computers made in China).
But in truth their concern is the precise opposite. They want to ensure that the “Five Eyes” countries – the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand (in practice there are six eyes including Israel) – maintain THEIR monopoly on spying on the citizenry through the “backdoor” of our humble handsets. Chinese interest in what a man is saying to his wife on the phone in London is of no great interest in Beijing. It is the bread and butter of Western intelligence agencies, now more bloated and expensive relative to how they were at even the coldest stages of the Cold War.
Obviously with Huawei on board, Chinese eyes would be sharp enough to spot what the Five Eyes were up to! It really is as simple as that.
Time will tell if Boris Johnson will succumb to the new-wave lobbying (aka intimidation). It is clear that there are elements within the political class and their corporate paymasters who continue to profit from endless division in the world, from the multiple regimes of sanctions, trade wars, and the threat of real wars.
It is clear too that there are others who actually believe in the capitalist mantra that “business is business.” They believe that free trade of all with all is the best way of avoiding war and its consequences. They believe that everywhere is a market and everybody is a customer. This duet is being played out in both London and Washington. And that fat lady has not yet begun to sing.
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.