MPs wary of Chinese gifts

Some parliamentarians who have received Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite tablets as gifts from the Chinese Huawei company are concerned that the devices might compromise their security and privacy.Last week, Huawei donated 157 Huawei MediaPad M3 Lite tablets worth N$700 000 to members of parliament through the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology. Some MPs have demanded assurance from the line minister that the devices are safe from espionage, following recent allegations that Huawei was spying for the Chinese government.Although there is no concrete evidence, international reports are rife that the Chinese government uses Huawei devices to hack into and spy on politicians and prominent individuals in foreign countries. This week, senior lawmakers on United States intelligence committees warned Canada that Chinese smartphone maker Huawei, which has turned Canada into a key research centre for next-generation mobile technology, was a national security threat to a network of Canada's allies, The Globe and Mail newspaper reported. Taking a cautious approach, deputy minister of disability affairs Alexia Manombe-Ncube said she would only use the gifted tabled once she received assurance from ICT minister Stanley Simataa.“I was in the States [United States of America] recently, and my own Huawei phone gave me all sorts of problems,” she said. Sharing similar sentiments, the United People's Movement's Jan van Wyk said he had already experienced problems with his gifted device. “I received some calls and WhatsApp messages from people I don't know. But this is a new SIM card,” Van Wyk complained, adding that he would also take up his concerns with Simataa. Mines and energy minister Tom Alweendo is yet to use his tablet but is confident that the ministry made the necessary background checks to ensure their information is not compromised. “I am not even using it. I have my iPad,” said Alweendo. The Speaker of the National Assembly, Peter Katjavivi, also trusts the ministry, saying it would never bring in equipment that would jeopardise Namibia's national security.“As parliament, we always make sure of that when we accept these gifts,” said the speaker. Rally for Democracy and Progress MP Steve Bezuidenhout wanted proof that Huawei was being used to spy on people. “We cannot just run around because someone is speculating,” he said. All People's Party (APP) president Ignatius Shixwameni said there was nothing wrong with Huawei. “I have been using this Huawei phone for the last three years. I have not experienced any hacking or anything,” said Shixwameni, pointing at his own phone. His APP counterpart, Madala Nauyoma, took a more cautious approach and did not rule out chances that the devices could be tapped. “You never know; technology has become so complicated. Whether you have an iPad or even the phones that we have, we don't trust them,” he said. African Union (AU) officials discovered last year that confidential data had been downloaded from the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to servers in Shanghai, China, every night since soon after the building's inauguration in 2012. The Chinese government, which financed the construction of the building, denied any wrongdoing.NAMPA

MPs wary of Chinese gifts

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-02

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MPs wary of Chinese gifts

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-02

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