On the afternoon of February 14, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, and Wolfgang Schäuble, President of the German Bundestag, shared their opinions about “The State of Democracy in the West” in the first conversation of the 56th Munich Security Conference.
Nancy Pelosi mentioned 5G technology and cybersecurity in her speech. “The United States has recognized Huawei as a national security threat, by putting it on our entity list, restricting engagement with U.S. companies…Such an ill-conceived concession (in telecommunication infrastructure) will only embolden she as an undermines democratic values, human rights, economic independence and national security,” she said. Pelosi urged European countries to work together with the US to invest in other viable options while preserving their values and securities with a view to internationalization of digital infrastructure.
As soon as Pelosi finished her speech, Fu Ying, former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chair of CISS at Tsinghua University, hit back on her. “I’m from the National People’s Congress of China,” she said, “I have a very good memory of your successful visit and constructive dialogue we had about relationship a few years ago. My question is about Huawei. I think, my knowledge of how the world works is that technology is a tool. China, since its reform started 40 years ago, has introduced all kinds of western technologies. Microsoft, IBM, Amazon, they are all active in China. Since we started with 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G, all these technologies came from western countries, from the developed world. And China has maintained its political system. The system led by the Communist Party has become successful and has not been threatened by these technologies. How come if Huawei’s technology with 5G is introduced into western countries, then it will threaten the political system? Do you really think the democratic system is so fragile that it could be threatened by this single high-tech company of Huawei?”
Fu’s question was immediately followed by applause from the audience.
Pelosi replied that they know the power of technology and the capabilities that Huawei has. “Be very careful when we go down the path, unless you want to end up with a society like China, or an economy like China,” Pelosi added, “If you want a free flow of information, if you want to build a collective conscious of values and respect for human rights and the rest, don’t go near Huawei.” She acknowledged that China is at the forefront of dealing with climate change and that the US can work with China in that regard. “But that does not dismiss the idea of repression that is ongoing and intensifying in China,” said Pelosi. She appealed for internationalization to “build something that will be about freedom of information”.
President Schäuble said that Europe does not necessarily have to choose between “the Californian model of Silicon Valley and the state-controlled model of China”. He believed that the best way for them was to strengthen European countries, fight against monopolies, and secure diversity.
After the session, Wolfgang Ischinger, Chairman of the Munich Security Conference, told Fu Ying that he was glad that the Chinese representative could engage in the conference at a tough time (when China was fighting against COVID-19) and give a penetrating question.
This Munich Security Conference, held from February 14 to 15, were attended by more than 500 officials, scholars and entrepreneurs in the strategic and security field across the world. With the theme of “Westlessness”, the conference this year was focused on the waning influence of Europe and its consequences.
By Zhou Wuhua and Wang Jingshu