The Authority on Video Surveillance (IPVM), a U.S. camera systems industry website, earlier published a report that said Chinese telecommunications equipment giant huawei and other companies were testing face recognition technology for Uighurs that could automatically send messages to police. Tommy Zwicky, senior vice president of communications at Huawei’s Danish office, resigned in December last year, and the media speculated that he resigned “because of the way he handled the Uyghur issue.
Zwicky recently opened his mouth for the first Time, claiming that Huawei did not take public surveillance and human rights issues seriously, and that he could not face himself if he continued to work for Huawei, and eventually resigned.
Zwicky was interviewed by the Washington Post after his contract with Huawei officially ended on Monday (1), telling the story of his resignation. He said he read the IPVM report, feeling “gut seems to be tied in knots,” and pointed out: “I used to ask people who denigrate Huawei to come up with evidence, and now the evidence is in front of me.” He said he had confronted Huawei executives within the company, that even if the report did not turn into a big news, executives should also respond seriously, but the company only issued some sample answers, hoping to downplay the incident. Zwicky said, “I was told very clearly, ‘We (Huawei) will never admit to making mistakes,’ and I felt that if I continued to stay, I would not be able to face myself in front of the mirror.” He also believed that the company would not intend to take responsibility and decided to resign. He said, “I can’t lose my credibility because of this, and if I lose it once, there will be no next time.”
Kenneth Fredriksen, Huawei’s executive vice president for the Nordic region, admitted for the first time to the Danish newspaper Politiken on Sunday (Jan. 31) that Huawei had tested and patented a race recognition system, but had stopped working on it. He said, “We have never had the intention to engage in discrimination against ethnic minorities.” He also said that the outside world has reason to be concerned about the situation in Xinjiang, but he does not believe Huawei has been involved in human rights violations.
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