The ruling party of Germany, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), recently held a party congress in Baden-Württemberg, and the Chinese telecommunications company huawei was the sponsor of the meeting, and was also ranked first on the thank-you list. German scholars have revealed that in recent years the Chinese Communist Party has penetrated the grassroots of Western countries through circuitous economic means, and criticized the CDU for cooperating with Beijing‘s tools of repression, while German parliamentarians have openly criticized the CDU for its inconsistency and the German business town’s repeated compromises with Beijing for the Chinese market.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), held its 75th party congress in Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany, on Saturday (23rd), using digital means for the first Time in the context of the new crown Epidemic. The meeting was held digitally for the first time in the context of the new epidemic. In addition to a video of the meeting and the agenda, the official website also gave the usual acknowledgements to the companies and institutions that supported it. Shockingly, at the top of the list of thanks was the controversial Chinese communications provider Huawei.
The event raised concerns. German commentator of Taiwanese origin Cheng Shiguang pointed out that Germany has been indecisive on the issue of banning Huawei in the past, and this exposure of the CDU in Baden-Württemberg shows that some grassroots political parties have completely left behind the main purpose of their parties and the democratic values of the country, and have become the “spokesman” of Huawei. As a German citizen, he said, he would not vote for a party that dances with autocracy.
Cheng Shiguang said: Germany has not been vigilant in this regard, I can no longer use the word disappointment in this regard to make a comment. It has openly invited Huawei to enter the house and be its accomplice, its spokesman, and to high-five with the grinding ghost. As a German citizen, my attitude towards totalitarianism is of course a very important criterion for me to vote.
Qian Yuejun, a German law scholar and former editor-in-chief of the Euromonitor, told the station that Baden-Württemberg, where the famous cars Mercedes-Benz and Porsche are headquartered, has always focused on the Chinese market, and this Huawei sponsorship shows that the state has once again turned its back on German democratic values for the sake of economic interests.
Qian Yuejun said: Two years ago Mercedes-Benz removed the Dalai Lama’s philosophical words in an advertisement that explicitly apologized to the Chinese Communist regime, which undermined the commercial personality of Mercedes-Benz and the German state character. And this time, the Christian Democratic Party of Baden-Württemberg has completely forgotten this disgrace and, in spite of the boycott of Huawei by the German society, actually accepted the funding from Huawei and had to express its gratitude. It can be seen that to resist the encroachment of the CCP, Western society really has to start from all levels and areas of Western society.
Qian Yuejun also said that the Chinese Communist authorities have spared no effort to buy the international community in recent years. In addition to the “One Belt, One Road” and “Confucius Institute” projects that have been exposed, the CCP has adopted many more indirect and roundabout means to erode some democracies and economically developed countries, such as grassroots politics, which the media do not pay much attention to.
Qian Yuejun said: The CCP is using multiple channels to buy, corrupt and ultimately influence the international community. Why would Huawei want to fund a political party in a certain region of Germany? Obviously it is motivated by economic interests as well as political ones. The politics of European states and cities are relatively less monitored by public opinion, and some state and city political groups are willing to accept Huawei’s contributions for their own selfish interests, which is exactly what the Chinese Communist Party aims to do: to corrupt and influence democracies from the grassroots, from the weakest link in politics and economics.
After the incident, Danyal Bayaz, a German Green Party member of the Bundestag, asked Thomas Strobl, Minister of the Interior, Digitalization and Migration of Baden-Württemberg, why Huawei was a sponsor of this party congress. This is inconsistent with Strobl’s earlier statements that he had been wary of the Chinese digital model.
Tyson Barker, head of technology and global affairs at the German Council on Foreign Relations, also thought Huawei’s sponsorship of the state’s party congress was bad for its image.
Thorsten Benner, co-founder and head of the Berlin-based think tank Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi), questioned on Twitter whether the CDU in Baden-Württemberg really wanted Huawei to be the biggest sponsor of the party congress, creating a “CDU brand” in conjunction with an institution that serves as a tool for Beijing’s crackdown on Uighurs and others.
We have asked the CDU branch in Baden-Württemberg and the CDU headquarters in Germany for a response, but have not received a reply at the time of going to press.
The German Social Democratic Party (SPD) held its party congress in Berlin in December 2019, and Huawei was on the list of sponsors. Just a few days before, the SPD’s German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas publicly did not support Huawei’s participation in the construction of Germany’s 5G network, an event that shocked the German media and, of course, many Chinese media mocked the SPD’s inconsistent approach.
Until now, Germany has not yet made a final decision on whether to block Huawei in the 5G network.
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