EU leaders leave early and openly break with the CCP because of wiretapping? – The Epoch Times

[The Epoch Times, December 11, 2023](Epoch Times Special Topics Department reporter Xu Yiyang reported) During the recent China-EU summit, the CCP broke out in an eavesdropping scandal, openly eavesdropping on the calls of EU leaders attending the summit, causing them to leave China early. This was seen as an open and strong signal of break between Western countries and the CCP.

The China-EU Summit was held in Beijing from December 7th to 8th. This was the first formal face-to-face summit between Chinese and European leaders in more than four years. The main representatives sent by the EU are European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. They met separately with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing.

On the eve of the China-EU summit, a wiretapping scandal broke out in Beijing. According to sources quoted by the US media Politico, Michel left Beijing early partly because he did not have a secure phone line in Beijing and could not communicate with EU leaders without being monitored by the Chinese Communist Party.

The Chinese Communist Party officially denied this statement. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin claimed that “China is not the one eavesdropping on leaders of EU countries and EU institutions.”

Although the CCP denies the eavesdropping incident, claims that the CCP eavesdropped on foreign dignitaries have long been widely known.

A netizen recently posted on the social media platform Collect identical replacement items for items worn and used simultaneously. If conditions permit, replace the items to swap bags or steal secrets.”

Lin Zongnan, a professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering at National Taiwan University, said in an interview with an Epoch Times reporter on December 10 that the CCP dared to blatantly eavesdrop on official activities, and Michelle left early because of this, which was a strong signal of breakup.

Lin Zongnan said that during the Trump administration in the United States, the U.S. government has been emphasizing the harm that Chinese communications technology company Huawei poses to national security. At that time, many European countries believed that Trump and the US government were exaggerating. However, as time goes by, the U.S. government and European countries have gradually realized the harm that Huawei brings to their national security, so more and more countries are demanding that Huawei equipment be banned in their own 5G networks.

He said: “The eavesdropping incident at this China-EU summit has made these countries realize that the CCP’s use of modern technology is not just to produce people’s livelihood products, but actually has national security intentions hidden behind it. Therefore, the distrust it caused in the West towards the CCP will It will have a long-lasting impact.”

“The West will be more alert to the hidden attempts to endanger national security behind these Chinese products, including mobile phones, or apps such as the most harmful Douyin.” Lin Zongnan further said, “Therefore, why do Western countries move their supply chains out of China? ? In fact, Western governments, industries and people have lost patience with the CCP.”

The CCP has been monitoring foreign missions in China

In mid-June this year, on the eve of U.S. Secretary of State Blinken’s visit to China, a reporter from the U.S. media posted that she would go to Beijing with her team to report on Blinken’s visit. For security reasons, she was instructed to bring an additional iPhone and a spare laptop for use during interviews in China.

“Journalists are also cautioned not to leave laptops in hotel rooms,” the article said. “On previous visits, members of the U.S. delegation reported that their electronic devices were switched off after they left their hotel rooms in Beijing. It’s been touched.”

In February 2022, on the eve of the Winter Olympics held in Beijing, Dutch media reported in January that in order to prevent espionage activities by the Chinese Communist Party, the Dutch Olympic Committee recommended that national athletes and delegations participating in the Beijing Winter Olympics not to use personal mobile phones. and computers into China to prevent personal phone calls and Internet information from being monitored by the Chinese Communist authorities. The Dutch Olympic Committee has equipped members of the delegation with unused electronic communication devices for their use during their stay in China.

The Netherlands is not the only country to take this stance. In fact, Olympic athletes from many countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, have received warnings from relevant agencies in their countries. They are advised not to bring personal mobile phones and laptops when going to Beijing to participate in the Winter Olympics.

The U.S. State Department wrote in its China travel advisory that Chinese security personnel will monitor foreign tourists. “Hotel rooms (including conference rooms), offices, cars, taxis, telephones, Internet usage, digital payments and fax machines may be monitored on-site or remotely, and personal belongings (including computers) in hotel rooms may be monitored,” the advisory said. Searched without your consent and knowledge.”

U.S. officials recommend that Olympic athletes rent disposable computers and cellphones while in China or at least wipe all personal data from the devices before arrival and upon departure. The advisory also recommends using a virtual private network (VPN).

The CCP also uses domestically produced electric vehicles to engage in espionage activities

In addition to eavesdropping, Western governments are also worried that the CCP will use the technology embedded in electric vehicles to collect intelligence on their countries on a large scale.

LiDAR is a mapping technology that is distinguished by its ability to map urban environments, “see through” critical infrastructure, and create realistic scenes that are almost as realistic as a video game. Therefore, lidar also has application value in key military fields. LiDAR’s broad availability makes it a dual-use technology, both military and civilian. In the military, lidar is used for autonomous navigation of unmanned vehicles and drones, as well as for creating high-precision 3D battlefield maps.

As demand for electric vehicles and autonomous driving grows, lidar is quickly becoming the industry standard. More and more automakers are turning to lidar as the “eyes” of autonomous vehicles.

In recent years, the Chinese authorities have gradually increased their attention to this emerging technology. In 2020, the Chinese Communist Party listed lidar as a strategic emerging industry, further increasing government investment in the industry.

China’s move has sparked concerns among U.S. lawmakers. At the end of November this year, the U.S.-China Strategic Competition Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce, requesting that all Chinese lidar companies be reviewed and considered including them on the sanctions list.

U.S. lawmakers said that because the U.S. government currently has no safety requirements for purchasing lidar technology, Chinese-made lidar is already present in U.S. systems and platforms being deployed by the U.S. military and its contractors, posing significant risks.

Under China’s national security law, all Chinese lidar companies must provide all available data they collect, meaning China has access to data not only on U.S. maps and infrastructure, but also on U.S. military systems.

The British government is also worried that with the influx of Chinese-made electric cars into the UK, the CCP may use it to monitor British citizens and collect large amounts of data.

A British minister once told the media: “If (the car) is manufactured in a country like China, can you be sure that it will not become a tool for gathering intelligence and data?” “If your electric car is made by someone who is already using it, The technology is produced by a country that conducts espionage activities, so why don’t they do the same thing?”

British media reported that the CCP can remotely monitor cars through the “cellular module” that controls the car system. These small components are widely used in a variety of modern devices such as cars, smart meters, computers, electric vehicle chargers and home appliances, and are used to establish Internet connections to transmit large amounts of data.

Such modules can monitor and control the car’s systems and make software updates to improve vehicle operation. However, they may also engage in espionage or malicious interference.

“An electric car is actually a computer with four wheels running on the road,” Lin Zongnan said. “Therefore, it can certainly be used as a spy tool. The CCP is collecting relevant intelligence through technological means.”

Lin Zongnan said that the reason why the Biden administration in the United States promulgated new regulations on electric vehicle subsidies and decoupled from China’s electric vehicle supply chain was actually out of concerns that Chinese electric vehicles might become a tool for the CCP to infiltrate the West.

He said: “The U.S. government and the Western world have gradually realized that if the technology of electric vehicles is in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party, it will have great harm to the national security of the Western free world. Therefore, the subsidy bill passed by the United States stipulates that electric vehicles receiving subsidies Cars must not be made in China.”

(Reporter Ning Xin contributed to this article)

Editor in charge: Lian Shuhua#