SinoInsight 1
On April 1, Huawei’s staff community website published a speech by company founder Ren Zhengfei given at Huawei’s fourth quarter shareholders meeting on March 30.
Ren made an interesting comment in his speech: “We look to learn from the advanced and strive to catch up with America. We must be the first to plant the Red Flag atop Shangganling!”
OUR TAKE
1. When Ren Zhengfei mentions Shangganling, he is referring to the Battle of Triangle Hill (known to the U.S. as Operation Showdown; henceforth referred to as Shangganling) during the Korean War. The outcome of Shangganling is disputed (the CCP and the South Koreans both claim victory).
After the Korean War, the CCP hyped up the People’s Volunteer Army’s actions on Shangganling for the purposes of indoctrination. In 1956, the CCP released the propaganda war film “Shangganling” which presented a distorted version of history: The PVA was in Korea fighting the invading “American imperialists.” At Shangganling, the PVA suffered heavy casualties after intense bombardment and attacks by United Nations forces, but persevered by hiding in underground protective tunnels. Later, the PVA repelled the “American imperialists” from Shangganling and seized decisive victory in the Korean War.
In reality, U.S.-led UN forces were fighting in Korea in response to Pyongyang’s invasion of South Korea. Also, the battle at Shangganling was not decisive in the larger scheme of things at that stage of the Korean War (Oct. 14 to Nov. 25, 1952) in contrast to the CCP’s propaganda spin.
2. Ren’s reference to CCP culture (the myth of Shangganling) during Huawei’s shareholder meeting exposes two things. First, Huawei always views the U.S. as the enemy, and not just a competitor. Second, Huawei is really feeling the heat from America’s effort to persuade other countries to stop using Huawei equipment and services on national security grounds. Wary of future difficulties, Huawei needs to step up efforts to “brainwash” its staff and boost morale.
Huawei’s so-called “patriotic education” brainwashing could have the effect of convincing its staff that America is the enemy and all unorthodox actions are justifiable in dealing with the enemy. That is why Huawei employees have been known to carry out spying activities against America and its allies.
3. This is not the first time that Ren Zhengfei had mentioned Shangganling in recent times. On Oct. 17, 2018, Ren referred to Shangganling three times in a speech at Huawei’s 5G research lab in Shanghai and instructed Huawei staff to learn from the Shangganling story. Huawei must persist in adopting a “multi-path, multi-step, multi-scenario research approach to attacking Shangganling and achieving a leadership position in 5G strategy,” Ren said.
4. After his daughter Meng Wanzhou’s arrest in Canada, Ren Zhengfei initially adopted a deferential tone towards America. During a press conference on Jan. 15, Ren said that Huawei could downscale if the U.S. “does not want Huawei in the markets of certain regions.” He added: “So long as we can feed ourselves we’ll always have a future.”
When the Chinese regime failed to prevent the U.S. from extraditing Meng, Huawei immediately went on the offensive. In early March, Huawei announced plans to sue the U.S. government for banning its products from federal agencies. Later, Ren Zhengfei again referred to Shangganling in a strong show of “CCP patriotism.”
