Andrew Cahn and Ken Olisa, the two remaining British members of Huawei UK’s Board of Directors, resigned on Wednesday in protest over the Chinese smartphone maker’s silence on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Both members of the board have previously encouraged the corporation to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin’s conduct against Ukrainian residents. Despite the complication of the situation, both directors felt their board seats were in jeopardy.
Huawei’s representative had this to say, “Sir Andrew Cahn and Sir Ken Olisa brought considerable experience from the world of business and technology to Huawei UK’s Board of Directors when they were appointed in 2015 and 2018 respectively.
Both have shown strong support for Huawei’s commitment to the UK and have helped uphold the highest standards of corporate governance and we thank them for their invaluable guidance.”
The resignations come just days after the United States warned Chinese companies not to interfere with Russia’s technological import restrictions.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told the New York Times that Washington may take strict action against Chinese companies that oppose Russian sanctions.
Raimondo went on to say, “Russia is certainly going to be courting other countries to do an end-run around our sanctions and export controls.”
Such threats are reminiscent of the actions taken against Huawei in 2020, when Donald Trump’s administration added the company to its “entity list.” The list forbids Chinese companies from acquiring technology from the United States without prior approval from the Chinese government.
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