TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A man taking pictures outside the residence of the Taiwanese ambassador in Paraguay was an employee of Chinese telecom group Huawei, reports said Friday.
Residence staff reported to police that a gray Audi spent two hours parked outside the building on the afternoon of Oct. 9, per CNA. A man in the front passenger seat lowered the car window, took pictures of Ambassador Han Chih-cheng’s (韓志正) residence, and pointed an object at the building –which may have been an eavesdropping device.
When police arrived at the scene, the car drove off. However, using surveillance camera footage the investigation showed the vehicle was registered by Huawei’s Paraguay affiliate.
The driver was identified as Dionisio Duarte, 62, an employee of Huawei, while the man sitting next to him looked Asian.
Police in the capital Asuncion notified other embassies about the incident and raised security for the Taiwan embassy and its staff. Paraguay is Taiwan’s sole official diplomatic ally in South America.