The telecoms giant is under pressure over its handling of a former employee’s request for severance.

Multinational technology and telecommunications company Huawei Technology Co Ltd is under scrutiny in China over its treatment of an ousted employee [File: Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters]

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd is facing a public backlash  after details of the dismissal and wrongful detention of a former employee went viral on China’s Twitter-like platform, Weibo.

The treatment of Li Hongyuan, who had worked for the company for 13 years, has become one of the most discussed topics in recent days on Weibo.

The telecoms group that rode a wave of patriotic support last year when it was put on a trade blacklist by the US is now under growing pressure to make an apology.

“Huawei has lost love this time round,” Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the influential Chinese state tabloid Global Times, posted on Weibo.

Li’s case surfaced publicly at the end of November when court documents detailing his case were posted on Chinese social media platforms. State media outlets later reported how he was detained by police on an extortion charge for 251 days last year after asking the company for a severance payment when he was laid off.

He was later acquitted by authorities and received 100,000 yuan (US$14,162) in state compensation.

The hashtag “former Huawei employee who was detained hopes Huawei will apologise” was viewed over 230 million times on Weibo in subsequent days.

Huawei said it supported Li’s right to seek a resolution through legal means, but its response has failed to quell public criticism of the firm, and the topic was still trending on Tuesday.

Huawei’s statement is “impeccable from a legal standpoint” but did not respond to the public’s mood, Hu said.

Both Li and his legal representative declined to comment to Reuters. Huawei has also declined to provide further comment on the case.

Fearing Huawei’s equipment could be used by China for spying, the United States government has placed the telecoms equipment provider on a list banning it from buying US-made parts. It has also urged its allies to bar it from their 5G networks.

US hostility, however, has boosted domestic support for Huawei, which captured a record 42 percent of China’s smartphone market in the third quarter at the expense of rivals such as Xiaomi and Apple.