According to new data from the House Homeland Security Committee, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has significantly escalated its espionage activities against the United States.
“Cases of CCP-related espionage and acts of transactional repression throughout the U.S. have expanded rapidly,” the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence reported.
The subcommittee outlines how the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is responsible for four key offences: transmitting sensitive military information, stealing trade secrets, engaging in transactional repression, and obstructing justice. Each of these actions has harmed the American public while directly benefiting the Chinese Communist Party.
“The Chinese Communist Party is not satisfied with destroying freedom and repressing its citizens within its own borders,” said Committee Chair and Congressman Mark Green.
The report reveals that over 55 confirmed cases of CCP-related espionage have occurred in 20 states since January 2021. The issue has become so widespread that the FBI now opens new cases to counter the CCP’s intelligence activities approximately every 12 hours.
In a notable case last year, Chinese national Ji Chaoqun was sentenced to eight years in prison for collaborating with American scientists and engineers to steal advanced aerospace and satellite technologies developed in the U.S. Additionally, three men residing in the U.S. were charged with involvement in China’s “Operation Fox Hunt,” a controversial campaign aimed at harassing and pressuring Chinese citizens to return to China.
“If you are willing to go back to the mainland and spend 10 years in prison, your wife and children will be all right,” the accused agents threatened former Wuhan city official Xu Jin, who had been living with his family in America since 2010. “That’s the end of this matter,” they concluded their ominous note. While two of the men involved in the plot were Chinese citizens living in the U.S., the third was an American citizen. “Beijing has continually encroached upon American sovereignty to spy, intimidate, and harass not only defectors but even American citizens,” Rep. Green noted. “It is important we remain clear-eyed about the threat the CCP poses to the security of the American people so we are prepared to counter its malign influence at every turn.”
