The latest news from down south is that Border Patrol agents are gathering up Chinese Nationals at a rate of almost 800% more than they did last year. Perhaps you are tired of hearing about China already but this blog may have some information you need to know.
In December, there were 931 Chinese nationals encountered, compared to 64 in December 2021.
As of the other day, there were 15 Chinese Nationals in custody in the Rio Grande Valley Sector and that all of them were adults between the ages of 20 and 50. I find this particularly interesting in my paranoid mind as many immigrants coming to America normally bring their families including their children yet these adults have shown up on our doorstep just "requesting asylum". Normally when these folks show up at the border they receive nothing but expedited removal unless they have a credible claim of fear of retaliation or persecution if returned.
So of course, all of the Chinese Nationals showing up are claiming that fear and are being released on their own recognizance with a notice to appear sometime in the future.
And so, they are here. Where? I have no idea and neither do you.
The Department of Homeland Security says that it is on the lookout for Chinese spies but as of yet, none of these visitors have been wearing a t-shirt that says “I am a spy” on the front.
Sorry for the sarcasm but after last week, it is difficult to believe that we are seriously looking for threats the way we should be. I am sure if asked, the Chinese government would just tell us these folks are weather forecasters that have wandered into the united States on accident.
Last week, right in my home state of Texas three Chinese Nationals were apprehended after they each spent $35,000 to human smugglers.
Now, the surveillance balloon that floated freely across the United States before being shot down by an Air Force F-22 fighter allegedly marked the latest effort of the Chinese to spy on America but the timing of this increase in Chinese Nationals at our border is quite a coincidence isn't it?
According to the Center for Strategic & International Studies think tank in Washington, DC, there have been over 160 incidents of Chinese espionage directed at the US since 2000. The survey by the think tank showed that nefarious activity by Beijing appeared to be on the rise, with 24% occurring from 2000 through 2009 and 76% from 2010 through 2021.
The tank also noted that this was open source intel and was probably a low number as classified intel is not available.
In 2020, then-US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the Chinese Consulate in Manhattan was being used as a major hub of Beijing’s espionage program. This release of information came just two months after the United States forced China to close the doors on its consulate down here in Houston in response to the alleged thefts of American intellectual property that were costing hundreds of thousands of jobs.
According to the CIA, there are over 100 Chinese spies operating in New York City at any given time.
Chinese spies routinely target American citizens through social media. I myself have received many emails and offers that appear to be simple business spam but when looked at more closely are obvious attempts at information gathering.
So why are these spies just running around? Because even when federal agents have the opportunity to arrest a spy, they rarely do so. That is the truth. When senior Chinese agents travel to the United States, federal law enforcement has an inexplicable habit of surveilling their activities and then allowing them to return to China before pressing charges. For example, one incident report from last October details how a defendant met with a co-conspirator in the United States back in 2016. The FBI was clearly onto the pair, and it recorded conversations about their work for the Chinese government but neither was arrested, and the suspect flew back to China unimpeded. With a warrant now out for his arrest, the chance that he will return to face trial is nonexistent.
Kinda like shooting a balloon down AFTER it is done collecting and sending information and data, right?
In 2020 U.S. law enforcement managed to arrest five suspects. However, one of the operation’s masterminds had been allowed to board a flight back to China three years earlier, even after Customs and Border Protection agents questioned him about the operation and found night vision goggles and other surveillance equipment in his luggage. The agents likely delayed apprehending the suspect in order to buy time to build the case, but it’s unlikely they will get another opportunity to bring him to justice. The suspect, who lived in New York at the time, hasn’t been seen in the United States since. Again, no sense of urgency.
At what point are we going to take all of this seriously? What if the balloon had been carrying a payload of virus? An explosive device? It is time for the government to start doing more to protect the country and that effort begins at the top and cannot be started at the bottom where people are already working tirelessly against their own administration just so they can get their jobs done!
First, an urgent and immediate diplomatic response is warranted. Today. Senior officials, including President Joe Biden, should bring up the subjects of espionage, forced repatriation, and other illegal activities targeting people in America in every conversation they have with their Chinese counterparts.
According to the FBI, the counterintelligence and economic espionage efforts emanating from the government of China and the Chinese Communist Party are a grave threat to the economic well-being and democratic values of the United States.
To be clear, the adversary is not the Chinese people or people of Chinese descent or heritage. Don’t make this a race thing because I will point out that the balloon was WHITE. The threat comes from the programs and policies pursued by an authoritarian government. The Chinese government is employing tactics that seek to influence lawmakers and public opinion to achieve policies that are more favorable to China.
At the same time, the Chinese government is seeking to become the world’s greatest superpower through predatory lending and business practices, systematic theft of intellectual property, and brazen cyber intrusions. China’s efforts target businesses, academic institutions, researchers, lawmakers, and the general public and will require a whole-of-society response.
As a country and as a people we have to commit to working together to better understand and counter the threat and as for those in charge (as if they read my blog), quit sitting and start standing up.
Close a few doors. Give us back our security and quit playing roulette with a country much better at it that we are.
小洞不补，大洞吃苦
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