Confronting China, The Wuhan Virus, The Danger To The Republic

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Confronting China
 
While the mainstream media have obsessed over impeachment, there are a few stories out there right now that just aren't getting the coverage they deserve.  Both involve China and our national security.
 
As I have noted before, FBI Director Christopher Wray has identified China as America's biggest counterintelligence threat.  Wray described the Chinese threat as "deep and diverse and wide and vexing," adding that there are at least 1,000 investigations involving China's efforts to steal our economic and military secrets.
 
China's intense espionage efforts are not new.  They have been going on for years and really picked up speed during the Obama era. 
 
This week, Professor Charles Lieber, chairman of Harvard University's Chemistry Department, was arrested for lying to the Defense Department about his participation in China's Thousand Talents program.
 
For at least five years, Lieber, an expert in nanotechnology, was paid $50,000 a month and provided $150,000 a year for personal expenses by the Chinese.  At the same time, he was directing research projects from the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health.
 
But wait. . . There's more!

  • Federal authorities also announced charges against Yanqing Ye, an officer in the Chinese military, who had been working at Boston University. 
  • Last month, Zaosong Zheng was arrested at Boston's Logan Airport attempting to smuggle vials of biological materials stolen from U.S. research labs.
  • And the state of Florida recently launched a major investigation after ten university faculty members and other researchers were exposed as participants in China's Thousand Talents program.

As FBI Director Wray warned, China's espionage efforts are "deep and diverse."  According to one estimate, there are at least 80 Confucius Institutes operating at colleges and universities around the country.  Confucius Institutes have been more warmly received at American universities than conservative speakers!
 
These institutes are official organs of the Chinese Communist Party.  But like much of U.S. policy toward China, the allure of easy money proved too tempting to resist, regardless of the strings attached
 
Thankfully, the Trump Administration is cracking down, and more than 20 Confucius Institutes have closed in the past two years.  But much more work clearly remains to be done.
 
 
 
The Wuhan Virus
 
We've seen all kinds of stories in recent days about the Wuhan virus – how fast is it spreading, its kill ratio, how many people are being quarantined, airlines canceling flights, etc.  I even read a story about the potential for medicine shortages here due to global supply chain vulnerabilities.
 
Yesterday, I saw a map showing all the places where the U.S. has set up screening centers to check people coming into the country for evidence of the virus.  Not surprisingly, most screening centers are at major international airports, but there are two at the El Paso and San Diego border ports of entry, also for obvious reasons.
 
What jumped out at me was everything else in between -- you know, the vast open border area that Donald Trump has spent the last three years trying to secure.  The same border that the left and its media allies have spent the last three years fighting to keep wide open. 
 
The spread of this deadly virus is proof of why the border must be secured.  Is there even one "mainstream" journalist in America who thinks this is a story worth writing?
 
It wasn't that long ago when our Border Patrol agents were overwhelmed with sick migrants, running more than 50 people a day to border-area hospitals.
 
We're also seeing a surge of Chinese nationals illegally crossing the border.  And now we have a mystery virus originating in China with a kill rate we have not yet determined. 
 
The president has done a lot to secure the border, but if progressive politicians, judges and pundits had not been so desperate to "resist," much more would have been done by now.  The risk of the Wuhan virus entering the country from the unsecured southern border could have been greatly diminished.
 
If progressives had worked half as hard to help secure the country as they have to invalidate the votes of half the country, we'd all be a lot safer right now.
 
 
 
"Danger! Danger! Danger!"
 
Jay Sekulow, a member of the president's defense team, reminded senators yesterday of something every American needs to understand:  This deeply flawed impeachment, based on anonymous allegations and differences of opinion, is a serious danger to our constitutional republic.
 
During the 2016 election, elements of our government that we entrust to keep us safe from terrorists and foreign spies diverted resources to get illegal wiretaps on a presidential campaign.  They even set up sting operations to take down various campaign aides. 
 
Before the new president was sworn in, a well-financed campaign was launched to intimidate members of the Electoral College.  The media gleefully reported that some electors were wavering but often failed to expose the intimidation taking place.
 
After the inauguration, Deep State operatives and their media allies launched the Russian collusion hoax, which consumed the country for more than two years. 
 
When that hoax fell apart, the left launched its sham impeachment -- the biggest voter suppression effort in the history of the country.  The left is trying to suppress the votes of 63 million people who voted in 2016, while depriving millions of voters their choice this November.
 
Think about that for a moment. 
 
If Vladimir Putin tried to come up with a plan to destroy a duly-elected president and undermine the United States of America, he could not imagine anything better than what the left and its media and Deep State allies have done over the last three years.