China Hacks Us and We Do Nothing

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Commentary
The attacks started in 2010 with the goal of harassing critics of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), stealing trade secrets, and spying on political leaders. Fourteen years later, the U.S. and UK governments are still responding with slap-on-the-wrist sanctions against individual entities rather than against China’s economy as a whole. Only the latter approach will get Beijing’s attention and deter the abuse before it spirals into militarized conflict.
Mr. Gallagher has sounded a rare note of clarity on the China issue since he was first elected to Congress in 2017. Unfortunately, he plans to relinquish his seat in April. The good news is that the Committee on the CCP, which he chaired from its inception, and to stunning effect, will continue. America the institution is not dependent on any single individual, no matter how good.
Chasing profit, including in China, is the fiduciary duty of these business leaders to shareholders. However, it should be more thoroughly regulated by law so that the market does not work at cross purposes with the national good. In the case of China, U.S. law should ensure that these and other companies are not used against our democracy by a country that would readily pay billions of dollars to them to undermine the global power and influence of the United States.
The gray area comes when these companies, which are quite influential in Washington, use that influence to further the interests of the CCP. That the CCP could increase preferred company profits as compensation for their help in Washington is a major loophole in U.S. laws on foreign influence that is putting American democracy at risk.
International organizations—including the World Bank, IMF, and Asian Development Bank—were also represented in Beijing. That so many of the world’s economic and business leaders were in one place, presumably holding their tongues in the presence of Xi to maximize their access, should concern the world’s democracies, against which the CCP is a sworn enemy.
American politicians in Washington are still not taking the threat from the CCP against ourselves and our allies as seriously as we should. As long as we respond with kid sanctions against low-level operatives instead of all-China economic sanctions, we and our partners will continue to be attacked.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
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