Tag: china

SURPRISE! Tim Walz Championed a Group With Ties to the WUHAN LAB in China

Tim Walz’s weird obsession with communist China is already well documented, but it only gets worse the more that comes to light.

It has now been revealed that as governor of Minnesota, Walz championed a group called the Hormel Institute, which has ties to the Wuhan Lab in China.

That would be the same Wuhan Lab of Covid-19 fame.

Breitbart News reports:

Tim Walz Championed Group That Partnered with Wuhan Lab in China

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) has championed a group that partnered with China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology — the organization at the center of the coronavirus lab leak theory — even pushing for more federal funding.

Over the years, Walz has promoted a group based in his state — the Hormel Institute — which has a history of teaming up with the Wuhan Institute of Virology. According to the Washington Examiner, “For over a decade, Walz has held meetings with the Hormel Institute and toured the research center, which has thanked Walz for securing it millions of dollars in funding, records show.” Further, he helped the institute accrue millions in funding during his time in Congress, pushing for millions more in federal funding for the organization as far back as 2008, per reports.

According to the Examiner, the organization been involved with the Wuhan Institute of Virology as well:

In recent years, researchers at the Hormel Institute have teamed up with the Wuhan Institute of Virology on a variety of projects, including in 2020 for a COVID-19 study and as recently as this year on structural biology research.

Did anyone in the Democrat party even vet Walz? Every week, we learn something worse about him.

Keep reading

Democratization as Regime Preservation

When in the 1970s it became increasingly clear Taipei and its allies in the United States were no longer going to be able to postpone Washington’s recognition of the Chinese Communist Party government in Beijing, the longtime dictator of Taiwan, Chiang Kai-shek, grasped for a solution to the problem of how his regime was to survive de-recognition as the official government of China.

The answer? Democratization.

This strategy, which his successors embraced and ultimately fulfilled over the course of the 1980s and 1990s, proved far-sighted.

Taiwan’s democratization process began in the late 1970s, marking a significant shift from decades of authoritarian rule under the Kuomintang (KMT). The death of Chiang Kai-shek in 1975 and the ascension of his son, Chiang Ching-kuo, initiated gradual political liberalization. In the late 1970s, internal and external pressures, including Taiwan’s diplomatic isolation following the United Nations’ recognition of the People’s Republic of China, forced the KMT to consider reforms.

In 1986, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was formed, despite the ongoing martial law. This was a critical moment, as it was the first opposition party allowed in Taiwan since the KMT’s rule began. In 1987, Chiang Ching-kuo lifted martial law, which had been in place since 1949, signaling the beginning of a more open political environment.

Following Chiang Ching-kuo’s death in 1988, his successor, Lee Teng-hui, further advanced democratic reforms. Under Lee’s leadership, Taiwan saw the end of the “Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of National Mobilization for Suppression of the Communist Rebellion” in 1991, which had allowed the KMT to govern without elections. Lee also oversaw the first direct presidential election in 1996, in which he won, solidifying Taiwan’s transition to a full democracy.

By the late 1990s, Taiwan had established a multi-party system with regular, competitive elections, marking a successful transition from one-party rule to a vibrant democracy.

Keep reading

Chinese Agents Infiltrating US Institutions

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in the first three months of this year, 24,376 Chinese nationals were apprehended crossing the U.S. Southern Border, while about 1,000 have been crossing the northern border monthly. Under the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), all Chinese citizens and entities are required to assist the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in intelligence gathering. The threat from China is real, pervasive, and growing, as Beijing exploits America’s open borders and freedoms to plant spies within the U.S. government, military, research labs, and institutions.

In September 2024, Linda Sun, a former aide to New York Governors Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul, was arrested for acting as an undisclosed agent for the Chinese government. She is accused of leveraging her position to further Chinese interests by influencing state policies and facilitating meetings between Chinese and U.S. officials. Sun’s case reflects a broader strategy by China to infiltrate U.S. political systems by targeting state and local officials. The Ministry of State Security (MSS) often exploits naturalized U.S. citizens with ties to China, using business opportunities and family connections to gain influence. Sun’s arrest underscores China’s efforts to influence rising political figures and manipulate policies, including those concerning Taiwan, through covert operations.

The Annual Threat Assessment from the U.S. Intelligence Community identifies China as the top espionage threat to the United States. The FBI’s China Threat Report highlights that counterintelligence and economic espionage activities by the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) pose a significant danger to U.S. economic security and democratic values. China’s goals include influencing U.S. policy to benefit its interests while striving for global dominance through tactics such as intellectual property theft, cyber intrusions, and predatory business practices. These efforts span various sectors, including business, academia, and government, necessitating a coordinated response from both the U.S. government and private industry to effectively address the threat.

Keep reading

Kathy Hochul aide charged with acting as agent for Chinese Communist Party

Federal prosecutors disclosed in a comprehensive indictment on Tuesday that a former deputy chief of staff to New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) had been allegedly acting as an undisclosed agent of the Chinese government, the United States Attorney’s Office of Eastern District New York said in a press release.

Linda Sun, 41, of Manhasset, New York, and her husband, Chris Hu, 40, were arrested Tuesday morning at their $3.5 million residence on Long Island. Sun held a variety of positions in the New York state government before rising to the position of Gov. Hochul’s deputy chief of staff.

Sun is alleged to have acted on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), per the Department of Justice (DOJ). She has been accused of blocking representatives of the Taiwanese government from having access to high-level officials in New York state, altering state governmental messaging on issues related to the Chinese government, and attempting to facilitate a trip to China for a high-level politician in New York, among others.

Sun has been charged with violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling, and money laundering conspiracy. Her co-defendant husband, Christopher Hu, has been charged with money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and misuse of means of identification, according to federal prosecutors.

“As alleged, while appearing to serve the people of New York as Deputy Chief of Staff within the New York State Executive Chamber, the defendant and her husband actually worked to further the interests of the Chinese government and the CCP, said US Attorney Breon Peace. “The illicit scheme enriched the defendant’s family to the tune of millions of dollars. Our Office will act decisively to prosecute those who serve as undisclosed agents of a foreign government.”

FBI Acting Assistant Director Curtis said that while Sun had been acting as an agent for the PRC and CCP, Christopher Hu “facilitated the transfer of millions of dollars in kickbacks for personal gain.”

Keep reading

Blacklisted Huawei posts record profits despite U.S. sanctions — Chinese tech giant raked in $7.7B in net profit in 1H 2024

As a high-tech giant whose capabilities span from ‘almost’ fundamental research to end-user consumer products, Huawei has been targeted by the U.S. government’s sanctions for quite a while amid suspicions of ties with the Chinese military. However, according to data from the Chinese Business Network (CBN), the company has adapted to sanctions as its consumer business revived in the first half of the year.

Before we dive into details, which are hard to do without knowledge of what we do know so far, we should know that what we do know is based on third-party reports.

Huawei’s revenue for the first half of 2024 reached CNY 417.5 billion, representing a 34.3% increase compared to last year. The company also achieved a net profit of CNY 55.1 billion, an 18.2% year-on-year rise, marking the best performance in its history for this period. These record figures show that after the U.S. started to impose sanctions against Huawei in mid-2020, its business took a significant hit, so, before 2024, the company’s record financial results were achieved in the first half of 2020.

Huawei’s revenue for the first half of the year exceeded the CNY 401.3 billion reported in the first half of 2019 and is second only to the CNY 454 billion posted in the first half of 2020.

Furthermore, this is the first time that Huawei’s net profit for the first half of the year has exceeded CNY 50 billion (up from CNY 46.6 billion last year), with the profit margin reaching 13.2%.

Keep reading

Military Threat: China’s AI Robots

Last week, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organized the World Robot Conference – where they showcased the latest advancements that China’s robotics industry has produced over the past several years.

According to the CCP, China’s humanoid robots are “catching up fast with global rivals,” with advances such as the incorporation of AI into some of its robots that have military capabilities.

We’re picturing mindless robot patrols enforcing the next ‘welded in’ pandemic lockdown, with deadl(ier) results.

As Anders Corr notes in The Epoch Times, China’s humanoid robots on display at the conference could easily be equipped with weapons and probably already have been. The People’s Liberation Army has demonstrated armed flying drones and quadruped AI robots that resemble dogs with machine guns mounted to their backs. The killer robot dogs can reportedly fire their weapons autonomously.

China’s rapid rise in robotics is state-directed and subsidized to the tune of over $1.4 billion, according to an official announcement in 2023. In 2012, China installed fewer than 15 percent of industrial robots globally. By 2022, that number increased to over 50 percent, with China installing over 250,000, the most in the world. By comparison, Japan and the United States installed just about 50,000 and 40,000, respectively.

In 2016, a Chinese company bought Germany’s Kuka, one of the world’s three leading industrial robot makers. The other two are Japan’s Fanuc and Switzerland’s ABB. Tesla is also a leading robot maker. It plans to deploy 1,000 humanoid Optimus robots in Tesla factories in 2025. Given the close connections of all four of these companies to China, there is a significant risk of technology transfers and IP theft, further driving China’s rapid rise in the robotics space.

Keep reading

RFID cards could turn into a global security mess after discovery of hardware backdoor

WTF?! Chinese-made chips used in popular contactless cards contain hardware backdoors that are easy to exploit. These chips are compatible with the proprietary Mifare protocol developed by Philips spin-off NXP Semiconductors and are inherently “intrinsically broken,” regardless of the card’s brand.

Security researchers at Quarkslab have discovered a backdoor in millions of RFID cards developed by Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics (FMSH). When properly exploited, this backdoor could be used to quickly clone contactless smart cards that regulate access to office buildings and hotel rooms worldwide.

According to French researchers, “Mifare Classic” cards are widely used but have significant security vulnerabilities. These chip-based contactless cards have been targeted by various attacks over the years and remain vulnerable despite the introduction of updated versions.

In 2020, Shanghai Fudan released a new variant that provides a compatible (and likely cheaper) RFID technology through the Mifare-compatible FM11RF08S chip. It featured several countermeasures designed to thwart known card-only attacks, but introduced its own security issues.

Quarkslab analyst Philippe Teuwen discovered an attack capable of cracking FM11RF08S “sector keys” within a few minutes, but only if a specific key is reused across at least three sectors or three cards.

Keep reading

What Future for U.S.-China Science and Technology Collaboration?

On Tuesday this week the U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement (STA) is due to expire unless the U.S. and China can agree on its extension. Today I provide some background on the agreement, why it is now being debated, and my view on what should happen next.

STAs are a common tool of science diplomacy. The U.S. has more than 60 STAs with countries around the world, overseen by the State Department, which explains:

These agreements, and their associated expert meetings, strengthen international cooperation in scientific areas aligned with American interests, ensure open data practices, promote reciprocity, extend U.S. norms and principles, and protect American intellectual property.

We recognize that not every country shares American values – in fact, some attempt to illicitly acquire America’s intellectual property and proprietary information. As such, STC works with foreign allies and federally funded scientists to ensure the United States rightfully reaps the benefits of international science and technology cooperation and that those with whom we cooperate adhere to the rules-based order. STC monitors worldwide trends in science and technology to retain U.S. advantages over strategic competitors and improve our understanding of how they may influence—or undermine—American strategies and programs.

According to a 2021 study, at that time China had 52 STAs and 64 other cooperative agreements with countries around the world. “Science diplomacy” is low hanging diplomatic fruit for both the U.S. and for China.

The U.S.-China STA was first signed in 1979 and originally emphasized agricultural research and development. The STA was the first agreement between the countries following the normalization of relations in January of that year.

Keep reading

American Pharmaceutical Companies Accused of Carrying Out Clinical Trials With Chinese Military

A bipartisan House committee has revealed that American pharmaceutical companies carried out drug trials in conjunction with the Chinese military for more than 10 years.

The revelation came in a letter penned by Republican and Democratic leaders on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Robert Califf. In the letter, they pressed him to supply information about these clinical trials for new medications.

In their letter, they explained: “These collaborative research activities raise serious concerns that critical Intellectual Property is at risk of being transferred to the [Chinese military] or being co-opted under the People’s Republic of China’s National Security Law.”

They also expressed reservations about how much the results of clinical trials produced by China can be trusted.

The letter states that hundreds of clinical trials for drugs have been carried out at medical centers and hospitals in China that are affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) at sites such as the PLA’s Air Force Medical University and the PLA’s General Hospital and Medical School.

One of the institutions is operated by the PLA’s Academy of Military Medical Sciences, an institution which the Department of Commerce has banned businesses in the United States from sharing technology with due to national security concerns.

Keep reading

Russia China and Iran Are Being Patient…

It has become clear that with the lack of response from Iran (so far) over the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh the political leader of Hamas, that in conjunction with Russia and China a common approach has been taken not to be responsible, or even seen to be responsible in the West, for precipitating an all-out military conflict.

We see this approach with Russia’s Special Military Operation as well. Russia is careful to contain it between Russia and Ukraine, despite NATO’s involvement in the provision of modern equipment and personnel to Ukraine, and Ukraine’s deep strikes into Russian territory.

Russia is completely surrounded on her western flank by NATO forces, threatening Russia with a full-scale attack and invasion. All that’s needed is an excuse. To ensure the western border coverage is total, America leaned heavily on Finland and Sweden to join NATO, breaking their long-standing policies of neutrality. Who knows what threats the Americans made to force them to accept and provide weapons and military bases targeting Russia from their territories.

Europeans should be extremely concerned about this, because the Americans don’t care much about collateral damage so long as it is not in America. It was the US’s determination to punish Sadam Hussein, Gaddafi, Assad, and the Taliban in the wake of 9/11 which led to a flood of refugees in Europe. But that’s not America’s problem, and presumably nor will it be if the Europeans get nuked. So long as it’s not US civilians.

That the Europeans, including formally neutral Swedes and Fins have fallen for it says more about their pusillanimity in the face of US diplomatic aggression than anything else. They are cannon fodder for the US’s determination to break up Russia. But in Putin, America has an adversary who demonstrates statecraft and strategic cunning over impetuousness.

In the Middle East, Israel is frightened for its very existence. Netanyahu wants to provoke Iran and her proxies into a confrontation to bring America into direct conflict on her side. Officially, the US is resisting involvement but is reported to have sent a naval fleet to the Eastern Mediterranean signalling that she will back Israel against Iran if necessary.

But the Asian partnership is playing a different game. They are acutely aware that America is looking for excuses for military action in Europe. As the pressure mounts, Russia, Iran, China and even North Korea will have to find alternatives to military action designed to cripple the western alliance.

Keep reading