Americans think of Corporations as privately owned business ventures. The Chinese military thinks of them as a way of gaining advanced technology through strategic partnerships:
"The People's Republic of China (PRC) has and is currently utilizing a widespread effort to acquire U.S. military technology and classified information. In order to fulfill its long-term military development goals, the PRC uses a variety of efforts to obtain U.S. technology know-how; including espionage, the exploitation of commercial entities, and a network of scientific, academic, and business contacts....In addition to traditional espionage, the PRC uses civilian companies to partner with American businesses in order to exploit advanced technology and economic data. Additionally, the PRC utilizes cyber-espionage to penetrate the computer networks of U.S. businesses and government agencies." (Source)
In other words, when American companies partner with companies owned by the Communist Chinese, they are placing our National Security at risk. This holds true whether these "mergers" take place in the United States or overseas.
"Partnerships are started between Chinese civilian companies and foreign companies in order to give Chinese defense industries access to advanced technologies. The regulatory and commercial environment in China places intense pressure on American and other foreign companies to transfer technology to their Chinese partner companies as part of doing business in the PRC." (Ibid)
If an American company wants to do business in Communist China they are forced into a partnership that results in a transfer of the latest technology, which is then converted to military applications.
"High-technology equipment is also purchased by PRC recruited agents running front companies in Hong Kong. Some of the items acquired are dual-use components, which can be used for both military or civilian purposes. These items may include computers, semiconductors, software, telecommunications devices, and integrated circuits. Furthermore, the PRC will use Chinese state-run firms to outright purchase American companies with access to the targeted technology." (Ibid)
The Cox report, which was lambasted by possible Communist Chinese misinformation asset, Lyndon Larouche, as "ridiculous" resulted in the prosecution of two companies in particular:
"Two of the U.S. companies named in the report – Loral Space and Communications Corp. and Hughes Electronics Corp. – were later successfully prosecuted by the federal government for violations of U.S. export control law, resulting in the two largest fines in the history of the Arms Export Control Act. Loral paid a $14 million fine in 2002, and Hughes paid a $32 million fine in 2003." (Source)
The damage from these technology transfers was extremely significant. According to the Cox Report:
* China stole design information regarding the United States' seven most advanced thermonuclear weapons.
* These stolen secrets enabled the PLA to accelerate the design, development and testing of its own nuclear weapons.
* China's next generation of nuclear weapons would contain elements of stolen U.S. design information and would be comparable in effectiveness to the weapons used by the United States.
* Small warheads based on stolen U.S. information could be ready for deployment in 2002 also enabling China to integrate MIRV technology on its next generation of missiles.
* These thefts were not isolated incidents, but rather the results of decades of intelligence operations against U.S. weapons laboratories conducted by the Ministry of State Security. In addition, the report described the illegal activity likely persisted despite new security measures implemented as a result of the scandal. (Ibid)
One other aspect that we will look at in the next article, is the political power that the Chinese Communists exercise in American politics. Political power that I believe has hindered our efforts to protect our National Security.
