The overseas Chinese community is making news in the United States and elsewhere for actions ranging from land acquisition near sensitive facilities to economic espionage, illegal immigration, and more.
But are these stories just isolated events, or are they dots in a mosaic becoming clearer with each passing day?
What do overseas Chinese have to do with Xi Jinping’s “Chinese Dream”?
Secret Police Stations
In December 2022, Newsweek quoted a report from Safeguard Defenders, a Spanish rights group, that communist China has been operating more than 100 “overseas police service centers” in at least 50 countries. The Daily Caller News Foundation reported in June that these “service centers” operate in seven U.S. cities.The public security bureau is a Chinese euphemism for a police station. Administratively tied to the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), which controls PSBs, these operations are believed to be directly linked to the overseas mission of the United Front Work Department (UFWD) to monitor and stifle dissent among the overseas Chinese and propagate pro-China narratives and facilitate clandestine spying activities through pressure placed on relatives in mainland China.
Land Acquisition
Several stories of Chinese land acquisition near sensitive U.S. facilities have made the news lately. For example, as reported by The New York Times, Chinese-owned agriculture conglomerate Fufeng USA planned to build a giant corn milling facility less than 15 miles from Grand Forks Air Force base in North Dakota, which is home to the RQ-4 Global Hawks of the 319th Reconnaissance Wing. However, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Andrew Hunter concluded in a letter to Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) that the proposed facilities would create “near- and long-term risks of significant impacts” to Air Force operations in the area.Military Age Chinese Men Crossing US–Mexico Border
According to Fox News, “Chinese nationals are crossing the U.S.–Mexico border into the U.S. in unprecedented numbers this year,” having eclipsed in April the totals for all of 2022.Chinese Espionage
In 2011, the FBI uncovered “a massive Chinese ’seed smuggling ring' ongoing in Iowa” run by a Chinese national named Mo Hailong, as reported by the Daily Mail on Aug. 3. Their goal was to steal the latest genetically engineered seeds from DuPont Pioneer.Was that a direct request to Chinese people living in the United States permanently or on student visas to spy for communist China?
Xi’s Praise of Overseas Chinese
In recognition of the importance of the overseas Chinese community to communist China’s modernization, Mr. Xi on Aug. 31 attended the opening ceremony of the 11th National Congress of Returned Overseas Chinese and their Relatives in Beijing. The CCP leader’s praise of overseas Chinese isn’t new, as they’re but one facet of his “Chinese Dream” that he describes as the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” Clearly, overseas Chinese have a part to play, but what if Mr. Xi’s meaning differs from the literal translation?Concluding Thoughts
That last piece of the puzzle elucidates a long-running CCP strategy to subvert and steal from its “main enemy,” the United States of America. Viewed as isolated events, each story above is newsworthy but not earth-shattering without context. Viewed together as part of a strategy of infiltration and a coordinated fifth column with potentially nefarious aims, these articles should be of great concern to all Americans who wish to preserve their constitutional Republic from the communists.- The United Front Work Department runs influence operations worldwide to suppress dissent among overseas Chinese while using them in host countries to push communist Chinese narratives and influence public policy.
- The Ministry of Public Security’s overseas secret police stations (“service centers”) provide the manpower and muscle to coerce dissidents in the Chinese diaspora; to ensure compliance, the MPS can activate public security bureaus in China to pressure relatives of overseas Chinese to force compliance with communist wishes.
- The new Chinese ambassador to the United States encourages overseas Chinese, including students on temporary visas, to “serve the motherland” while knowing full well that the UFWD and MPS already have their names and addresses for “persuasion” as necessary and that subordinate organizations exist in the United States that can monitor and apply pressure.
- The Chinese are acquiring land and properties adjacent to strategic facilities and infrastructure in the United States for the purposes of future geopolitical and economic influence operations; overseas Chinese help provide the necessary manpower.
- The surge in Chinese nationals illegally entering the United States provides additional manpower for Chinese-run cultural exchange organizations, spying, and other nefarious activities and street enforcement muscle for the “service centers.”
- Chinese nationals in the United States continue to get caught stealing U.S. economic and military secrets; who knows how many Chinese spies (some masquerading as students, exchange research scientists, and other innocuous people) have gone undetected for years?
- Mr. Xi provides top cover for the whole operation by publicly praising returning overseas Chinese, giving a wink and a nod to those living in the Chinese diaspora overseas that they'll be welcomed back and possibly rewarded, particularly if they bring some Western technology and know-how with them (and willingly do the bidding of the UFWD and MPS apparatchiks running the whole operation).