Posted on 07/01/2005 10:11:31 PM PDT by CHARLITE
China’s communist leaders view the United States as their main enemy and are working in Asia and around the world to undermine U.S. alliances, said a former Chinese diplomat.
Chen Yonglin, until recently a senior political officer at the Chinese Consulate in Sydney, Australia, said in an interview that China also is engaged in large-scale intelligence-gathering activities in the United States that, in the past, netted large amounts of confidential U.S. government documents from agents.
“The United States is considered by the Chinese Communist Party as the largest enemy, the major strategic rival,” Mr. Chen told The Washington Times in a telephone interview from Australia, where he is in hiding after breaking with Beijing in May.
All Chinese government officials are ordered to gather information about the United States, “no matter how trivial,” he said. “The United States occupies a unique place in China’s diplomacy,” Mr. Chen said. A pro-democracy activist who took part in the 1989 demonstrations in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, Mr. Chen, 37, spent 10 years as a Foreign Ministry official. He said he defected and sought political asylum in Australia to highlight repression of the Chinese people by their government and the ruling Communist Party, as well as the repression of dissidents such as democracy activists and the Falun Gong spiritual group.
Most Chinese government activity in the United States involves information-gathering carried out by military-related intelligence officers or civilians linked to the Ministry of State Security, Mr. Chen said.
“I know that China once got a heavy load of confidential documents from the United States and sent it back to China through the Cosco ship,” Mr. Chen said, referring to the state-owned China Ocean Shipping Co. The information was “very useful” to China’s military and related to “aircraft technology,” he said.
The Chinese also send political police abroad to monitor overseas Chinese and others in North America who Beijing considers opponents of the regime, he said. China’s government has targeted Australia as part of its “money diplomacy” and is working hard to persuade Australia not to send troops to help the United States in any conflict over the Republic of China (Taiwan), Mr. Chen said.
China has sought to influence Australia’s government through high-level political visits and favorable trade and by offering contracts on energy-related products. The goal is to force Australia to become part of a China-dominated “grand neighboring region” in Asia and to “force a wedge between the U.S. and Australia,” he said.
The U.S. government has a close intelligence relationship with Australia and has been working to build stronger military ties, as the Pentagon shifts its global strategy toward Asia with the planned deployment of more arms in the western Pacific region to counter a Chinese military buildup.
Mr. Chen said he is “frustrated” that the Australian government in May turned down his request for political asylum, a move he thinks was linked to Australian government fears of upsetting Beijing.
Mr. Chen also said he fears that Chinese agents could kidnap him, as they have done with other exile dissidents. He said he prefers to stay in Australia with his wife and child, but also could seek asylum in the United States if Australia threatens to send him back to China, which he fears would endanger his life.
Two other Chinese government officials also defected recently in Australia and have revealed Chinese government spying activities. Mr. Chen also provided new insights into the closed world of China’s ruling power structure and political tensions between President Hu Jintao and former President Jiang Zemin.
Mr. Hu is not fully in control of the government and military, and Mr. Jiang continues to wield power behind the scenes through allies in the armed forces, he said. “Hu is still in the shadow of Jiang and will be until Jiang dies,” Mr. Chen said.
The Chinese leader, however, launched his own version of Chinese ideology at the end of last year that calls for education in advancing the Communist Party. Asked whether Mr. Hu will bring democratic reform to China, Mr. Chen said the Chinese leader is the beneficiary of the dictatorship and, therefore, is unlikely to make changes.
“For the past 16 years, a lot of people have been looking to see if the Communist Party can change from the top down to the low levels, but nothing changes,” Mr. Chen said.
On China’s military buildup, Mr. Chen said Beijing is following the strategy of former leader Deng Xiaoping, who urged China to “bide our time, build our capabilities” — military as well as economic and political. “What that means is that when the day is mature, the Chinese government will strike back,” he said.
Mr. Chen said the danger of a war over Taiwan is growing.
“That is possible as Chinese society is getting more unstable,” he said. “Once any serious civil disobedience occurs, the government may call for a war across the Taiwan Strait to gather [political] strength from people.”
Hey Jeff! Din't you write a book on this subject?
Well gee. Other than liberal la la land, where is this news?
And we can thank Janet Reno for covering up Chinagate
How about Kerry or Clinton?! They both have ties of sorts to the CHICOM don't they?
"China’s communist leaders view the United States as their main enemy and are working in Asia and around the world to undermine U.S. alliances, said a former Chinese diplomat."
They have consider the US an enemy since the late 1940s. They went against us in Korea for Gods sake.
I was shot at by weapons they made in Vietnam.
Stop pretending it's new, our military has known that since Korea.
I believe they are bankrolling anti-war groups.
I don't believe the Chinese would be caught red handed funneling assistance to terrorists at this point. Although, it bears repeating that the Chinese manual for warfare against the Untied States includes the use of material and operational assistance to terrorists to attack vital financial and military infrastructure within the States.
This guy may end up being a Chinese Golitsyn - complete with all the sliming by so called US "conservatives." Some people don't want to hear any bad news. Just keep on kickin' that can down the road ...
They sanitize their aid to terrorists through third parties. Syria, Iran, and in the past, even the Pakistani ISI!
bump for morning reading!
"China understands strategy, spy craft and role of espionage in modern diplomatic relations."
Are you saying the US does not understand these ideas?
There is the big danger. All totalitarian regimes keep the peoples' attention fixed on enemies outside the country, even make believe ones, to distract them from the fact that their real enemy is their own government. So many Chinese and Islamic fifth column folks are inside this country now that they can wreak havoc on us internally.
We live in interesting times.
Oh, you can't possibly be serious, Mr. Gertz! China, home of the cleanest, fairest elections the world has ever known and renowned for the rule of law, honoring of foreign copyrights and patents, is our very best trading partner in the whole world. Why, even our dear congress, who always puts the interests of America and its people first, thinks that they deserve the exalted status of "most favored nation."
Surely there are no such things as slave labor camps in such a progressive paradise! Why, how would we be able to buy so much cheap stuff at Wal-Mart if it weren't for the entrepeneurial Chinese Communist Party guys helping out all those folks who walked into those camps after making nasty remarks about their all-caring glorious leadership and volunteered to work real hard so their American friends could get a TV for cheap to watch MTV and ESPN? That's compassiionate conservatism in action!
That thing at Tienamen Square back in the reign of George 41 was just a big media scam. Ol' George Herbert Walker himself, who is now bein' the daddy that poor Billy Clinton never had, didn't think that all of that fake blood and department-store dummies should influence our trade with this wonderful government. Neither does his son, who is the literal combination of Washington, Lincoln, Reagan, Teddy Roosevelt, and Christ himself in the eyes of Republicans everywhere. Them folks in Beijing is our 'strategic pardners'! Forced abortions and persecution of Christians, you say? Just a fantasy cooked up by some extremist racist right-wing crackpots trying to get in the way of progress!
These Communist leaders are so honorable and trustworthy that we can sell them all of our most advanced military technology without the slightest hint of worry. It's the largest market in the world after all, with more than a billion potential buyers for our smart bombs and nucular missiles. Just think of the money that our CEOs can make! (/sarcasm)
"Wonder if they have a supporting role with respect to the insurgents in Iraq."
I doubt that, but believe the Russians do. The Russians and Chinese cooperate much more than people generally realize. Iraq is more in the Russian sphere of influence.
Read later.
Plus, we can have them manufacture our bombs and bullets FOR us! Why, it's the military version of WalMart. Think of the extra money that we'll have to send to Africa!
In addition, we should just let them "have" the steel industry as well as heavy manufacturing...what with our overpaid union workers and all..great to stick it to them, I say. In our new world democracy-utopia we'll never actually NEED tanks and ships...and if we do, our loyal Chinese friends will certainly sell them to us.
Don't worry...shop!
Eh.
China's everywhere these days. They've got 10,000 troops in the Sudan, an alliance with Venezuala, etc.
They're probably providing support, probably through third parties (IE - Iran or Syria).
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