Inviting the CCP Into Our Backyard is a Mistake
The line between Chinese business investment and Chinese government interference is murky. Communist China keeps a much heavier thumb on its citizens and businesses than the United States—and can compel its companies that do business in America to share customers’ personal data.
By law, China requires its companies to divulge information deemed necessary for national security. And in China, national security means whatever the Chinese Communist Party wants it to mean. This is one of the major reasons the Trump Administration has barred tech giant Huawei from doing business in the United States, and why the United Kingdom also agreed to cut ties. Experts say that if Beijing were to ever ask Huawei for data, the company would have no recourse to refuse.
According to the ChineseCounter-Espionage law, when the State Security organ conducts an investigation, organizations and individuals are compelled to assist. The law states that individuals must “truthfully provide” information and “must not refuse.” China’s State Security Law also forces organizations and individuals to provide help to State Security agencies during investigations. Companies operating on foreign soil are not exempt, though the law does say organizations “cannot violate the laws of other countries.”
The Chinese Communist Party’s sweeping authority to collect data from private Chinese companies threatens our national security and the privacy of American citizens. When it comes to investment, we should look to nations that have earned our trust—and China is not one of them.
