BY: Bill Gertz
China's Communist Party is intensifying covert influence operations inward the the States that include funding Washington intend tanks too coercing Chinese Americans, according to a congressional committee report. The influence operations are conducted yesteryear the United Front Work Department, a Central Committee organ that employs tens of thousands of operatives who essay to exercise both overt too covert operations to promote Communist Party policies. The Party's United Front strategy includes paying several Washington intend tanks amongst the destination influencing their actions too adopting positions that back upwardly Beijing's policies. "The [Chinese Communist Party] has sought to influence academic discourse on Communist People's Republic of China too inward sure as shooting instances has infringed upon—and potentially criminally violated—rights to freedoms of speech communication too association that are guaranteed to Americans too those protected yesteryear U.S. laws," the study says.
"Despite the CCP's candid give-and-take of its United Front strategy, the breadth too depth of this number stay relatively unknown to U.S. policymakers."
The study said the Johns Hopkins School of Advance International Studies, a major unusual policy didactics too analysis institute, has received funding from Tung Chee-hwa, a vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the political party grouping that directs the United Front Work Department too includes a fellow member of the Politburo Standing Committee, the collective dictatorship that rules China.
The funding for Johns Hopkins came from Tung's non-profit grouping inward Hong Kong, the China-U.S. Exchange Foundation, which is a registered Chinese agent.
In improver to Johns Hopkins, other intend tanks linked to Communist People's Republic of China too influential inward American policy circles include the Brookings Institution, Atlantic Council, Center for American Progress, EastWest Institute, Carter Center, too the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The Exchange Foundation is tied to Chinese authorities influence operations too uses the same populace relations theatre equally the Chinese embassy.
A spokesman for the Center for American Progress (CAP) said the middle has received no coin from China. CAP cooperated amongst the U.S.-China Exchange Foundation inward producing a articulation study inward 2014 but received no fiscal contribution from CUSEF.
According to the committee report, CUSEF "spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying for ‘China-U.S. relations' equally a registered unusual agent."
China's destination inward funding intend tanks is to endeavour to modify debates on Communist People's Republic of China without Beijing having to exercise its ain voice.
China Commission fellow member Larry Wortzel, a erstwhile armed forces tidings officeholder i time posted to China, said the study is of import for exposing the activities of the United Front Work Department too the Communist People's Republic of China People's Political Consultative Conference.
"Most Americans too many members of Congress have got no sentiment of the gain of activities undertaken yesteryear this Chinese Communist Party web," Wortzel said. "It is a degree of activity yesteryear Communist parties that dates dorsum to the days of Lenin."
Wortzel said instantly that Congress has been alerted to the Chinese influence operations, "Congress should consider legislation requiring anyone associated amongst the Communist People's Republic of China People's Political Consultative Conference, CUSEF, or the United Front Work Department to register equally a unusual agent," he said.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) has said the collusion betwixt American groups too United Front Work Department operatives is the Chinese political party using Americans to "unwittingly promote CCP ideology" inward a "countering voice" inward debates over China.
"Beijing seeks to outsource its messaging inward component subdivision because it believes foreigners are to a greater extent than probable to pick out propaganda if it appears to come upwardly from non-Chinese sources," the study said.
Chinese tidings agents likewise operate amongst the United Front Work Department to recruit students who are too hence called on to curtail universities' give-and-take of China.
China targets students through 142 Chinese Students too Scholars Associations (CSSA) inward the United States.
The associations "routinely coordinate amongst the Chinese authorities too … have got been involved inward the suppression of costless speech communication too the harassment, intimidation, too surveillance of Chinese pupil activists," the study said, noting "Chinese tidings officers posted inward diplomatic facilities are the primary betoken of contact for CSSA members."
United Front operations likewise are active inward the Confucius Institutes—Chinese government-funded centers that are used for influence too tidings activities.
Confucius Institutes are located on hundreds of American campuses too are used to "advance Beijing's preferred narrative too subvert of import academic principles such equally institutional autonomy too academic freedom."
"Significantly, Confucius Institutes are funded yesteryear the CCP Propaganda Department—formally affiliated amongst the [United Front Work Department] —and are likewise overseen yesteryear personnel based inward Chinese embassies too consulates," the study said.
According to the report, Chinese President Xi Jinping has elevated the purpose of the communist influence organs to promote Chinese communism worldwide.
Xi regards United Front operate equally a "magic weapon" for exercise inward what he has called the rejuvenation of China.
Since becoming Party full general secretarial assistant inward 2012, Xi has added 40,000 to a greater extent than people to the ranks of the United Front Work Department, too added novel departments.
"The destination of ‘overseas Chinese work' is to exercise ethnic, cultural, economic, or political ties to mobilize sympathetic overseas Chinese communities—ideally of their ain accord—to advocate for the interests of the CCP too marginalize its opponents," the study said.
"Chinese tidings services have got been known to coerce overseas Chinese to component subdivision equally operatives targeting other overseas Chinese inward both the the States too other countries, indicating that these agencies actively participate inward overseas Chinese operate that seeks to shroud official connections."
Former Chinese diplomat Chen Yonglin, who defected to Commonwealth of Australia inward 2005, said Communist People's Republic of China uses both coercion too incentives to recruit Chinese students equally informants.
In improver to the United Front Work Department, the study identified a Chinese armed forces organization, the Liaison Department, that is engaged inward propaganda operations, perception management activities, too tidings collection.
"For example, the Communist People's Republic of China Association for International Friendly Contact (CAIFC), a front end arrangement for the erstwhile General Political Department, performs dual roles of tidings collection too conducting propaganda too perception management campaigns, such equally its operate through the Sanya Initiative, a serial of rails 2 dialogues betwixt retired senior flag officers of the U.S. too Chinese armed forces," the study said.
The Sanya Initiative is led yesteryear retired Adm. Bill Owens, a erstwhile vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has used the Sanya grouping to antechamber Congress too the Pentagon against annual publication of the Communist People's Republic of China Military Power report.
Another Communist Party front end is the Communist People's Republic of China Association for International Friendly Contact that is component subdivision of the Chinese military's Central Military Commission's Political Work Department.
The study concluded that the threat to the the States from United Front operations is "significant" but "the extent of its arrangement too influence is nevertheless relatively unknown amidst policymakers."
"To effectively counter CCP influence operations, continued inquiry too investigation is needed to farther convey to low-cal the activities of the United Front, its purpose inward the CCP, how it operates, too its links to other of import CCP organs," the study said.
Chinese influence operations inward the the States have got been less visible too garnered less authorities scrutiny than Beijing's political interference inward Australia.
Congress is considering legislation that would require all organizations that promote the political agendas of unusual governments to register equally unusual agents, too would require universities to let on sure as shooting donations too gifts from unusual sources.
The study said the Australian Security Intelligence Organization estimated that at to the lowest degree 10 recent Australian dry soil too local authorities political candidates were connected to Chinese tidings agencies.
Chen, the Chinese defector inward Australia, said this calendar week that he is beingness threatened yesteryear Chinese agents since Commonwealth of Australia passed a police line restricting Beijing influence operations.
"China's options to quiet me nigh likely: 1. Kill me inward an ‘accident' hoping no evidences left behind. 2. Kidnap first, interrogate, execute too disappear. 3. Poison or shoot me. Then defame me if the kill exposed. Fake evidences could survive given inward details though I'm clean," Chen tweeted.
Against Taiwan, the Chinese Communist Party is engaged inward aggressive influence operations against the competitor island.
"The CCP is active inward waging data warfare against Taiwan to suppress independence movements, undermine Taiwan's government, too recruit politicians inward Taiwan too 3rd countries to advocate for China's preferred cross-Strait outcome: unification of Taiwan amongst the Mainland," the study said.
The White House this calendar week denounced China's interference inward El Salvador, which switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
"The the States volition move along to oppose China's destabilization of the cross-strait human relationship too political interference inward the Western Hemisphere," Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.
The committee study was produced yesteryear Alexander Bowe, a policy analyst specializing inward safety too unusual affairs.
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