Congressional investigators revealed that several U.S. officials and their family members have been detained in Communist Chinese quarantine centers throughout the viral epidemic, leading to allegations from House Republicans that they have been essentially taken hostage by Beijing and are being forced to reveal information.
“U.S. Embassy officials in Beijing recently confirmed that 16 U.S. diplomats and their family members—throughout the pandemic—have been involuntarily held in quarantine camps and subjected to strict confinement measures with no definitive release date,” U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Republicans reveal.
“Committee Republicans are concerned that U.S diplomats could be or have been pressured to surrender intelligence while detained in PRC quarantine camps. We must ensure the protection of all Americans abroad—especially those who have access to classified information—and put an end to the undignified detainment of U.S. diplomats,” they write in a letter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Committee Republicans report:
The confinement of U.S. diplomats in the PRC raises grave national security concerns. The PRC poses a geopolitical threat to the United States and should not be coercing U.S. diplomats into and surveilling them under draconian quarantine policies. According to The Washington Post as well as internal correspondence whistleblowers have provided to Congress, the PRC engaged in a sustained campaign to deprive U.S. diplomats of their liberties under the guise of COVID-19 containment. For example, the PRC reportedly has improperly tested U.S. diplomats for conditions and diseases other than COVID-19, isolated families with young children in a fever clinic for lengthy periods and attempted to separate quarantined children from their parents.
Unfortunately, these extreme containment measures are part of the PRC's attempt to undermine United States national security and undermine basic reciprocity in diplomatic relations. According to a report the Department provided to Congress,“[t]hrough a sustained harassment and intimidation campaign, the PRC government discourages its citizens from participating in routine public diplomacy programs and U.S. government funded exchanges.” The PRC also controls (and substantially restricts) U.S. diplomatic access to local officials and researchers through its Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) program.
Further, as has been documented comprehensively in recent years, the PRC state has directed or supported the theft of trillions of dollars of U.S. companies' intellectual property and troves of invaluable intelligence to narrow the technological capacity gap between itself and the U.S. Sometimes this “cool war” has deadly consequences. During the Obama Administration, for example, China reportedly executed over 30 American intelligence sources. Given that troubling reality, it is reasonable to wonder and worry about the threats posed by the PRC to U.S. diplomats while they are or were being involuntarily and unjustly quarantined, ostensibly under the guise of COVID-19 protocols.
The lawmakers demand a briefing with Blinken on this apparent national security crisis.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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