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Feenstra Joins Colleagues in Exposing Chinese Communist Party for Stealing American Technological Secrets

Urges Biden Administration to Hold Foreign Spies Accountable

Last week, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) joined several of his Republican colleagues on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee in sending a letter to Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Arati Prabhakar regarding targeted efforts by the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate U.S. institutions and steal confidential federal research through foreign malign recruitment programs.

“For decades, the Chinese Communist Party has incentivized and recruited Chinese scientists, students, and researchers to steal American scientific research and technological secrets,” said Rep. Feenstra. “The Biden Administration must outline a clear plan to prevent the CCP from gaining access to our cutting-edge research and hold spies and our foreign adversaries accountable for their illicit behavior. I am proud to join my colleagues on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee to shed light on the ills of foreign malign recruitment programs funded by the CCP and protect our national security and scientific research.”

In their letter, the lawmakers wrote, “Foreign countries incentivize their students and researchers with salaries, research funding, lab space, and other benefits to come to the United States to engage in our research and development programs and transmit that knowledge back to their foreign government. Over the years, we have seen numerous examples of the CCP practicing this tactic at our institutions of higher education through their Thousand Talents Program and their Youth Thousand Talents Program. These programs are part of the CCP’s overarching Military-Civil Fusion (MCF) national strategy. Under the MCF, the CCP targets seemingly innocuous key civilian technologies, acquires them illicitly, and exploits the ‘dual-use’ potential of these technologies to build up their military capabilities.”

Last June, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee passed a Feenstra-sponsored amendment – the Foreign Talents Program Prohibition amendment – which would prevent U.S. taxpayer-funded researchers from participating in programs that may lead to the theft or unethical transfer of American intellectual property.

You can read the full letter HERE.

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