Hoffman: We're under siege by Chinese espionage
54 U.S. scientists lose jobs after investigation reveals foreign ties; former CIA station chief Daniel Hoffman reacts.
The United States is under siege by Chinese espionage, former CIA Station Chief Daniel Hoffman asserted Tuesday.
In an interview on 'America's Newsroom" with host Ed Henry, the Fox News contributor explained that Chinese spies are targeting American academics, researchers, businesses, and national security officials.
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"They’re also sending their own to our country because they’re trying to take advantage of our very open democratic system to steal our intellectual property," he added. "And, it is of great concern and I’m sure of heightened interest in the Congress as well as our Executive Branch for how to come up with better solutions to counter this."
Oct. 17, 2014: The National Institutes of Health Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center where patients with Ebola are treated is seen in Bethesda, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
In November of 2019, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and FBI began an intensive and sweeping investigation into scientists who were stealing biomedical research for other countries. According to the New York Times, all of the incidents uncovered involved scientists of Chinese descent. Critics of the probe questioned whether the focus on Chinese Americans amounted to racial profiling.
China's actions have been under magnified scrutiny over the past couple of months following the spread of the fatal coronavirus contagion.
Hoffman said that while there was concern about China's targeted infiltrations and "full-court press," he urged that the U.S. needs better public-private partnerships with higher institutes of learning.
"And, NIH for example has got to have a better foreign contact program where they don't just report all of their interactions with foreigners. In particular, with [the] Chinese," he pointed out.
According to Hoffman, China is operating with the intention of penetrating U.S. government research by enticing American scientists with offers of financial assistance.
"They for sure want to steal our secrets when it comes to the COVID vaccine. They might even want to try to interfere with what we’re doing to impede our progress for finding a vaccine in our own country," he noted.
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Hoffman told Henry he "wouldn't put it past" the Chinese to "want the rest of the world to suffer the same economic consequences that they are suffering.
"And so, when the virus gets out we know what [it] has done to our economy and I think we do need to hold them accountable for that among other things," he concluded.
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