Confronting the Chinese Communist Party in the United States

The sudden closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston, Texas, is the latest move in a chess match between the U.S. government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Praising the shutdown as “long overdue,” U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio called the consulate the “central node of the Communist Party’s vast network of spies & influence operations in the United States.”

As the United States moves to confront Chinese operations in our country, authorities are finding how kudzu-like Chinese peddling of influence has grown.

Five years ago, Reuters exposed a hidden radio network that was broadcasting propaganda in the United States. California-based G&E Studio is owned by a Beijing-based company that is a subsidiary of the Chinese state media company called China Radio International. The Chinese “borrowed boat” strategy employs a variety of front companies to lease our domestic radio bands, bypassing a federal ban on foreign governments owning the stations.