US President Donald Trump has identified China as the US’ biggest foe and the US Department of Justice mirrored that emphasis over the past four years with a drumbeat of cases against defendants ranging from hackers accused of targeting intellectual property to professors charged with grant fraud.
Even after US president-elect Joe Biden’s administration arrives, the law enforcement focus on China might not look radically different, in part because of actions by Beijing that US officials, lawyers and analysts say run afoul of international norms.
Even if the anti-China rhetoric is cooled in the White House, cases against agents of the Chinese government might well continue, especially as some of the focus — including against trade-secret theft — preceded the Trump administration.
Photo: AFP
“I think this is going to continue, because it’s not really up to the US. It’s the Chinese who are being really aggressive,” said James Lewis, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The department in 2018 launched the China Initiative to combat what officials saw as a multipronged effort by Beijing to steal intellectual property and conduct foreign influence operations in the US.
It was part of a focus on China that has accelerated in the past year as Trump blamed the country for the spread of COVID-19 and as leaders of multiple agencies delivered speeches blasting Beijing.
“There is no turning back the clock to an era when free market liberal democracies turned a blind eye to [China’s] theft of intellectual property, appetite for sensitive personal data, and repression and censorship,” US Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said in a statement.
“The department’s commitment to disrupt the illegal and predatory Chinese activity aimed at America and its allies, as illustrated in prosecution after prosecution, will not waver,” he added.
Analyst expect Biden, who has referred to China a “serious competitor,” to make few major changes to US policy in conflicts with China over trade, technology and security amid widespread frustration with Beijing’s trade and human rights record and accusations of spying and technology theft.
FBI Director Christopher Wray has said that the bureau opens a Chinese counterintelligence case about every 10 hours.
The justice department said it has charged more than 10 trade-secret theft cases tied to China since the China Initiative began.
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
North Korea yesterday fired about 10 ballistic missiles to the sea toward Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce.” Seoul’s military detected “around 10 ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea [Sea of Japan] at around 1:20pm,” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water. The missiles
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
CLOSER TO CHINA: The upgraded Type-12 missile has a range of about 1,000km, compared with the original model’s range of 200km, and can reach mainland China Japan is preparing to deploy its first batch of domestically developed long-range missiles, with their launchers arriving at an army camp yesterday, as the country accelerates its offensive capability in response to rising challenges in the region. The upgraded Type-12 land-to-ship missiles are to be deployed at Camp Kengun in Japan’s southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto by the end of this month, completing the process of deployment, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said without giving details. Army vehicles carrying the launchers and other equipment arrived past midnight in a highly secretive mission criticized by residents. Dozens of people stood outside of the
RSS