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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E911]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020
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speech of
HON. STEVE KING
of iowa
in the house of representatives
Thursday, July 11, 2019
The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of
the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2500) to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2020 for military
activities of the Department of Defense and for military
construction, to prescribe military personnel strengths for
such fiscal year, and for other purposes;
Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Chair, I am encouraged that my amendment to the
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year passed the
House of Representatives by voice vote on July 11, 2019. This important
amendment requires the ``Annual Report on Military and Security
Developments Involving the People's Republic of China'' to include an
assessment of (1) China's expansion of its surveillance state; (2) Any
correlation of such expansion with its oppression of its citizens and
its threat to United States national security interests around the
world; and (3) An overview of the extent to which such surveillance
corresponds to the overall respect, or lack thereof, for human rights.
This matter is one that I have long been attuned to and concerned
about, ultimately leading me to draft and introduce the ``Protect
American IPR Act'', which is H.R. 902 this session, and seeks to stop
Chinese theft of U.S. intellectual property through duties on Chinese
merchandise. For this reason, I have been encouraged to see President
Trump prioritizing the Chinese stealing of American intellectual
property.
Mass and unabated government surveillance does not only offend
individual liberties; in the hands of an authoritarian government, it
poses the Orwellian threat of the government always watching, and
ultimately using this ability, made possible to an unprecedented extent
by modem technology, to spy on, steal from, intimidate and persecute
not only those it views as ``political enemies'' and ``threats'', but
anyone it deems as expedient.
This Orwellian threat is becoming a reality, perhaps nowhere more so
than in China, where the government vigorously pursues a national video
surveillance network. The affinity of the Chinese government to control
its population in part by mass monitoring is not a new phenomenon, but
advancing technology makes its prospects more frightening every day for
those within and outside of the Mainland.
One internet privacy expert warns, ``What China is doing here is
selectively breeding its population to select against the trait of
critical, independent thinking''. Since China is a neighbor to many and
more importantly an actor on the world stage, that erosion will not
simply negatively impact the Chinese, it will spread--it arguably has
already. A world with continually less critical, independent thought is
a prospect to tremble at.
It is my strong belief that U.S. policy, including defense policy,
should by no measure assist, intentionally or unintentionally, the
growth of China's surveillance. Instead, it should discourage the
expansion of the Chinese government into the rest of the world, while
at the same time encouraging greater human rights for the Chinese
people, including expectant mothers and Christians and other religious
minorities.
I have heard from many individuals who warn against China's rapid
expansion and influence into the rest of the world, including Africa
and Central America, our nation's own backyard. Although the
government-connected interests bring economic promise (and
exploitation) to the developing world, they also bring the Chinese
surveillance state with them. To counter this very real and growing
threat, we need to first understand its scope, its impact for
individuals in China as well as those around world, and the extent to
which it threatens the U.S. national security interests.
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