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A Chinese company’s recent purchase of farmland in North Dakota has lawmakers and analysts sounding the alarm about potential espionage.
The 300-acre farm, sold to Fufeng Group, is just 12 miles from Grand Forks Air Force Base, which houses sophisticated military drone technology.
Fufeng Group said it is planning to use the land to build a $700 million corn milling plant that would create at least 200 jobs as well as residual opportunities for logistics, trucking, and other services.
But US military officials are raising the alarm nonetheless. Senior Air Force officers circulated a memo in April warning that the presence of Fufeng Group in Grand Forks, a town of just 60,000 people, was a national security threat.
“Some of the most sensitive elements of Grand Forks exist with the digital uplinks and downlinks inherent with unmanned air systems and their interaction with space-based assets,” wrote US Air Force Maj. Jeremy Fox.
A Chinese firm with close proximity to such data “would present a costly national security risk causing grave damage to United States’ strategic advantages.”
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) has also expressed opposition to the presence of Fufeng Group, which he views as a front for the Chinese government.
“I think we grossly under appreciate how effective they are at collecting information, collecting data, using it in nefarious ways,” Cramer told CNBC. (New York Post)
Gordon Chang, a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, blasted the sale of the farmland on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Thursday, calling the move “impossibly stupid.”
“First of all, the Chinese are extremely aggressive,” he said. “But the more important story is that we are letting them do this. We are letting them buy a parcel 12 miles from a sensitive military facility where with passive listening equipment they can figure out almost everything we’re doing with those drones. This just is impossibly stupid."
UPDATE: this seems an appropriate time to remind readers that Senator Diane Feinstein, then Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee was “shocked” to learn from the FBI that her aide of 20 years was in fact a Chinese spy. “Why, I never!”
CBS:
The Bay Area is a hotbed for Russian and Chinese espionage. Late last year, the feds shut down the Russian consulate in San Francisco.
You may remember the thick black smoke that billowing from building before Russian diplomats turned it over to authorities, presumably produced by burning documents.
Now, all eyes are on Chinese intelligence in the Bay Area after the website Politico reported last week that a staffer for Senator Feinstein turned out to be a Chinese spy who reported back to the government officials about local politics.
Former FBI agent and KPIX 5 security analyst Jeff Harp said he was not surprised.
"Think about Diane Feinstein and what she had access to," said Harp. "One, she had access to the Chinese community here in San Francisco; great amount of political influence. Two, correct me if I'm wrong, Dianne Feinstein still has very close ties to the intelligence committees there in Washington, D.C."
Harp ran counter espionage for the FBI in the Bay Area. He said in addition to traditional political intel and diplomatic secrets, Bay Area spies are often focused on things like R&D, technology and trade secrets.
"They also have an interest in the economy here. How to get political influence here," said Harp. "What's being developed in Silicon Valley that has dual-use technology. All of that is tied to the Bay Area."
Nancy Pelosi, also based in San Francisco, and a close friend of Feinstein, is the person who appointed Sewall to the House Intelligence Committee.
