'It Baffles Me': Lisa McClain Blasts Funding For Chinese Company To Build Next To US Military Base
During a House Oversight Committee hearing prior to the Congressional recess, Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) questioned witnesses about CCP political interference, and intelligence gathering.
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NewsTranscript
00:00is unrecognizable after two years under the national security law, which gets to the point
00:03that Ms. Kissel just made?
00:05Without objection, so ordered.
00:06And to the point that Mr. Bethel made, but expanding on it a little bit more, is the
00:10World Health Organization is not salvageable with regard to its infiltration by the CCP?
00:16Without objection, so ordered.
00:19Thank you.
00:20Chair now recognizes Ms. McClain from Michigan.
00:22Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you all for being here today.
00:25Ms. Kissel, I think you said something very insightful that really caught my attention,
00:29is we've got to have some red lines.
00:32And to quote you, you said, we can't go there.
00:36And I'm experiencing this a little bit in my state.
00:39I mean, if you look at the CCP, they're not our friend.
00:41I don't think anyone would disagree with that, right?
00:45That's pretty bipartisan.
00:47You know, from the intermittent camps, the abrasive military posture in the South China
00:51Sea, in the crackdown in Hong Kong, it's clear they're not our friend.
00:56And I would also want to make sure that my ladder's on the right wall, and I have a good
00:59understanding that if you are a Chinese company, you must turn over all of your data to the
01:06CCP if they ask for it.
01:07Is that correct?
01:08Am I miss – okay.
01:09So I just want to talk about some facts.
01:12We in Michigan have the Goshen plant that is very near and dear, and it's a very sensitive
01:19topic to me.
01:20It's being built close to Ferris State University, which was recently given an accreditation
01:27for its information security and intelligence system program.
01:32This is a university, American university, right?
01:35Michigan also has a military facility that is actively training Taiwanese soldiers to
01:42combat China in the event of an invasion.
01:46The Goshen plant is being constructed just miles from this facility.
01:53I'm not much for coincidences, but I'd like to get your thoughts on do you think that's
01:58a coincidence?
01:59We have a Chinese-owned company, and the only spot they can figure out that is feasible
02:08for them to build at is next to a university and next to a military base.
02:16Do you really think that's a coincidence?
02:18I'd just like to get your thoughts on that.
02:21Now here's the kicker.
02:23Here's the kicker.
02:25Our legislator, our governor, is going to give that company, Chinese-owned company,
02:31$800 million.
02:35I'm with you, Ms. Kissel.
02:37Am I saying your name correct?
02:39Yes, Kissel Lake Missile.
02:41You can't go there.
02:43Why are we allowing this to happen?
02:47It baffles my mind.
02:49We talk about, well, it's going to create jobs.
02:52Jobs for whom?
02:54I'm very concerned about that, very, and I'm not much for coincidences.
02:58So I'd like to start as, can anyone explain to me how the Chinese companies are bound
03:05to the CCP?
03:06Because when I say that, some folks back home across the aisle think I'm crazy.
03:11But am I correct in that statement?
03:14And can you explain how the Chinese, we'll start with you, Ms. Kissel, how the Chinese
03:18companies are bound to the CCP?
03:23So I would refer the committee to a speech that Secretary Pompeo delivered on civil-military
03:28fusion in San Francisco, where he outlined this threat and the laws of China that compel
03:34any company based in China to divulge any information to the party at any time in any
03:39manner if it's choosing.
03:41I believe that all the information that you need is in those remarks.
03:46In terms of-
03:47But for the people, for the average American listening right now, you're talking to the
03:52people of the great state of Michigan.
03:55In layman's terms, what does that mean?
03:58China is a party state.
04:01The function of China is not to better the interests of the Chinese people.
04:06It is to promote, strengthen, and expand the power, influence, and reach of the Chinese
04:11Communist Party.
04:12All activity done by Chinese companies within the Chinese borders accrues to the power of
04:19the party.
04:20But what happens if it's a company here owned by China?
04:23There are no independent Chinese companies.
04:26So even if they're on our soil, if it's a Chinese company, everything will get divulged
04:34at any point in time to the Chinese government.
04:36Correct.
04:37And I would also note for the Honorable Member that many of the intellectual property thefts
04:42suffered by American companies do not only occur in mainland China.
04:47I spoke to one Fortune 500 CEO who told me that the greatest Chinese IP threat that he
04:53suffered was here in the United States by a party, shall we say, directed individual
05:00who was directed to-
05:01And this is what I need to get our lawmakers in the state of Michigan to understand.
05:06China is not our friend.
05:07They are not our friend educationally.
05:08They are not our friend militarily.
05:11And they are not our friend economically.
05:13One last question, and if we could keep it to a yes or no, it would be great.
05:17Do you think the Goshen plant is an example of China making a long-term investment in
05:23the American business community to advance their interests and perhaps gain information,
05:31private information, from American citizens?
05:33Yes, but let's not give them too much credit as long-term thinkers.
05:37Let's remember, they almost destroyed their country several times over, the Cultural Revolution,
05:41now with this debt crisis, et cetera.
05:43And I really want to push back strongly on that notion that somehow they're these magical
05:47long-term planners.
05:48They're not.
05:49So you mean we could be in danger right now if this plant goes up?
05:53I'm saying that we have great advantages, as the former congressman laid out.
05:56We should use them.
05:57We need to recognize the nature of the threat, and we need to construct not just a defensive
06:01strategy but an offensive strategy.
06:03But it starts with, you just can't go there.
06:07And with that, Mr. Chairman, I'm over.
06:08I yield back.
06:09Thank you.
06:10Gentlelady yields back.
06:11Chair now recognizes Mr. Fallon from Texas.
06:15Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
06:16I appreciate it.
06:17And I want to thank all the witnesses very much for coming.
06:19We've heard some of the same common themes as far as China is an existential threat,
06:23they pose an existential threat to the United States.