'It Baffles Me': Lisa McClain Blasts Funding For Chinese Company To Build Next To US Military Base

last month

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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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.

'It Baffles Me': Lisa McClain Blasts Funding For Chinese Company To Build Next To US Military Base

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