U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko (D-CA) listens to witnesses during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on June 20, 2019
U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko, an Arizona Republican, has reintroduced a bill to prevent the Chinese Communist regime from stealing U.S. intellectual property by denying visas to people with ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the CCP military.
The bill, called the Stop China’s IP Theft Act, would prohibit the issuance of visas to high-ranking CCP officials, their spouses and children. These officials include the 25 members of the Political Bureau of the CCP Central Committee, the Central Committee (i.e., the CCP Central Committee), which contains key leadership, and delegates to the 19th Communist Party Congress.
In addition, members of the State Council of the CCP’s Central Government and active members of the CCP’s military are barred from obtaining visas.
According to a statement released by Lesko’s office on Feb. 8, she said, “We cannot continue to tolerate the CCP’s attempts to steal our intellectual property.”
She added, “This legislation is critical to protecting our intellectual property and deterring the global threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party.”
Lesko first introduced the bill (H.R. 8764) in November of last year. The reintroduced bill is co-sponsored by several Republican lawmakers, including Andy Biggs (R) of Arizona, Mo Brooks (R) of Alabama, Matt Gaetz (R) of Florida, Scott Perry (R) of Pennsylvania, Greg Steube (R) of Florida Greg Steube (R), Tom Tiffany (D) of Wisconsin, and Jeff Van Drew (D) of New Jersey.
Under the bill, the visa ban would be lifted once the Director of National Intelligence certifies to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees that the Communist regime has ceased “sponsoring, funding, facilitating,” etc., violations of intellectual property rights of U.S. citizens and companies.
Under the Trump administration, the U.S. Department of Justice has brought numerous prosecutions against Chinese citizens and Americans for allegedly concealing ties to the Chinese Communist Party or allegedly stealing intellectual property from U.S. companies and institutions to benefit the Chinese Communist Party.
A Chinese professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), for example, was arrested and charged in mid-January for failing to disclose cooperation with entities linked to the CCP.
On January 13, a senior NASA scientist confessed that he lied about his ties to a Beijing-backed talent program. The Chinese Communist Party has launched numerous talent programs (such as the “Thousand Talents Program”) to acquire talent from developed countries and transfer intellectual property to China.
Avril Haines, the current director of national intelligence, told a Senate confirmation hearing for her nomination last month that she believes the Chinese Communist Party is a U.S. adversary in some areas and a partner in others.
In an article in the Wall Street Journal last December, Haines’ predecessor, John Ratcliffe, said, “China [the Chinese Communist Party] poses the greatest threat to the United States today and the greatest threat to democracy and freedom around the world since World War II.”
He added, “The intelligence is clear: Beijing intends to dominate the United States and the rest of the planet economically, militarily and technologically.”
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