Could the U.S. Hack China's Surveillance Cameras? | China in Focus

Welcome to China In Focus, I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story. Taiwan's parliament just gave the green light to a U.S. arms deal worth $9 billion. Taiwanese officials say missing the Sunday deadline could delay delivery of critical weapons, potentially putting the island at greater risk as it faces China's military aggression. Could Western hackers get into China's surveillance cameras? The answer could be found on the streets of Tehran. How can the U.S. stop the Chinese regime's malicious influence on American universities? Senators Bill Cassidy says $9.7 billion in gifts and contracts went to U.S. schools last year with little oversight. Lawmakers in the U.S. Senate are questioning military leaders about CCP-linked technology, China's global reach, and whether NATO allies are ready to take on these challenges. And two senators introducing a bipartisan bill targeting a crime in China, forced organ harvesting. An expert weighs in on Beijing's long arm on U.S. soil and how the bill could help protect those targeted by the regime. Taiwan bolstering defense against China. Taiwan's parliament has approved a major step on Friday, allowing the government to move forward with several U.S. arms deals worth about $9 billion in total. President Lai Ching-de's government says the move was urgent, warning Taiwan could lose its place in the production line if the agreements aren't finalized soon. The packages include anti-tank missiles, M-109 artillery weapons, Javelin missiles made by Lockheed Martin, and the HIMARS rocket system. The weapons are part of a broader $11 billion arms package the U.S. announced in December. Taiwan's defense ministry says the agreements must be signed with Washington by Sunday. Missing that deadline could push Taiwan to the back of the delivery queue and send the wrong signal to Washington. The debate has also highlighted divisions inside Taiwan's parliament. Last month, 37 U.S. lawmakers warned Taiwan about delays in its defense plans. President Lai's government has proposed roughly $40 billion in additional defense spending. But opposition lawmakers say the plan lacks details and have pushed back on approving what they call a blank check. The U.S. remains Taiwan's primary arms supplier, even though the two do not have formal diplomatic relations. Under U.S. law, Washington must provide the island with the means to defend itself. Taiwan's push for these weapons come amid growing military aggression from China in the Taiwan Strait. Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory, but Taiwan rejects that claim, saying the island's future should be decided by its people. Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters the U.S. could approve its largest ever arms package for Taiwan worth $14 billion. The deal is reportedly being held back until after President Trump's upcoming meeting with China's Xi Jinping. China's foreign ministry says it opposes U.S. arms deals to Taiwan and has repeatedly called on Washington to stop providing weapons to the island nation. However, a senior U.S. official confirmed more weapon approvals for Taiwan are in the works. Could surveillance cameras in China be vulnerable to Western hacking? The answer may lie on the streets of Tehran. China has supercharged Iran's surveillance and censorship technology for more than a decade, including traffic cameras. They have recently been used by the Iranian government to suppress protesters. But these traffic cameras may also have become a vital tool for Israel. Israeli intelligence has hacked into the ones in Tehran for years, according to the Financial Times, sending sources familiar with the matter. Being able to penetrate Iran's surveillance system allowed Israel and the U.S. to know exactly who was where and for how long. According to the report, this intelligence led to the death of Iranian regime leader Ali Khamenei and about 40 other officials shortly after the attacks began. Could something similar happen in China if President Trump deems it necessary? No one is talking about attacking Beijing, but Beijing has been talking about taking over Taiwan for decades, especially in recent years. And if Beijing were to attack Taiwan, no one knows how President Trump might respond, given his unpredictable style. China has more than 700 million surveillance cameras spread across the country. They allow the Chinese regime to keep tabs on and clamp down on its own people. But those same systems could potentially backfire if they were hacked. So which Chinese companies provide surveillance cameras on Iran's streets? A report by a British human rights organization says companies including Huawei, ZTE and Hikvision have supplied monitoring technologies to Iran for more than a decade. All three companies have also been placed on U.S. government blacklists over national security concerns. They are major producers of surveillance and traffic cameras widely used across China. The Senate examining the issue of malign foreign influence at U.S. colleges and universities and what can be done about it. NTD correspondent Jason Blair has the takeaways from a Thursday hearing on Capitol Hill. We need to know if other countries are trying to steal, research or influence our campuses with an anti-American ideology. Senate lawmakers and experts discuss the problem of maliciously intended foreign influence at U.S. universities. I think it was a 2019 Senate investigation revealed that Chinese intellectual property theft on campus robbed us of 200 to 600 billion dollars a year. Did you know that in China they passed two laws that require all nationals, not just their students, but all nationals to cooperate with the CCP and provide information on demand? I'm concerned, yes, that we are in a situation where the Chinese students are subject to state pressure to cooperate with their government. Even if they don't want to, they will. Senator Bill Cassidy says that in 2020, the Department of Justice indicted a Harvard University chemistry chairman for lying about his affiliation with China's Thousand Talents Plan. A research recruitment program run by the Chinese Communist Party to lure talented Chinese students back to China. Dr. Peter Woods says that China's Confucius Institutes, which have a history of influencing Americans, have rebranded, but their goal remains the same. What do Americans actually know about China? Well, if they are engaged in universities with Confucius Institutes or their successors, they're not learning anything about the South China Sea, Tibet, the Uyghurs, organ harvesting, the vast number of mischievous things, let's call them, that China engages in and that the American public knows very little about. Another expert explained that some American universities that have campuses in other countries don't have full control over what's taught there. In many of these cases, the host government nation, China or Qatar, is in charge of curricula development. It's in- Is that true? Yes. You're talking about an American institute of higher education? Correct. Prestigious? Yes. Who gets the dollars? Yes. But they would cede authorship of their curriculum to another? That's correct. Largely, there was a bipartisan agreement that the U.S. needs to find ways to deal with these issues without excluding people or groups that do make donations or study at U.S. colleges without malicious intent. Reporting in Washington, D.C., Jason Blair, Entity News. Military commanders faced questions Thursday during a Senate hearing about CCP-linked technology and China's presence in global ports. Lawmakers also asked whether NATO allies are ready to take on a bigger role in Europe's defense. Entity's Chris Bobb reports. North Korean troops and materiel, Iranian drone technology, and Chinese economic support enable Moscow to sustain its war in Ukraine. On Capitol Hill Thursday, lawmakers questioning military leaders about vulnerabilities at home from the Chinese Communist Party, including how U.S. military equipment is tracked through wireless tags as it moves across the country and how prepared the U.S. is to take on China. One of the largest manufacturers of those tags and the technology is owned by a parent company with ties to the Chinese Communist Party. The CCP could utilize these tracking technologies to monitor our military movements. What can we do about that? There are lots of other things that move in the commercial space, and that itself makes it very, very hard for folks to track our equipment. With China, are we prepared with our current maritime industry to support a long-term conflict with a near-peer adversary? I'll tell you that if we were given the task to go today, we would all go. Senator Ted Budd pressing the head of U.S. Transportation Command on the risks posed by Chinese and Russian naval activity and commercial infrastructure overseas. What concerns does Transcom have regarding Chinese and Russian naval deployments and commercial investments in ports across the globe? When it comes to the Chinese fleet deployments, we go one step further to track their footprint, infrastructure, and what types of things that they put in place, mainly in seaports. So we keep a very close eye on their electronic systems, cranes. We work with port authorities to make sure that we know where those are, and then we operate in ways to circumvent that. With President Trump pushing NATO allies to spend 5% of GDP on defense, military officials updated the committee on improvements to the capabilities of allied forces, including the planned replacement of any technology made in China. If allies use part of this funding to rip and replace high-tech Chinese technology, how would that contribute to EUCOM's mission? Senator, we want Chinese technology out of anything related with the defense of the United States or Europe or across the alliance. And so we focus our efforts to help our allies identify where they have Chinese technology in their information networks, particularly their defense information networks. And then there's Chinese technology and ownership across much of the infrastructure that folks like General Reid would rely on to flow forces either across or into the continent. Do all of our NATO allies share our concern about Chinese technology? They absolutely understand the threat and the risk, and they take action. Hearing testimony confirmed that many European allies are already meeting or approaching 5% of GDP in defense spending, with plans to gradually build military capabilities through 2030. Military officials say this progress will allow NATO to assume a stronger leadership role in Europe's conventional defense, helping secure forces and infrastructure against threats from China, Russia, and other adversaries. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Chris Bobb, NTD News. Coming up, two senators introducing a bipartisan bill targeting a crime in China, forced organ harvesting. An expert weighs in on how Beijing's long arm on U.S. soil and how the bill could help protect those targeted by the regime. More on that after the break here on China In Focus. Welcome back to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Senators Ted Cruz and Jeff Merkley introducing a bipartisan bill this week titled the Falun Gong and Victims of Forced Organ Harvesting Protection Act. For more on this story, NTD's Iris Tao spoke with Cynthia Sun, a senior researcher at the Palo Alto Information Center, to discuss the CCP's transnational repression. They also talked about how passage of the bill could help protect those targeted by the regime, including those on U.S. soil. Take a look. Cynthia, thank you so much for joining us tonight. Thank you so much for having me. So first, we know that Senators Ted Cruz and Jeff Merkley, both on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, have now introduced the Falun Gong and Forced Organ Harvesting Victims Protection Act. And tell us more about what this bill is and what its significance. Yeah, so it's actually pretty easy. You know, first you identify, then you sanction, and then you expose. And we're trying to target specific perpetrators of forced organ harvesting, which is an atrocity that's gone on for at least two decades as far as we know. And it's really heartening to see that Democrats, especially a leader like Merkley, is so enthused about supporting victims. And it's become a bipartisan issue, which it already always has been in our hearts, because it's really a human rights issue. It's really great to see these two leaders in Senate get together and reintroduce this bill, which supersedes the previous one, which is the Falun Gong Protection Act. So two questions now. First, dive in a bit more for our audience who are wondering, what is Falun Gong? And what is forced organ harvesting? Like, what are these things essentially? And why does it require more attention? Yeah, so I mean, Congress has known about organ harvesting for a few years now. There's multiple bills about the issue. But it goes really back to 2006, where Falun Gong practitioners, you know, this large mainstream faith group in China, were whistleblowing about this phenomenon of being persecuted, killed for their organs. And essentially, prisoners of conscience were being sold to tourists and to patients, and for very cheap, because these prisoners of conscience, there's no accountability towards crimes against them. So what this new act does is really try to combat that, to try to protect American financial and visa systems from being exploited, from being complicit in these crimes. And so if a Chinese official or a Chinese surgeon is found to have committed these medical crimes, then their visa is stripped from the U.S., their properties might also be stripped, and their family won't be able to visit the U.S. in the future. Tell us more about why Falun Gong was being persecuted and still is by the Chinese Communist Party. And what has the U.S. Congress and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have spoken out about it? Yeah, I mean, we've received multitudes of annual speeches and proclamations over the past 26 years since the persecution began. What Falun Gong is, at its core, is Chinese traditional culture. We believe in the divine, we believe in the creator, and it's something spiritual that the CCP's guns and torture and different methods can't touch, because they're trying to fight a physical war with a spiritual entity, with a spiritual realm. And so in terms of actually targeting Falun Gong and persecuting Falun Gong, they haven't been successful. And that's something that I think most people underappreciate, how faith is really at the core of Chinese people's identity prior to communism, and perhaps even in the future of China after communism. Well, we've certainly seen leaders from around the world spoken out about both abuses going on in China, but also a new aspect in recent years, which is the CCP's transnational repression, targeting dissidents abroad, including here in the U.S., but also irregular American citizens. Talk to us more about what is going on. Yeah, so transnational repression is when the Chinese government or a foreign-aligned government interferes with the domestic security and the civil society of Americans or of another government. And just two weeks ago, I believe, February 27th, there was a Falun Gong practitioner, Lydia Dong, who was attacked in New York City by a Chinese man. She was just standing there on the street, passing out flyers, and a Chinese man came from behind her and punched her in the head. Over the past two years, there have been at least seven similar incidents in New York City related to assault, related to these criminals who are really trying to discriminate and silence the truth. Talk to us more about, though, what evidence points to the CCP being actually behind these attacks happening in the U.S. or other incidents that are against or targeting dissidents abroad. What are some signs that we can look into to see this is not individual behavior, but really a transnational repression being sponsored by a foreign adversary? Yeah, so over the past three, four years, we've tracked over 300 incidents of transnational repression, including assault, battery, including death threats, including bomb threats. And it really started in June 2022, when Xi Jinping held a meeting specifically to talk about transnational repression, to talk about silencing and ending Falun Gong once and for all, because in his words, the entire campaign hasn't been creative enough. And so far, the persecution of Falun Gong hasn't succeeded. And that's his words, not mine. And so what we've seen is, from that point on, there have been appointments in the United Front, there have been appointments in the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of State Security, all the way down to the lower echelons of Chinese officials who are actually trying to use even overseas associations and Chinese consulates to suppress Falun Gong and attack Falun Gong in broad daylight. And finally, this act, this Falun Gong, as well as victims of forced organ harvesting protection act, how will this bill potentially deter those actions by maligned foreign actors? And what's your message to lawmakers on the Hill who will be seeing this bill on their desk? Yeah, I mean, this act is really the first, will be the first ever law to pass specifically investigating forced organ harvesting and specifically investigating the crimes and perhaps even designating them an atrocity. And so I think that is a first step forward. There are a lot of steps to go from here. But to be able to even say that we have a law that brings a lot of attention to the table. It brings a lot of attention towards Falun Gong practitioners who are out in the streets. It brings more attention towards security. It brings more credibility to the stories and the experiences of torture that these victims have faced. And in terms of what lawmakers should do, I think they should sponsor this new bill. It's an amazing effort. It's supported by both sides of the House, the Senate, Democrats and Republicans. All a rare show of bipartisanship. Hopefully it comes into fruition. Thank you so much, Cynthia, for joining us. Appreciate it. Thank you so much. Conflicts are rising between two countries bordering Iran, Pakistan, and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The Chinese Communist Party tried to mediate the situation but failed. Pakistan bombed a fuel depot near Afghanistan's Kandahar airport, the ruling Taliban said Friday. It escalated the neighbouring country's worst conflict in years, despite China's mediation attempts. Private airline Cam Air said more than 1,600 US tons of fuel had been lost, which Kandahar airport said supplied not just the airline but aircraft owned by Red Crescent and the UN. The strikes on the depot threatened to spark further hostilities between two countries that share a border with Iran. Overnight Pakistani strikes also hit residential areas in Kabul, killing four people and wounding more than a dozen. While east of the capital, an official reported that a mortar shell, which Afghanistan said was fired by Pakistan, killed a woman and child. The UN in Afghanistan said the airstrikes in Kabul had killed at least four civilians and injured 14 in the Puli Charkhi area. Resident Mursaleen survived the strikes. We were attacked from the Pakistani side. It was around 12.30 at night when the explosion occurred. When the blast happened, I got up and saw that everything, including the door, windows and glass, had been shattered. I went outside and saw that four people had been killed and many others were injured. Pakistan's information minister said that these strikes were part of the ongoing operation, targeting what he described as militant camps and, quote, terrorist support infrastructure in Kabul, Paksha and Kandahar. He added that dozens of Afghanistani sites had been struck but denied any civilians had been targeted. Kabul vowed that the aggression would, quote, not go unanswered. The fighting erupted last month with Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan that Islamabad said targeted militant strongholds. Afghanistan called the strikes a violation of sovereignty, however, as it launched retaliatory attacks. That's all for today's China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. If you have any feedback on the show or have something you'd like to see us cover, send us an email at chinainfocusandtd.com. We'd love to hear from you. For on the clock news coverage, visit us at ntd.com or download our NTD app. Thanks for watching. See you soon.