MADISON, WI (WTAQ-WRN) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warns that the Chinese Communist Party is aggressively attempting to influence state and local governments.
Pompeo spoke to Republican legislators in Madison on Wednesday, arguing that Chinese propaganda efforts are taking place right here in Wisconsin.
“We see it all over in America’s Sister Cities programs, like the ones on Door County, La Crosse, Milwaukee and Richland Center. They fall under the authority of something called the Chinese Peoples Association of Friendship with Foreign Countries. Sounds benign,” Pompeo said. “But that group is part of China’s United Front Work Department, the CCP’s official overseas propaganda tool.”
Investments too, he says, are another avenue through which Chinese influence is promulgated.
“As of its last report, the Wisconsin Retirement System is invested in China Mobile and China Telecom. Both are state owned giants, and they’re an integral part of Chinese Orwellian surveillance system,” said Pompeo. “Do you want your teachers, your firefighters and your policemen invested in those kinds of activities?”
States need to work more closely with the federal government, he asserted, to combat Chinese influence.
“You can also work to ensure your state colleges aren’t improperly influenced by CCP linked organizations like the Confucius Institutes. And that pro-democracy students from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan studying in Wisconsin are not harassed. We want them here” he said. “Make sure they are not being threatened by pro-Beijing elements on your campuses.”
Pompeo’s Madison speech comes as his boss, President Donald Trump, hopes to win the state over Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
