From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Philip Lenczycki

Republican lawmakers urged the U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday to take “decisive action” against a Chinese military company that has “expansive operations at major U.S. ports,” according to a letter exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The House Committee on Homeland Security and House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party sent a letter to U.S. Coast Guard Acting Commandant, Admiral Kevin E. Lunday requesting information and a classified briefing related to COSCO Shipping, a Chinese state-owned enterprise that the Department of Defense (DOD) recently added to its list of “Chinese Military Companies.” COSCO Shipping poses a “significant” national security threat to the U.S., ranging from “espionage, cyber intrusions, sabotage, and supply chain disruptions,” according to the letter.

“Permitting vessels and personnel affiliated with COSCO SHIPPING to operate within U.S. ports without adequate safeguards exposes the nation to unacceptable risks, particularly during times of increased geopolitical tension,” the letter states. “As the lead federal agency for maritime security, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) must take decisive action to mitigate these risks.”

The letter is signed by House Homeland Security chairman, Tennessee Rep. Mark Green, China Select Committee chairman, Michigan Rep. John Moolenaar, Florida Rep. Carlos Gimenez and South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson.

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) exploits “Chinese Military Companies” for intelligence and military purposes as part of its “Military-Civil Fusion Strategy,” the letter states.

Military-Civil Fusion “supports the modernization goals of the People’s Liberation Army by ensuring it can acquire advanced technologies and expertise developed by PRC companies, universities, and research programs that appear to be civilian entities,” according to the DOD.

Toward that end, China engages in “forced technology transfer, intelligence gathering, and outright theft,” and directs Chinese enterprises to “undertake classified military R&D and weapons production,” according to the State Department.

In addition to being a state-owned enterprise, the committee’s letter warns that COSCO Shipping vessels “frequently have Chinese Communist Party (CCP) political commissars embedded amongst their crews.”

COSCO Shipping’s website includes a section for “Party building” and states that its CEO, Wan Min, also serves as the Party secretary of the firm’s internal CCP branch. A “Party branch” is the smallest “grass-roots” CCP organization, and one must be established within any Chinese institutions containing three or more Party members, according to the Chinese government.

The committee’s letter also urges the USCG to intensify its protocols for “screening vessels, owners, and crew members associated with COSCO Shipping and other entities linked to the PLA or the PRC’s security and intelligence services.”

COSCO Shipping’s previous CEO, Xu Lirong, simultaneously served as deputy director of the China International Culture Exchange Center (CICEC), which former analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute Alex Joske identified as a front for China’s premier civilian intelligence service, the Ministry of State Security, the DCNF previously reported.

“It is essential that biographical information for all foreign mariners, particularly those from the PRC and other high-risk countries, undergo comprehensive scrutiny utilizing the complete range of classified and unclassified data resources accessible to the U.S. government,” the committee’s letter states.

A USCG spokesperson told the DCNF it “routinely evaluates vessels before arrival within U.S. waters” and examines vessels “for safety and security” after arrival as well.

The committee’s letter also requests for USCG to provide answers to nine questions by Feb. 3.

More than half of the questions relate to the protocols, process, or datasets USGC uses to vet foreign vessels and mariners.

For example, one question asks: “What classified and unclassified datasets are used by the USCG to vet foreign mariners, vessel owners, and operators?”

Another question asks: “Is the USGC’s vetting and screening process for foreign vessels and mariners fully automated, partially automated, or primarily manual?”

Other questions concern USGC’s possible coordination with federal agencies, like the FBI, and inquire into whether or not USGC has conducted a risk assessment specific to COSCO Shipping.

“The USCG must prioritize the integration of both classified and unclassified intelligence, strengthen interagency coordination and collaboration, and leverage advanced technological solutions to enhance its ability to detect and deter emerging threats,” the committee’s letter states.

COSCO Shipping did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

Liberals have refused to change their membership rule which allow non-citizens to vote in leadership races despite concerns that this could lead to foreign interference in selecting a prime minister to replace Trudeau

The Liberal Party has refused to change their membership rules for the upcoming leadership race, meaning Canada’s next prime minister could effectively be chosen by non-Canadians.  

On January 7 the Liberals confirmed that their membership rules allowing non-citizens to vote in leadership races will remain intact despite concerns that this could lead to foreign interference in selecting a prime minister to replace Justin Trudeau, who has announced he is stepping down. 

According to information shared with CBC News, the Liberal Party “doesn’t intend to change or reinterpret rules in its 2016 constitution that Elections Canada has suggested could make the vote be at least as vulnerable to such efforts as previous leadership races.”  

Following Trudeau’s resignation, the Liberal Party is preparing for a leadership race. In addition to being the new Liberal leader, the winning candidate will automatically serve as prime minister at least until an election is held, which could be as late as October.

Currently, the Liberal Party rules do not require proof of Canadian citizenship to join the party, but only that the person “ordinarily live[s] in Canada or, for Canadians living abroad, be qualified as an elector who may vote in accordance with part 11 of the Canada Elections Act.”  

Additionally, while voters must by 18 years-old to participate in the Federal Election, voters as young as 14-years-old can participate in the Liberal’s leadership race provided they “support the purposes of the Party.” 

Many have pointed out that the loose rules will allow any number of non-citizens, from China, India, Russia or any part of the world, to effectively help select the interim prime minister.   

According to Statistics Canada, there are now more than three million non-permanent residents living in Canada who are eligible to vote for the new Liberal leader and consequently, the prime minister.  

Even some Liberal MPs have called for more strict rules to safeguard the upcoming leadership race, noting the potential dangers of their open policy.   

The concerns regarding the integrity of the upcoming leadership race come after more than a year of evidence has been submitted to indicate foreign interference took place in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. In fact, reports show that China bragged it meddled in 41 candidates’ campaigns in Canada’s 2019 election, which saw Trudeau’s Liberal government re-elected to a second term.

In response to foreign interference claims, the Foreign Interference Commission was convened in late 2023 to “examine and assess the interference by China, Russia, and other foreign states or non-state actors, including any potential impacts, to confirm the integrity of, and any impacts on, the 43rd and 44th general elections (2019 and 2021 elections) at the national and electoral district levels.”   

The commission is headed by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, who had earlier said she and her lawyers will remain “impartial” and will not be influenced by politics. In January 2024, Hogue said that she would “uncover the truth whatever it may be.”   

As reported by LifeSiteNews, documents from a federal inquiry looking at meddling in Canada’s past two elections by foreign state actors show that agents of the CCP allegedly worked at Elections Canada polling centers during the 2021 campaign.   

To date, Trudeau has been coy and has never explicitly stated whether he was ever told by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) that CCP agents’ actions were in breach of the nation’s Elections Act.   

A few months ago, the head of Canada’s intelligence agency testified under oath that he gave Trudeau multiple warnings that agents of the CCP were going after Conservative MPs, yet the prime minister has denied receiving these warnings.