Red Handed by Peter Sweizer

 How American elites get rich helping China win or Sleeping With the Enemy 

Peter Schweizer in his book, Red Handed,  bravely outlines the extent to which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) seduced the Washington elite and many others throughout America. The elite  followed willingly the siren call for unlimited wealth and adulation. 

Schweizer outlines the double dipping of many legislators retiring to become high paid lobbyists for China and more directly the CCP. He described how Cabinet members, diplomats and even retired military engage in the same consulting businesses that initially in the 60s sought engagement, trade and peace, but soon turned to vicious subversion. For Silicon Valley technocracy, the market opportunity for sales to China’s 1.44 billion population was initially an irresistible siren call above all other considerations, and for most of these corporations, the profits outweighed any thoughts of national security. The Author included Wall Street financing of the Chinese military with investment products not accountable to our Securities Exchange Commission, including many retirement funds. He goes on to describe the Bush and Trudeau families’ close relations with Chinese officials of the CCP. Don’t  forget Senator Dianne Feinstein or Senator Mitch McConnell and the Chao family of ship builders. Schwartz focuses particularly on Yale University with the massive and mostly unaccounted for Chinese donations and joint programs.

This book names names, dates and dollar amounts with a surprisingly long list of persons who’s greed forgoes their honor.  He names a few not so easily seduced and a few of the good. The last chapter makes suggestions: Ban lobbying on behalf of Chinese military- and intelligence-linked companies. Ban Chinese military- and intelligence-linked companies from appearing on US stock exchanges. Ban joint research between Chinese and American universities.  Ban investment in corporations with Chinese military and intelligence projects. Wall Street firms need to consistently apply Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG). —- needs to include National security as well (ESGS)

I don’t know how you are going to gain truth in Media companies,  now owned or financed by China. The CCP owns Hollywood too.

James Mann is the former Beijing bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times and is now a scholar at Johns Hopkins University. He argues that “engagement” is essentially a strategic fraud. Clyde Prestowitz, a longtime observer and author on China matters, believes we should replace engagement with reciprocity. (However, reciprocity cannot exist when one party holds deception as the highest good while the other views truth as the guiding virtue — the Eastern mind set versus the West.)

Schweizer mentions the unlikely but hopeful agreement between Ted Cruz of Texas and Chuck Schumer of NY in upholding the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and the 1966-2019 Foreign Contributions and Things of Value Act, § 30121 & 303(2). Schweizer seems to endorse Prestowitz’s view of “reciprocity in Lou of engagement,” and our hope for further agreement between Ted Cruz (R) and Chuck Schumer (D) in closing the loopholes. In any case we must counter Beijing’s “elite capture strategy.” 

Our present circumstance deserves remembering the words of Thomas Paine, Christmas Day 1776.

“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered….What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.” Thomas Paine 1776

We must end all foreign lobbying and deficit trade. Swing the ax, and renegotiate only that which recuperates our middle class and gives meaningful employment to those who struggle. Any reengagement  must rebuild US manufacturing, moral, American jobs, middle class liquidity and National security; and first of all, stop sleeping with the enemy.

This book should be required reading for everybody, especially in Washington.