China’s Grand Theft

Grand theft auto is a persistent crime in America, a felony in most states with jail sentences up to 10 years and a fine of $10,000, depending upon the value of the car and any valuables left inside. Car theft is a lucrative pursuit. Thieves steal an average of 2,400 vehicles a day for a grand total of around 873,000 stolen cars in 2020, a 9 percent increase over the previous year. It is a telling sign of our times that one of the most popular action/adventure games is Grand Theft Auto, with over 280 million units sold. Now imagine a gang of thieves organized to steal not our cars and trucks and RVs but an invaluable national resource: our research and development in modern technology. Who is this gang of thieves? The “gang” in question is the government of a country with a population four times that of the United States, a booming gross domestic product second only to America’s, and a totalitarian political system with global ambitions. The country is the People’s Republic of China (PRC) — Communist China — and the organization responsible for its policies is the Chinese Communist Party.-- More...