Republican lawmakers said the Chinese high-altitude balloon’s recent passage over the United States was a chance to raise awareness in American about the prevalence of China’s surveillance efforts.
“This balloon episode can have a silver lining, and that silver lining is that I hope this is a wake-up call for all of American society and across our government that we are undergoing a tidal wave of Chinese espionage,” Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) told NTD.
Waltz, who served as a U.S. Army Green Beret and now sits on the House Armed Services Committee, said most instances of Chinese surveillance against the United States involve actions that the average American cannot see, such as disruptions in cyberspace and acquisitions of key technology and research. While those examples are “behind the scenes,” Waltz said an incident like the high-altitude balloon crossing over “our most sensitive military sites” was “an in-your-face move by the Chinese Communist Party.”…