Things are no longer ‘business as usual’

I do not know that we will ever know the answers to the questions above and most likely, the only way we may know is if the communist regime controlling mainland China falls from power. It would be similar to the circumstances of the former Soviet Union. When they broke up and lost control over Russia and the Eastern bloc countries, many of their state secrets were revealed to the world, mostly through former officials who were then willing to come forward with damning information because they were no longer under the threat of a retaliatory regime.

Interestingly, just before the Wuhan virus broke out and became headlines across the globe, a young Chinese spy defected to Australia, knowing full well that coming forward to the Australian government would put his life in danger. And not only his life but also the lives of his wife, his son and all his relatives still back in China. Nevertheless, he was willing to accept the threat of the communists’ retaliation and shed light on their dark activities in Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the United States. To my knowledge, this is the first time a breach of this magnitude has happened from within the ranks of the Chinese Ministry of State Security. 

The timing of this spy coming forward and the pandemic of the virus hitting the world is uncanny. Is there a correlation? It’s another piece of the puzzle we may never know but there is an aspect of the circumstances that adds intrigue: One of the main tasks given to this spy by the Chinese regime was to infiltrate the protest organization in Hong Kong that was seeking democratization and pleading with the U.S. government to assist and be involved in their efforts. If the Wuhan virus had not given Chinese officials the excuse to close down Hong Kong, would news of this spy defecting have bolstered the cause of the protesters? Similar circumstances have brought about energy to revolutions in the past. Consider our own history as Americans and what became known as “the shot heard around the world.”

Some may say it is going too far to speculate that the communist Chinese would release a virus to crush the news of one of their spies defecting and at the same time, eliminate the possibility of his defection giving energy to a revolution that had sparked in Hong Kong, the same revolution this spy was working to undermine. But is it? Perhaps they never intended the virus to spread worldwide. Perhaps they thought they could keep it under control and focused. Consider this statement from a book written by Zhang Shibo, a retired general and former president of the National Defense University: “Modern biotechnology development is gradually showing strong signs characteristic of an offensive capability,” including “specific ethnic genetic attacks.” His book from 2017 was titled, “New Highland of War.”

Ultimately, with a communist regime in control of the Chinese government, is there anything relative to them that we can trust? The United States, along with our allies in the free world, must reconsider what our future relationship with the People’s Republic of China will be in the aftermath of COVID-19. It certainly cannot be “business as usual.”

A former member of the San Carlos City Council and mayor, Matt Grocott has been involved in political policy on the Peninsula for 17 years. He can be reached by email at mattgrocott@comcast.net.