On December 26, 2007, Xinhua News Agency published an article titled “An Investigation of Fake Think Tanks in the United States.” The article listed four U.S. think tanks, calling them “non-governmental organizations funded by the government,” employing “soft daggers” through “financing, supporting, planning subversive tactics, etc. against the targeted nations.” The following is part three of the translation of the entire article. [1]
Freedom House: Veteran Subversion Experts

Freedom House is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with offices in about 12 countries. Freedom House is well known for its annual survey of global political rights and civil liberties in various countries. Freedom House was founded in 1941 and is a veteran “subversion expert" in the United States.

Although it claims to be an "independent think-tank," three-quarters of Freedom House’s funding comes from the government. During the Cold War era, it supported some political dissidents from the Soviet Union and Poland.  Now its tentacles have reached the corners of the CIS and Eastern Europe.  Further, it has established footholds in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Latin America.

Freedom House is governed by its Board of Trustees that is composed of former senior government officials, business and labor leaders, writers and journalists.  Former CIA Director Woosley was the Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Current members of the Board include former United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz, former President of the World Bank.

Freedom House often publishes reports critical of other countries, causing great dissatisfaction in the international community. Western scholars also think that these reports apply the standards of the United States and are full of prejudice.

The more important task of the organization is to promote human rights and freedom in some countries with the goal of subverting the governments. At present, the organization’s focus is Korea and Africa. According to British Financial Times reports, the organization is funded by the United States State Department and is one of several organizations engaged in “secret activities" in Iran.

Freedom House is unequivocal when it comes to its mission of subversion of foreign governments. The organization in a so-called research report said, "subverting foreign government is a catalyst for broad and non-violent civil opposition, specifically boycott of goods, mass protests, blockades, strikes and disobedience, thereby eroding the legitimacy and authoritarian regime and their supporters, including military loyalty."

Chomsky, a liberal professor from Massachusetts Institute of Technology pointed out back in 1988 that Freedom House, the CIA, Radio Free Europe, and other government agencies act in unison for a long time as propaganda machines for the United States Government and international right-wing forces.
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Classical Cases

In 2005, riots broke out in Kyrgyzstan. A political base that President Akayev spent 15 painstaking years building, was totally destroyed within a month. According to the American media, Freedom House played an important role in it.

My Important News is a newspaper by the opposition in Kyrgyzstan.  During the political turbulence, the newspaper accepted at least $70,000 in grants from the United States Government. The newspaper was produced in a printing shop in Freedom House’s office in Kyrgyzstan. Akayev ordered the turn-off of the power to Freedom House’s branch. The next day, the United States embassy in Kyrgyzstan sent two emergency generators to Freedom House’s branch. The generators were clearly marked "Property of the United States Government."

On the eve of parliamentary election in Kyrgyzstan, "My Important News" contained a photo showing Akayev’s "mansion" under construction. This move immediately evoked strong reaction throughout Kyrgyzstan. People were so dissatisfied with the Akayev government.  At that time, opposition leaders funded by Freedom House distributed the newspaper, free of charge, in truckloads.

Endnotes:
[1] Xinhua News Agency, December 26, 2007
http://news.xinhuanet.com/globe/2007-12/26/content_7315955.htm

China has long attempted to defuse concerns that the United States has about China’s military buildup, particularly the “China Threat Theory.”  On February 8, 2008, Xinhua commented on the January 29, 2008, U.S. Congressional hearing held by the Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Judiciary Subcommittee, on the issue of espionage and cyber-crime. The following is a translation of the full text of the Xinhua article written by the U.S. correspondent of Global Times, a newspaper under Xinhua.[1]

On January 29, 2008 the Crime Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee of the U.S. Congress held a hearing in which U. S. counter-intelligence officers briefed Congressmen on China’s “rampant espionage activities.” After the hearing a Congressman claimed, “China’s espionage activities have become the number one threat to the United States.” In fact, in many cases last year, Western media, organizations and individuals made allegations about China espionage theory and the China hackers theory, with no evidence whatsoever. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly refuted these allegations. The content of this Congressional hearing is “the same old tune."  It is nothing new at all compared to what was alleged in the past.

Claiming China Is Stepping up Military Espionage

The conservative Washington Times reported on January 30 that the Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Judiciary Subcommittee of the U.S. House held a hearing to discuss whether existing law is sufficient to deal with foreign espionage, but the hearing ultimately focused on China’s "espionage activities" against the United States.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the U. S.  Department of Justice, Patrick Rowan states that both China and Iran are stepping espionage on military technology.  “Of great concern recently is the substantial and growing national security threat posed by illegal foreign acquisition of restricted U.S. military technology. China and Iran pose particular U.S. export-control concerns." 

Rowan said that spying today includes traditional Cold-War-style espionage as well as sophisticated operations to gather trade secrets and export-controlled military technology. “Recent prosecutions have highlighted illegal exports of stealth missile technology, military aircraft components, naval warship data, night-vision equipment and other restricted technology destined for those countries."
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"China’s Espionage Is The Biggest Threat To The United States."

Larry Wortzel, a former military counterintelligence officer and current chairman of the Congressional U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, testified, “China is acquiring or shamelessly using stolen technology to rapidly produce new and lethal high-technology weapons. This significantly contributes to China’s military modernization and development of new capabilities,"
Wortzel said that after a year of hearings and research, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission concluded that China’s espionage activities strain the U.S. counterintelligence resources and have become the greatest threat to the United States. He said that China’s cyber-spying and computer attacks are major worries, that the U.S. government and private sector networks are targets, and that counterespionage services are "overwhelmed" in trying to counter the threat.

After the hearing, Rep. Randy Forbes said, "China has now become the biggest espionage threat to the United States." “It is a real problem that is costing us a lot of dollars and potentially puts our soldiers at risk down the road." Wortzel and Forbes called for further efforts to step up the U.S. counter-intelligence against China.

Chinese Experts: No need to Pay Attention to Such Speculation

The U.S. correspondent of Global Times noticed that since "China’s espionage threat" has become the subject that the U.S. right-wing often speculates about, the hearing did not draw too much mainstream media attention in the United States, and only The Washington Times and the World Journal (U.S. edition) have reported it.

Ni Feng, a research fellow at the Institute of American Studies under the China Academy of Social Sciences told the Global Times correspondent in an interview that there was no need too be concerned about The Washington Times report. The newspaper primarily reflects right-wing positions. The authenticity of its reports has always been questioned by outside world. The American journalist Bill Gertz who wrote this article is also an anti-China figure.

Ni Feng holds that The Washington Times does not have much influence in the United States and often attracts eyeballs by attacking China. The best way to deal with it is to ignore the report. At present, people in the United States are more concerned about the presidential election, the situation in Pakistan, the situation in Iraq, and the Korean and Iranian nuclear issue. Anti-China voices do not get much special attention. Other academia has also noted that the true purpose of U. S. intelligence in exaggerating the "China espionage threat" is to get a larger Congressional budget.

Endnote:
[1] Xinhua, February 8, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2008-02/08/content_7581605.htm