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Wenstrup to FOX News: Beijing Olympics an 'Intelligence Gathering Goldmine' for China

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, joined FOX News’ America Reports to discuss security threats and free speech concerns at the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

Recently, Congressman Wenstrup led a bipartisan group of Intelligence Committee members in calling on the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee to protect American athletes from Chinese government-sanctioned spying.


Click here to watch the full interview.

On Chinese Government-Sanctioned Espionage in the United States:

“They will hack. They’re involved in our universities. They steal our intellectual property. They try to engage with politicians. The Olympics is just a stage for them to enhance in propaganda. Also, I believe it's going to be one of their biggest intelligence-gathering gold mines that they could ever hope for on an international level. […]

“[The Chinese Communist Party] is a very aggressive regime right now. We see what they are doing in Taiwan. They bully their neighbors all the time.

On the International Olympic Committee’s Responsibility to Speak Out Against Human Rights Abuses in China:

“The International Olympic Committee could be the platform to really speak up for human rights, for the opportunities for people to reach their peaks rather than being incarcerated. This is a country that does forced abortions, forced sterilizations. Their human rights abuses go on and on. […] The Olympics are an opportunity to see people reach their ultimate goals, and you have people that are being denied any goal in life because of the human rights abuses. They should be speaking up on their behalf, and that is not taking place.”

On the USOPC’s Responsibility to Protect American Athletes:

“We should be providing them with all the warnings and the firewalls we can. Be careful to even email to anyone. Go and do your performance and do the best you can. And then get home safely.” 

On the Safety of American Athletes in China:

"[ China] is a country that doesn't really engage in freedom of speech. They don't really engage in freedom of the press. Though you may be used to those types of things here in the United States, it's not there. We know in countries like this and North Korea, they may find any reason they want to arrest somebody. I think people have to be careful."