Carr Ramps Up Criticism of 'Communist China' in CPAC Live Webinar
The FCC is “finally” getting tough on China under President Donald Trump and Chairman Ajit Pai, Commissioner Brendan Carr said during an American Conservative Union webinar Wednesday. Matthew Whitaker, former acting U.S. attorney general, warned of the threat posed by China. Carr is a critic of China's governing regime (see 2004240045).
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Trump “was clear, we need to fundamentally change our relationship with communist China,” Carr said. “The wisdom of that call, now in hindsight, has never been more clear.” The U.S.’ previous approach was “weak and timid” in both Democratic and Republican administrations, he said: “We’re finally showing the strength that’s needed to compete with communist China.” The Chinese Embassy didn’t reply to our request for comment.
Carr highlighted the FCC’s national security supply chain rules approved last year, barring equipment from Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE from networks funded by the USF and establishing rules that could block other providers (see 1911220033). A year ago, commissioners unanimously denied China Mobile’s application for certification under Section 214 of the Communications Act (see 1905090039).
The FCC issued show cause orders last week against four companies “ultimately subject to the ownership and control of the Chinese government”: China Telecom Americas, China Unicom Americas, Pacific Networks and ComNet. The FCC will give the Chinese companies “a chance to make their case,” Carr said.
Carr cited the U.S. conflict with China over COVID-19. “The events of the last few weeks really underscore the fundamental shift in relationship and posture that this administration has taken to communist China,” he said: “Every single American is impacted right now because of the brutality of the communist regime.” China “failed to contain COVID-19 and in fact exacerbated the spread,” he said.
Carr was asked about his Twitter fights with Chinese officials (see 2004140022). “The chief propagandists for communist China have hit overdrive” suggesting the U.S. is at fault for the pandemic, he said. “We all need to speak up,” he said. “Communist China has never posed a greater threat to the security of our telecom networks,” Carr tweeted Wednesday.
Carr retweeted Wednesday a threat he received over his China stance. “On May 1st I will find you and shoot you,” said one tweet from a user with the handle Tripinnate81, screenshot by Carr. Carr told us he doesn’t believe the threat is serious and he hasn’t reported it to authorities. Carr captioned his screenshot with Chinese characters for “fifty cents party,” which he said is a reference to “the 50 Cent Army,” a group of online commenters -- Carr called them “paid internet trolls” -- believed to act on behalf of China’s communist party. “When they start coming out, it’s a good sign that your truth bombs are landing,” he said.
Carr is “spot on” in his criticism, Whitaker said. The concerns raised by using Chinese backbone equipment and allowing companies access to networks is that “the Chinese will be spying on American phone calls, emails and internet traffic,” he said: “This is not a hypothetical.” China has a long-term plan to dominate the global economy, he said. China is also trying to take over worldwide regulatory bodies, including those developing standards for 5G, he said. “We need to hold them accountable."