Although the threat of annihilation from Islamic terrorism is center stage, other threats are just as immediate, such as the economic, technological and chemical warfare being visited upon us by China. These threats, while not as sensational and perhaps not as overtly deadly, nevertheless require us to be just as vigilant.

While your government continues its failed strategy of economic and political engagement to try and convince China of our benign intentions, the Chinese simply continue down the same path of foolishness they have been on for decades, taking offense at every perceived slight. First it was our support of Taiwan. Then it was our Navy aircrew whom the Chinese held captive over their claim that their airspace was violated. Now it’s the president awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to the Dalai Lama that is proffered by the media as the excuse du jour for the latest Chinese temper tantrum.

To the dismay of the hundreds of US Navy families that flew to Hong Kong to meet their loved ones for the Thanksgiving holiday, on Wednesday, November 21, 2007, the Chinese government denied permission for the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) and her battle group to enter the port of Hong Kong despite prior approval and months of planning. China gave no explanation for the denial. So rather then turn circles and burn diesel until the situation cooled, the Kitty Hawk ended up leaving their families high and dry while they steamed for home. Early Thursday afternoon, the Chinese Foreign Ministry changed its mind and gave permission for the carrier to berth, mysteriously and condescendingly citing “Humanitarian considerations only”, but the Kitty Hawk was already 250 miles away and not about to turn around.

The US government is seriously underestimating the threat from this continued policy of coddling Communist China. The country of over 1 billion is the wild west of economics. Chinese industry is simultaneously one of the biggest consumers of oil, one of the biggest polluters and one of the most dangerous, due to their lack of regulation. The majority of technology that China employs or peddles is counterfeit, reverse-engineered junk. They couldn’t even get rockets into space without help from traitorous Americans. Consumer products of every conceivable origin have either sickened people or have high potential for doing so and Congress blames high oil prices on American gluttony, while blaming the danger of Chinese products on the head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Of all the possible substances that Chinese factories can use as adhesives, is it really a coincidence that the one used in Chinese-made Aqua Dots toys just happened to metabolize into the date-rape drug GHB? Is it really just pure economics and greed that is driving the Chinese to use toxic substances in their products or is it something more sinister?

Our military engages in joint exercises with Chinese units. American academia facilitates technological and intellectual transfers. Internet companies like Yahoo and Google cozy up to China purely interested in the bottom line, in some cases even censoring the content that they deliver to Chinese servers. In return for their deference to Chinese media control, Yahoo and Google search results are periodically being hijacked and redirected to Chinese Internet portals. These redirects have gone largely unreported by the mainstream media, but have generated lots of attention in conservative media, who suggest it could be a type of probing attack in preparation for something bigger.

The Chinese denial to allow the Kitty Hawk to berth in Hong Kong merely succeeded in sticking it to military families and Hong Kong merchants - the former already asked to sacrifice far too much, the latter who benefit from the patronage of thousands of US sailors. The ship’s crew simply had their Thanksgiving meal at sea -something they and hundreds of other Navy crews are quite accustomed to- while Chinese merchants suffered.

Hong Kong, Phooey! This Chinese tantrum isn’t about the Dalai Lama or Taiwan. It is simply about Chinese hegemony and their desire to slap the United States in the face whenever the opportunity presents itself. The question is, how long will we continue to turn the other cheek?

Notwithstanding the fact that they also enjoy strong economic or military ties with many of the countries the US has declared terrorist havens, frozen ties with or slapped sanctions on, China never seems to be lacking in the excuse department when it comes to the reasons why they must retaliate for every perceived act of American disrespect. At some point we must ask ourselves exactly what’s in this relationship for us other than Chinese hostility and poorly engineered products?

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