For China to repress Uighurs
And build illegal military bases in the South China Sea
It takes technology.
And American satellite companies are helping.
This is China Uncensored,
I’m Chris Chappell.
Boy, was I depressed a few weeks ago
when I found out Microsoft
has been working with Chinese military universities
to create artificial intelligence technology
that the Chinese regime may be using to repress its citizens.
Then I found out Google was doing pretty much the same thing.
And I was like, okay,
now I’m really depressed.
And then the episode I made about that
was demonetized by YouTube,
which is owned by Google.
And that was when I hit rock bottom.
At least that’s what I thought.
But it turns out,
I had discovered a rock bottomless pit.
Because guess what?
It gets so much worse.
Have you ever taken the time to think about
how Chinese authorities communicate
with their military and police about things like,
who to repress next?
Let’s be honest,
you’re not thinking about
how Chinese authorities communicate.
You’re probably spending more time wondering about
if you should get fries on the side with that burger.
Let me help you,
the answer is: Get a side of pizza.
Then get fries on top of *that.*
But to operate a system of mass surveillance,
with AI facial recognition and real time GPS mapping,
that requires transmitting a lot of data.
And the best way to transmit data
to and from remote locations is a satellite.
But when it comes to satellite technology,
Chinese satellites are way behind.
See, the China Academy of Space Technology satellite
can only achieve speeds of 20 gigabytes per second.
But an American-made SSL satellite
can transmit 220 gigabytes a second.
And a Boeing satellite can reach 260 gigabytes a second.
USA number one!
And China’s complex surveillance systems
just need those faster speeds!
And the solution is simple.
They just use the Americans satellites.
But, you say, is that even legal?
Well, it’s *not* legal for US companies
to sell satellites to China.
But here’s the thing: American satellite companies
like Boeing and SSL love money.
And China has a lot of money.
And when lots of money is involved,
there’s always a loophole.
And this Wall Street Journal report uncovered it.
It shows the horrifying way China exploits US satellites
to strengthen its police and military power.
You know those fake islands China
built in the South China Sea?
The ones that now have military bases
and missile launchers on them?
They’re getting internet thanks to
a fleet of US made satellites.
The mass surveillance driving a brutal crackdown
of ethnic Uighurs Muslims in China’s Xinjiang?
Thanks to more US satellites.
Even the broadcast of state-run media propaganda
is being carried on US made satellites.
In fact, a new satellite being built by Boeing
could even help the Chinese regime
replace the US made GPS system.
And it could also improve the People’s Liberation Army’s
missile guidance systems.
Now again,
that seems like it should be totally against the law
for US companies to sell satellites to China
for all that stuff, right?
And again, it is.
But that’s where the loophole comes in.
Once the satellite is in space,
there are no regulations on how
the bandwidth of that satellite is used.
And that “has allowed China to essentially
rent the capacity of U.S.-built satellites
it wouldn’t be allowed to buy.”
Why own, when you can rent?
Especially when owning is illegal.
Don’t worry, because all of the companies
mentioned in the Wall Street Journal Article—
Boeing, SSL, and the Carlyle Group—
said they absolutely comply with all US laws.
And they do.
Technically.
See China doesn’t own the satellites.
They just own a big share in the company
that owns the satellites.
And then China rents bandwidth from those satellites.
Here’s how it works.
There’s a company called Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co.,
aka AsiaSat.
It’s based in Hong Kong.
And Hong Kong isn’t China.
Well it is,
but apparently not the part of China
that’s affected by US export controls.
That was clever!
So the Hong Kong company, AsiaSat,
buys satellites from a US company,
like Boeing or SSL.
Now that order has to be approved by the US government
to make sure no one’s violating US laws on satellite export.
And to help the US government understand
how everything is totally legit,
the Carlyle Group,
one of the US’s biggest private equity firms,
that owns a big chunk of AsiaSat—
they send a compliance report to the US government.
And the US government reads that report and says,
“oh, AsiaSat is a *Hong Kong* company.
That’s ok!”
And they approve the deal.
But here’s the twist.
Another big chunk of AsiaSat is owned by the CITIC Group.
Which is owned by the Chinese government.
Is that a problem?
Well, I’m sure if it was,
the managing director of the Carlyle Group,
who also happens to be the Chairman of AsiaSat,
would have said something to the US government
to blow up that incredibly lucrative deal.
So Chinese state-owned CITIC
then goes on to sell bandwidth
from those American made satellites to Chinese entities.
For example, state-run propaganda broadcasters,
soldiers in the South China Sea, or police in Xinjiang.
Now obviously, Boeing or SSL,
even AsiaSat claim they never specifically intended
for their technology to be used by China’s
Ministry of Public Security and the police.
Which I believe.
Even though China’s Ministry of Public Security
has specifically said that’s how they were using it.
I mean, how could these poor US companies
and AsiaSat executives know that a major owner of AsiaSat
was a conglomerate owned by the Chinese government,
that had specifically bragged about how
“AsiaSat’s satellites helped ensure communications for authorities
as they quelled anti government protests and riots
in Tibet and in Xinjiang.”?
And how could they know that their data feeds,
which provide internet coverage to the South China Sea,
would be used to provide internet coverage to...
the South China Sea?
Where China is building all those military bases.
Look, that stuff’s complicated.
It’s not like rocket science.
A spokesperson for the Carlyle Group
told the Wall Street Journal that
“AsiaSat, because of privacy issues,
doesn’t monitor or regulate the content that flows through it,”
so obviously there’s no way anyone at AsiaSat
could have known what the Chinese military was up to.
Of course AsiaSat does draw the line somewhere.
For instance,
all that stuff I mentioned about the Chinese military and police—
that’s okay.
But AsiaSat did drop Radio Free Asia and Voice of America.
I mean, those are funded by the US government
and broadcast sensitive news into China
that the Chinese Communist Party would much rather
Chinese people don’t know about.
Clearly the greater of two evils.
And none of this is new.
It’s has been going on for years.
And actually,
the US government *has* known about it.
Previous administrations just thought the profits
would help American satellite companies
reinvest in development.
Or give the US insight into China’s space capabilities.
Or that China would use these US satellites
for benign purposes—
such as broadcasting sports.
Yes, sports.
Like target practice.
More people in the US government
really need to watch China Uncensored.
But seriously, according to Boeing,
“The State and Commerce departments
over four administrations—
and most recently in 2017—
have reviewed and approved export licenses
for the AsiaSat satellite constellation
to provide commercial bandwidth services
to the Asia region, including China.”
4 administrations?!
Thanks Obama.
And Trump.
And Bush.
And Clinton.
Wow, I never thought I’d be able to use them all
in the same sentence in that way before.
But again, the problem is that the government
only regulates satellite exports,
not satellite bandwidth usage.
And that’s the loophole
that’s allowed the Chinese Communist Party
to use the best American technology
to repress the Chinese people.
There might be some hope though.
When the Wall Street Journal reached out
to the Commerce Department for comment,
a spokesman said it “regularly updates its regulations
to counter evolving national security threats,”
and it considered human rights part of that.
And the State Department said,
it “strongly urges companies to implement
stringent safeguards to ensure that their commercial activities
do not contribute to China’s human-rights abuses.”
So maybe this loophole will close.
Especially if you write to your representatives
and tell them what you think.
But at the end of the day,
the fundamental problem isn’t that
there’s not enough government regulation.
It’s that private companies,
like Microsoft, Google, Boeing, Carlyle Group, and SSL,
put profit above human rights.
At least Boeing,
in response to questions from the Wall Street Journal,
“said it has put on hold
its latest satellite deal involving China,
the one that would bolster the Chinese rival to GPS.”
So what do you think?
Are you depressed too?
I recommend french fry covered pizza.
But you know what always cheers me up?
Answering a question from
a member of the China Uncensored 50-Cent Army!
Those are fans of the show who support it
on the crowd funding website Patreon.
Largezo asks,
“If the US and PRC went to war
would you guys run out of jokes?”
Well, as much as I’d hate for war to happen,
if anything I think it would just give me
more types of jokes to make.
I mean, that’s pretty much infinite references to Fallout.
Yeah, the Daily Show did pretty well for itself
during the Iraq War.
Comedy is just tragedy plus time.
And jokes about poop.
Or a man getting hit in the groin by a football.
Just the boing and homer laughing
Man, that gets me everytime.
So yeah, lots to look forward to.
Thanks for you question, Largezo.
So how do you get your question answered on the show?
Sign up to support China Uncensored on Patreon.
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Visit pateron.com/chinauncensored to learn more.
Thanks for watching.
Once again I’m Chris Chappell.
See you next time.