Chinese spy balloons are everywhere.
And it turns out there’s a lot more of them
than you ever imagined.
Welcome to China Uncensored. I’m Chris Chappell.
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So, earlier this month, the US military shot down a Chinese balloon off the coast
of South Carolina after it crossed the entire North American continent.
It’s still baffling that it was able to make it all the
way across the continent before being shot down. If
Aladdin took place now, he would have told Jasmine,
“I can show you the world… except America. No way we’d cross their skies alive.”
The US recovered the wreckage of the Chinese balloon from the Atlantic Ocean,
including electronic sensors, which the US says was used for spying.
In retaliation, the US added six Chinese companies tied to China’s spy balloon program to the “entity
list.” That means US companies can’t sell parts or technology to them without a special license.
By any chance, does that special license look like this?
“Yep, everything seems to be in order here. You’re cleared to keep doing business.”
Which sounds like a joke...but that’s actually how it often ends up.
In response to the US response, China threatened to take measures against American entities.
And China claimed the US flew balloons over its airspace more than 10 times,
though they didn’t provide evidence.
And the US has denied flying any balloons over China.
Funny how it’s only just now that China is making a big deal of US balloons.
Other countries including Japan and Taiwan are taking a tougher
stance against Chinese balloons now, too,
especially since they’re no stranger to those balloons.
At this point if you see a balloon anywhere, it’s safe to assume it came from China
Going to a surprise party? The surprise is that
China is watching you! I guess that makes it a Chinese Communist Party.
China, of course, tries to tell other countries
to “stop following the US” by making a fuss over spy balloons.
However—and this will not surprise you—there’s
evidence that the Chinese Communist Party has dedicated enormous resources to
manufacturing spy balloons over the years. The banner says something like
“Learn the essence of flight, build a loyal police spirit.” Looks like a fun Party.
China has entire bases dedicated to balloons in Xinjiang, Hainan,
Inner Mongolia, and more. Check out all these giant balloon hangars!
According to one 2018 job advertisement,
balloon work also happens in Beijing, Shandong, Tibet, and Qinghai.
Leave it to the Chinese Communist Party to make a balloon factory
go from whimsical to terrifying. What are they going to ruin next?
Cotton candy?
Balloons can be a cheaper alternative to other surveillance tools like satellites and drones,
especially in “near space,” which is the area 12 to 60 miles above the Earth’s surface.
According to the PLA Daily, the official newspaper for the People’s Liberation Army, “Near space has…
become a new battlefield in modern warfare and an important part of the national security system.”
Balloons can help with near space dominance,
which is why China’s surveillance balloons have grown to be global in scope.
Even Hillary Clinton thinks they have too many balloons. And she freaking *loves* balloons.
But Chinese balloons aren’t just going abroad. They’ve
been used to spy on China’s own people for years.
You might be thinking that that’s overkill, especially when China
already has internet monitoring, cameras, apps, drones, and a bunch more tools.
But we’re dealing with a Marxist-Leninist
party that’s paranoid about losing power. Of course they’d do that.
It’s definitely not a surprise.
More after the break.
Welcome back.
A network of Chinese companies are working with
the military to develop global Chinese surveillance balloons.
And the scope of those balloons includes mainland China.
China’s interest in balloons, also known as airships or aerostats,
dates back to Mao Zedong’s rule in the 1970s. And its modern airships go back to at least the 2000s.
Leading the charge is the Lighter-Than-Air Vehicle
Center of the Academy of Opto-Electronics . That’s a balloon research center based
in the Chinese Academy of Sciences under physicist and balloon enthusiast
Pennywise. Sorry, not even he’s evil enough to work for the CCP. I meant
Jiang Luhua
According to the center’s website, there have been more than 200 balloon flight tests.
The CCP has been using balloons against its own people for a long time.
Which is a sentence I never thought I would say.
Back in 2010 during the Shanghai World EXPO,
the Academy of Opto-Electronics piloted a 57,000-cubic-foot “balloon security guard”.
It did that in cooperation with a bunch of other Chinese entities,
including the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation —the same corporation that,
along with its 48th Research Institute, is now sanctioned by the US.
According to the Academy of Opto-Electronics, the airship’s monitoring system included HD and
infrared cameras, a hyperspectral monitoring system, weather measuring tools, and more.
The data was sent to a whole lot of departments.
Including local police stations and the Public Security Bureau.
Then during the 2014 tulip festival in Xinjiang
another balloon kept watch as the “eyes in the sky,” thanks
again to the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation.
You know. Because of all the mischief that goes down at the *tulip festival.*
When I think of dangerous political dissidents, I think of… *tulips*.
According to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense,
“For 24 hours a day, with a 360 degree view it can monitor the tourists on the ground,
the cars, the buildings. … Even an object the size of a book will be seen by the ‘eye in the sky.’”
Yes, that’s quite assuring to know that an authoritarian regime like
the CCP has eyesight sharper than a hawk’s.
I never thought I’d say this, but I think I’d prefer
to be watched by Big Brother than Big Balloon.
There were even talks of using airships to provide security and telecast support during
the 2008 Beijing Olympics, though there’s no evidence to show that they were actually used.
The Chinese Communist Party doesn’t just use airships for monitoring major events, though.
In 2017, Aviation Industry Corporation of China, or AVIC,
launched a 72-foot balloon in Hubei to conduct “anti-terrorism” patrols in high plateaus.
Which is very useful for conducting surveillance in mountainous regions like Tibet.
Keep in mind that the main purpose for these balloons is less about fighting
terrorism and more to do with what the CCP calls “social stability maintenance.”
In other words, cracking down on dissent.
If they’re gonna have giant balloons watching over people, could they at least make it something
whimsical? “Better behave. Wouldn’t want to upset your friendly neighborhood Spiderman!”
And these spy balloons are also a perfect example of China’s military-civil fusion
programs. That’s what they use to develop tech that can be used for both civilian and
military purposes. And then the CCP pretends that it’s not for military purposes at all.
Even though the balloon research center has done “significant work” for the Chinese military.
And the CCP keeps organizing conferences about balloons and “military-civilian integration.”
Sounds like these are just harmless weather balloons to me!
And as with nearly every advanced tech it has,
China couldn’t have made these airships without the help of Western companies.
For example, in March 2015, AVIC—the same company in charge of the 2017 anti-terrorism
airship—acquired Align Aerospace, a California-based company that provides
supply chain services for the aerospace industries in North America, Europe, and Asia.
This was approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US .
Which goes to show how shortsighted the US was. Although to be fair, I’m sure they had
one of those special licenses.
“Since being acquired by AVIC, Align has formed partnerships with other firms operating in the
defense technology sector in the United States.”
This includes Triumph Group Inc.
which has collaborated with leading US defense contractors on platforms like
Lockheed Martin’s F-35 and F-16 and Northrop Grumman’s Triton and Global Hawk drones.
“In 2015, the French company Flying Whales, which makes heavy-lift airships,
sent leaders to sign a strategic cooperation agreement with China’s
Special Vehicle Research Institute”, or SVRI, which is under AVIC.
3 years later, AVIC sent a team to France to learn about heavy-lift aerostats.
And sadly, none of those balloons from Flying Whales actually included any
Flying Whales.
It was around this time that the Texas-based company Nanoracks signed a partnership agreement
with another Chinese company called Kuang-Chi Science to produce near-space balloons.
I feel like I’m constantly repeating myself when I say that Western companies need to stop giving
China the tools it needs to spy on the world, boost its military, and suppress its own citizens.
Perhaps it’s time I get my own airship to make the message clear. Although I’m pretty
sure America still won’t get the hint, since they’d shoot this out of the sky quicker than
Aladdin and Jasmine.
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I’m Chris Chappell. Thanks for watching China Uncensored.