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I’m sure we all saw the headlines about Chinese entities buying land near US bases. The reports said the land was ostensibly for farming, but many worried that more nefarious activities like surveillance could take place. Quite a few articles were written about it nine months ago. There was even an article in the Wall Street Journal about how over 100 incidents of Chinese citizens attempting to breach security at American bases.<\/p>\n
\nA report in the Wall Street Journal from September 2023 found Chinese intruders attempted to breach military facilities over 100 times in recent years, including sneaking onto a missile range in New Mexico and scuba divers spotted near a government rocket-launch site in Florida.<\/p>\n
The threat the Chinese government poses to America is huge, with the FBI labelling it a \u201cgrave threat\u201d and director Christopher Wray saying in April hackers have made their way into US critical infrastructure and are waiting \u201cfor just the right moment to deal a devastating blow\u201d and \u201cphysically wreak havoc.\u201d\u00a0 NY Post<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Not really suspicious, right?<\/p>\n
\nChinese holdings total under one percent of foreign-owned agricultural land in the US, per NBC, but its the proximity to critical military installations which raises concerns, critics have charged. NY Post<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
So everyone is on the alert and we’ve got it under control, right? Bueller? Bueller?\u00a0 What have you heard since? Some bills introduced, none passed.<\/p>\n
Well, turns out we don’t need to worry about Chinese linked businesses off-post. Know why? They’re ON post.<\/p>\n
\nIn June 2020, vitamin retailer GNC filed for bankruptcy and was wholly acquired by Harbin Pharmaceuticals, a partially state-owned enterprise in China. Harbin had previously acquired a 40% stake in GNC in 2018.<\/p>\n
Now, some 85 GNC stores operate on U.S. military bases. They operate under what are known as “long term concessions” contracts, meaning they are operated, staffed and supplied by GNC.<\/p>\n
“You know who these people are, the customers you’ve got, their purchasing habits. You have access to sensitive health information based on the type of products that they’re purchasing,” he said.<\/p>\n
The store could identify individuals with vulnerabilities by tracking frequent purchases of testosterone, sleep aids, or anxiety supplements, Harrigan (Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C. – ed.)\u00a0 said. It could also monitor deployment cycles based on changes in buying patterns, he added.\u00a0 Fox News<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Just knew that would thrill you.<\/p>\n
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