Your DNA may be in China

Fox News ran an interesting article on 5 December 2020 with the headline: China is collecting the world’s DNA and the reason is sinister.

The story focused on an interview with Gordon Chang. Gordon is an American of Chinese ancestry and has been warning of the threat China poses to the world for many years. He claims that China holds 80 million health profiles and he warns that China plans to use this information to create bioweapons designed to target specific ethnic groups. He said, “The coronavirus is not the last pathogen that will be generated from Chinese soil. And so we’ve got to be concerned that the next disease is more transmissible and more deadly than the novel coronavirus.”

China reportedly collects the DNA of its own citizens for purposes of law enforcement, tracking down dissidents and forming a tightly controlled surveillance state. Human Rights watch raised the alarm on this practice, particularly in the western Xinjiang region which the Government collects through a free annual physical exam program called Physicals for All.

But it is not just the DNA of Chinese citizens that the Government is collecting. They have also found ways to obtain the DNA of foreigners. But how exactly do they get this information if many people do not travel to China? If you have ever submitted a DNA sample to an ancestry service, the Chinese Government will sometimes buy those companies or simply hack them. For example, in 2015 it was discovered that the Chinese Government hacked Anthem, the second-largest insurance company in the US.

So, what is China doing with this information? In Chang’s words, “China is probably trying to develop diseases that target not just everybody, but target only certain ethnic or racial groups.” He continued by saying, “People have said biological weapons don’t work. Well, we do know they work because we had the coronavirus, which may or may not have been a biological weapon, but we do know that it crippled the United States and that’s what Beijing is really looking for.”

It is no secret that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) wishes to be the dominant superpower in the world. Of course, the USA stands in its path. Whether or not you believe COVID-19 was deliberately released by China, the fact remains that the Chinese have certainly benefitted from the outcome – the likely ouster of Donald Trump as President and the depression of the US economy.

God help us if China is ever powerful enough to dominate our country. The CCP has a vitriolic hatred of faith. One former prisoner of the CCP recounted her experience: “The officers shouted at me that belief in God is against the Community Party and people of faith will be imprisoned and beaten to death.” Others recounted the harsh treatment they received at a “vocational skills training centre”. They had to sit on stools for 14 hours every day, not allowed to speak, weep or smile. They were not allowed to use the toilet and had to ask for permission to smooth their hair or scratch an itch. Many detainees had swollen legs and pain in their buttocks from the prolong sitting, while others suffered severe constipation.

Taking action against China is tricky. It is one step away from superpower status and it will take a coalition of powerful countries in order to bring it to account. Additionally, since China has a seat on the UN Human Rights Council (an astonishingly ridiculous fact when you consider how the CCP treat Christians and Muslims), action through the UN is also difficult. Yet, if many are willing, the task can be achieved. It is gathering the political will which appears the largest obstacle.