A wave of Chinese citizens “desperate” to flee an oppressive regime and cross illegally into the United States is a “perfect opportunity” for the Communist Party to smuggle in its agents, a Chinese expert said.
“There is a deep pessimism in Chinese society and this is driving people to leave the country,” Gordon Chang, author of books on China, told Fox News. “They are desperate.”
Border patrol arrests of Chinese nationals crossing into the United States illegally increased more than 800% over the same period last fiscal year, including January – the numbers of which have not yet been released, one told Fox News. Senior Customs and Border Protection source.
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Chang said nearly three years of China’s “zero COVID” strategy, which included strict lockdowns, mass testing, quarantines and contact tracing, was the initial driver that prompted Chinese citizens to seek refuge elsewhere.
“They just found it unbearable,” she said.
Also, China’s shrinking economy and plummeting property prices are driving people to leave, according to Chang.
“There’s just a sense of unease in the country,” he told Fox News. “People argue that the country will recover somehow, but the Chinese regime is not solving the root causes of the problems.”
As a result, “the flow of refugees from China will not decrease,” Chang said.
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There were 1,862 border patrol encounters with Chinese nationals between October, when the fiscal year began, and the end of December, up from 229 in the same period last year, according to CBP data. 931 Chinese nationals were met in December, up from 64 in December 2021.
Amid the spike in Chinese crossing the border into the United States, the Department of Homeland Security is closely monitoring potential Chinese spies and other national security threats, a source told Fox News.
The southern border was constantly overwhelmed by the wave of migrants. There were more than 215,000 migrant meetings in December. (John Moore/Getty Images)
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“Almost all the Chinese who cross the Darién to the southern border of the United States are people who don’t want to live in China,” Chang said. “But we have to assume that the Chinese regime is taking advantage of the situation by smuggling its agents.”
As America continues to grapple with a historic migrant crisis, with more than 251,000 migrant gatherings in December, Chang said it was “a perfect opportunity for China’s security services to bring their people to the United States.”
“Our southern border is defenseless and there are bad actors on the way,” he added. “We have to take control of the situation.“
Bill Melugin of Fox News contributed to this report
