China Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

House Bill Would Cut Ties To ‘Antithetical’ Nations

A bill under consideration in the West Virginia House of Delegates would ban the state and its political subdivisions from engaging in certain forms of business with nations that hold values deemed “antithetical” to the state.

A bill in the West Virginia House of Delegates would restrict the state’s financial ties with foreign nations that hold values “antithetical” to its own.

House Bill 4364 would bar the state from contracting goods or services from foreign companies that could benefit the governments of China, Cuba, Iran, Laos, North Korea, Saudi Arabia or Vietnam.

The bill states that restrictions would be imposed upon these nations because they either “align with communist ideology” or have caused “nonmilitary deaths” of U.S. citizens without proper governmental response.

In the bill, lawmakers cited a growing globalized economy as the cause of its creation, stating that “a company may obfuscate the beneficiaries of the proposed commercial activity that are in fact foreign entities.”

At a meeting of the House Committee on Government Organization Monday, some lawmakers expressed concern that the bill could limit the competitiveness of the state economy, or that it could violate preexisting contracts with foreign organizations.

Counsel for the committee said retroactively rescinding agreed upon contracts is often disapproved of by state and federal judiciaries.

Del. Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock, who sponsored the bill, confirmed that the bill would work retroactively, affecting contracts implemented before its passage.

In response, Del. Chris Pritt, R-Kanawha, said that state lawmakers should have authority to interpret whether or not the bill adhered to the state constitution.

“It is up for us to make determinations and give our input in terms of what’s constitutional and what’s not,” he said.

Pritt added that he viewed the pending legislation as a “very, very good bill” that is “perfectly in conformity with the constitution.”

He also said that the bill marked an important step toward protecting the values of the state and country. “There are certain countries that are hostile not only to the interests of West Virginia, but that are hostile to the interests of the United States,” he said.

Ultimately, the committee voted in favor of the bill, recommending that it pass but first be referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Federal Ruling On Foreign Hardwood Imports Helps W.Va. Plywood/Veneer Industry

West Virginia’s hardwood industry supports about 10,000 jobs with more than $1 billion in economic output, and the ruling removes a major economic threat.

The U.S. Department of Commerce recently ruled that imports of hardwood plywood products completed in Vietnam, but mainly produced in China, violated federal antidumping laws.

Keith Christman, national president of the Coalition for Fair Trade of Hardwood Plywood said the ruling follows a history of unfair trade with the Asian nations.

“We saw movement of that production from China to Vietnam with only minor modifications,” Christman said. “We saw a dramatic increase in imports of hardwood plywood from Vietnam, in fact, 800 percent from 2018 to 2022. And it was an important threat, a big threat to U.S. production of hardwood plywood.”

Christman said the ruling puts about a 200 percent duty on those products.

“The Commerce Department determined this material was being dumped from Vietnam and using Chinese production and was subject to the duties that are, in fact, on Chinese hardwood plywood,” he said.

Christman says West Virginia’s hardwood industry supports about 10,000 jobs with more than $1 billion in economic output, and the ruling removes a major economic threat.

“It’s important to maintain these fair trade practices and we think it’s a big win for workers in the United States and West Virginia as well,” Christman said.

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said in a press release that state hardwood plywood manufacturing has been disrupted in recent years due to China’s unfair import practices, and calls the ruling a major victory.

“This is wonderful news for our manufacturers and workforce in our hardwood plywood and veneer industry in West Virginia” Capito said. “I will always stand in support of our manufacturers in West Virginia, and fight to make certain they are not improperly disadvantaged by China’s misleading economic practices.”

The West Virginia Hardwood Alliance Zone notes on its website that the state puts out more than 1.5 billion square feet of wood panel and veneer annually.

Justice Shares COVID-19 Update And Intentions To Ban Chinese Apps

Gov. Jim Justice reacted quickly to a letter requesting the ban of two social media apps from government devices.

During a COVID-19 press conference Tuesday morning, Justice announced he plans to submit a bill during the upcoming legislative session to ban all apps owned by the Chinese government from the state government.

“It’s important to keep in mind that TikTok is hardly the only threat that’s out there and millions and millions of cyber events are happening all the time and targeting all kinds of different states and everything,” Justice said.

Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, sent a letter to Justice Monday requesting a ban on downloading the Chinese-owned TikTok and WeChat apps to all state-issued cell phones, laptops and other devices.

Justice said his office has already banned the apps, but other state offices have not taken the same action.

State Chief Information Officer Josh Spence praised the move to ensure the state’s tech security in an ever-changing threat landscape.

“Taking it to the next step is the right move to ensure that as a state we move together and move forward to address this threat,” he said.

COVID-19 Update

Justice and state Coronavirus Czar Dr. Clay Marsh also discussed the impact of rising cases across the state.

As temperatures continue to drop, the state’s COVID-19 hospitalizations have continued to rise. There were 225 confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations across the state Tuesday, the highest number since September.

“I also want to take just a second to wish everybody happy holidays and please be careful as we’re seeing not only COVID circulate and increased hospitalizations, but also influenza and RSV is still an issue as well,” Marsh said.

Banning TikTok App From State Issued Cell Phones Underway

West Virginia Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, sent a letter to Gov. Jim Justice, requesting a ban on downloading the Chinese owned TikTok and WeChat apps to all state issued cell phones, laptops and other devices.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

This story was updated Dec 19, 2022 at 3:34 p.m.

Citing concerns over a possible cybersecurity breach, West Virginia Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, sent a letter to Gov. Jim Justice, requesting a ban on downloading the Chinese-owned TikTok and WeChat apps to all state issued cell phones, laptops and other devices.

Before any word from Justice, State Auditor J.B. McCuskey, working with Weld, has issued his own departmental TikTok ban.

“That’s due to the fact that there are a significant amount of security concerns as a result of the companies that own those two apps,” Weld said. “Those two companies are owned by extremely large Chinese tech firms and there have been some concerns regarding the security of information collected by those apps.”

Weld, who is the chair of the Senate Military Committee and former Air Force intelligence officer, said the sites pose a threat of a cyber attack on both the nation and the state.

“Under Chinese law, the government has the authority to demand that those two companies give to them all the data that they’ve collected through the people that download and use those apps on their phones or tablets, whatever,” Weld said.

In a press release issued just after noon Monday, McKuskey mandated a TikTok ban on state government devices and all computer networks associated with the Auditor’s Office. The ban includes government issued devices used by WV Oasis, which is the central repository for all the state’s financial data, including payroll, and devices within the many departments of the State Auditor’s Office.

McKuskey said in the release that the Auditor’s Office functions as the chief information officer for the state. He said this move will serve to protect the state’s core financial infrastructure from intrusion by those who wish to harm us.

“I am so thankful to work with Senator Weld on this incredibly important initiative,” McCuskey said. “We have seen the threat that China and its government poses to our critical infrastructure and this move is a proactive approach to protect the taxpayers of West Virginia.”

In the release, McCuskey also said that he and Weld are preparing legislation that prohibits nations of concern from acquiring property through the West Virginia property tax sale process. He said there have already been instances where countries from this list, which includes Russia, China and North Korea, are harming American interests through this process.

Weld said 16 states and several federal agencies have already enacted a TikTok ban.

“A ban for the same federal level cell phones and other devices passed the U.S. Senate last week,” Weld said. “A number of federal agencies, the Department of State Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, as well as several federal contractors like Lockheed Martin, they’ve already banned their employees from having those apps on their phones.”

The federal TikTok phone ban has been supported by both the Trump and Biden administrations. Weld said the TikTok app has been downloaded more than 100 million times in the United States. There was no mention on the West Virginia level of banning TikTok on any private cell phones, laptops or other devices.

Late Monday afternoon, the Governor’s office responded to Weld’s request with this statement:
“The Governor understands and shares Senator Weld’s concerns as they relate to our state’s cybersecurity resiliency, and especially his concern of foreign influence. The good news is there are policies and procedures already in place which are designed to protect our state networks from cyber threats related to Chinese-owned TikTok and related apps. Josh Spence, our Chief Information Officer, and his team constantly monitor and implement cybersecurity policies and technical controls to mitigate cyber risk, protecting government-owned devices and the network as a whole. TikTok has already been blocked on state networks for many months, and the use of additional security controls further mitigates the risk. The Governor has confidence in his cybersecurity team to protect our state networks from cyber threats and to communicate best practices to cybersecurity teams across other branches of state and local government. It’s important to keep in mind that TikTok is hardly the only threat—there are millions of cyber events targeting the state from all over the world thwarted each year by our cybersecurity team.”

Ex-Coal Baron Takes Swipe at 'China People' in Political Ad

An ex-coal executive who’s running for U.S. Senate after serving a prison sentence has unleashed a political ad that takes swipes at “China people” and calls the Senate majority leader “Cocaine Mitch.”

Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, a Republican, is seeking the West Virginia seat now held by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, but his ad disparages Kentucky GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell. It’s the second ad he’s used to label the leader “Cocaine Mitch.”

Blankenship’s ad says McConnell has created jobs for “China people” and charges that his “China family” has given him millions of dollars. McConnell’s wife is U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who was born in Taiwan.

Blankenship says the ad is in response to false, negative ads that McConnell’s “swamp people” are running against him.

Blankenship filed for the Senate seat after serving prison time for violating federal mine safety standards at Upper Big Branch Mine in southern West Virginia, where an explosion in 2010 killed 29 men. He has vehemently denied responsibility for the deadly blast.

So far, his campaign has been mostly self-funded. According to his filing with the Federal Election Commission last month, he’s received a single $1,000 individual donation since announcing his candidacy late last year.

Blankenship previously discussed McConnell during a recent talk radio interview, saying, “I have an issue when the father-in-law is a wealthy China person and there’s a lot of connections to some of the brass, if you will, in China.”

Blankenship was asked about the “China person” comment during a debate Tuesday in Morgantown.

“This idea that I called somebody a China person, I mean I’m an American person,” Blankenship said. “I don’t see this insinuation by the press that there’s something racist about saying a China person. Some people are Korean persons and some of them are African persons. It’s not any slander there.”

Blankenship is at odds with McConnell, who he says is “spending millions to defeat me.”

A super PAC connected to McConnell, the Senate Leadership Fund, blasted out a news release Thursday decrying Blankenship’s “last round of racist comments,” and pointing to statements in 2009 in which Blankenship mulled a move to China.

According to media reports, Blankenship’s fiancee also was born in China. He has a six-bedroom home with her 20 miles from Las Vegas, in Henderson, but still has a home in southern West Virginia.

“I’m actually considering moving to China or somewhere and being more like George Washington, you know,” Blankenship said in the 2009 recorded phone call, which was used as evidence in his criminal trial. “If I can get citizenship, I can probably get citizenship in India. I’d rather be in China, but the hard work and the effort and the creativity that we put into running businesses in the U.S. would be much more valuable in other places.”

National GOP forces are believed to be behind the Mountain Families PAC, an organization created in March that has invested more than $700,000 attacking Blankenship on television. A spokesman for the Senate GOP’s most powerful super PAC has declined to confirm or deny a connection to the group.

Blankenship’s reference to “Cocaine Mitch” stems from a 2014 magazine article alleging that drugs were found aboard a commercial cargo ship owned by Chao’s family.

Chao was born in Taiwan and immigrated to the United States as a child with her family. Her father later founded a successful shipping company in New York. Chao worked in the administrations of presidents Ronald Regan and George H.W. Bush. In 1993, she married McConnell and has since served as cabinet secretaries for presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump.

Blankenship said in a statement Thursday that the establishment is doing everything it can to keep Manchin in office.

“I am not just ready to help President Trump drain the swamp — I am the only candidate that is capable of doing so. If I am not the Republican nominee against Joe Manchin in the fall, Manchin will win,” he said.

Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr. dismissed that idea completely Thursday, making it clear he thinks a Blankenship nomination guarantees another Manchin term. He tweeted that there are two electable candidates in the race.

Six Republican candidates are in the primary, including U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins and state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who was endorsed Thursday by Kentucky’s junior U.S. Sen. Rand Paul.

“I hate to lose. So I’m gonna go out on a limb here and ask the people of West Virginia to make a wise decision and reject Blankenship! No more fumbles like Alabama. We need to win in November.” Trump Jr. tweeted Thursday.

Blankenship responded, tweeting to Trump Jr. that the president’s son was “misinformed and misled by McConnell’s cronies while you were at the RNC meeting yesterday in Miami.”

Trump Jr. tweeted a few more times about Blankenship, saying Manchin would quickly mention the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster.

“Ha, now I’m establishment? No, I’m realistic & I know the first thing Manchin will do is run ads featuring the families of those 29 miners killed due to actions that sent you to prison. Can’t win the general… you should know that & if others in the GOP won’t say it, I will,” Trump Jr. tweeted Thursday.

West Virginians Asked to Watch for Spotted Lanternfly

The West Virginia Department of Agriculture is asking residents to watch for the appearance of the spotted lanternfly, a destructive insect whose presence was confirmed last week in New Castle County, Delaware.

It was first detected in the U.S. in 2014 in Pennsylvania, where it has since been found in 13 counties.

According to agriculture officials, the spotted lanternfly is native to China, India and Vietnam.

It’s known to feed on more than 70 plant species and is considered a major problem in South Korea, where it was first introduced in 2006.

The adults are described as one-inch long and a half-inch wide at rest. The forewing is grey with black spots. The hind wings have contrasting patches of red and black with a white band.

If someone spots this pest, please contact WVDA Plant Industries at 304-558-2212 or sparker@wvda.us.