Recent reports from Canadian analysts that describe cyber hacking by the Chinese government came as no surprise in the household of this ManufactureThis contributor. I was appointed in 2006 as a Commissioner to the U.S. China Commission. Since that time, I’ve noticed that each morning my fellow commissioners and I have said “Good Morning!” to our Chinese friends when we turn on our computers. Just as soon as our friend-who-shall-remain-nameless (and counter-hacking expert) clears our computers of Chinese keystrokes, they reappear. My son has also learned how to do this and is endlessly amused by the Chinese hacking into our home. The People’s Republic of China is free to read my Christmas card list and son’s homework assignments. We find it ironic that they are likely perusing my blog posts and editorials on China, as they are all published in the public domain under freedoms insured under our nation’s Constitutionally protected speech. But their cyber hacking is very serious, and poses a serious threat to America and its allies. Although the recent release of a Canadian think tank report on China’s GhostNet cyber stalking made a big splash in late March, it was no surprise to China watchers. As far back as 1996, a high level Chinese military official noted in the Liberation Army Daily newspaper, “Thanks to modern technology, such as the development of information carriers and the Internet, many can now take part in fighting without even having to step out the door.” China has long believed that because our weapon systems and defense infrastructure is so advanced, they could only challenge and even defeat us on the cyber intelligence and information warfare battlefield. China been remarkably successful in cyber warfare, compromising at least 1,300 computers used by the offices of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, NATO, global financial institutions, numerous government ministries, and embassies around the world and of course --my laptop. China’s military capacity is growing in leaps and bounds. Through standard industrial and military espionage combined with successful hacks into Pentagon computers, the Chinese are known to have already created a plan to disable our Navy carrier and battle groups using cyber attacks. The worst part of this is that OUR MONEY has enabled the Chinese to carry out much of this cyber war against us and many of our friends around the world. China’s current account surplus with us is approaching $400 billion per year. As Americans continue to buy consumer products from China that are artificially cheap due to China’s continuous economic cheating, our balance of trade remains upside down -- we ended 2008 with a $266 billion trade deficit with China. At the same time, our ability to source materials used in our own military machinery continues to dry up as our manufacturers go out of business, in large part due to unfair, unbalanced and decidedly lopsided trade with China. Actions have consequences (both intended and unintended), our world has no walls, and skirmishes can pop up anywhere at anytime. We don’t know when we will have to defend ourselves militarily against a county in which China has an energy or political interest. Do we want to continue to fund their military as they continue to steal our defense secrets? I think not.