Bill Text: FL S0540 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Chinese and Cuban Governments
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-02-01 - Laid on Table, refer to HM 351 [S0540 Detail]
Download: Florida-2024-S0540-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2024 SM 540
By Senator Avila
39-00825-24 2024540__
1 Senate Memorial
2 A memorial to the United States Secretary of State
3 urging the secretary to condemn the emerging
4 partnership between the Chinese Communist Party and
5 the communist regime in Cuba and the establishment of
6 Chinese espionage and military capabilities in Cuba.
7
8 WHEREAS, on February 4, 2023, the United States military
9 shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast, and
10 WHEREAS, the United States military affirmed that the
11 balloon was used to intercept electronic signals and to monitor
12 sensitive military sites, and
13 WHEREAS, on June 8, 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported
14 that China and Cuba have reached an agreement, in principle, to
15 build an electronic eavesdropping station in Cuba, which would
16 result in Cuba’s receipt of billions of dollars from China, and
17 WHEREAS, several days later, an unnamed administration
18 official confirmed that, since 2019, China has been operating a
19 spy base in Cuba as part of a global effort to upgrade its
20 intelligence-gathering capabilities, and
21 WHEREAS, the communist regime in Cuba has a history of
22 opening its doors to nations adversarial to the United States in
23 order to undermine our country’s national security interests,
24 and
25 WHEREAS, China’s willingness to embrace and partner with
26 the Cuban dictatorship, which has historically engaged in
27 espionage against the United States, should be a cause for
28 concern, and
29 WHEREAS, as global tensions have increased, the Chinese
30 Government has sought to build up its military and develop more
31 sophisticated technological capabilities to collect and analyze
32 signals intelligence, and
33 WHEREAS, Dr. Evan Ellis, a Latin American Studies research
34 professor at the United States Army War College, opines that the
35 establishment of a spy base “accelerates the level of tactical
36 and operational coordination between China and Cuba that can be
37 used in times of war,” and
38 WHEREAS, efforts to foster a partnership between China and
39 Cuba should be condemned in light of Cuba’s history of
40 antagonistic behavior toward the United States and Communist
41 China’s willingness to embrace partners that oppose democracy,
42 NOW, THEREFORE,
43
44 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
45
46 That the United States Secretary of State is urged to
47 condemn the emerging partnership between the Chinese Communist
48 Party and the communist regime in Cuba and the establishment of
49 Chinese espionage and military capabilities in Cuba.
50 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Secretary of
51 State is urged to condemn the Chinese Communist Party for taking
52 steps to collect sensitive information regarding the United
53 States Government and its citizens.
54 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Secretary of
55 State is urged to condemn the Chinese Communist Party for
56 establishing a potential base for the Chinese Communist Party’s
57 military and intelligence services a mere 90 miles from the
58 United States, an aggressive action that threatens our national
59 security.
60 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State dispatch
61 copies of this memorial to the President of the United States,
62 the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the
63 United States House of Representatives, the United States
64 Secretary of State, and each member of the Florida delegation to
65 the United States Congress.
