Dem Rep. Quigley: China Spy Balloon Isn’t a New Issue, They’ve Had Satellites ‘for Years’

On Friday's "CNN Newsroom," Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) stated that the Chinese spy balloon is a serious issue, but we should note that "the low orbit Chinese satellites have been there for years, they're there all the time. I don't want the American people to think this is something new and that all of a sudden we have a concern that we didn't have before."

Quigley stated that Secretary of State Tony Blinken should not have canceled his trip to China over the balloon, and that "if you're angry about something, don't talk about it through the press, talk about it nose-to-nose and the ramifications, let them know we're serious about matters like this."

He continued, "And I'm serious about any surveillance over the United States. Let's put this in perspective, the low orbit Chinese satellites have been there for years, they're there all the time. I don't want the American people to think this is something new and that all of a sudden we have a concern that we didn't have before. Those concerns are there. They have to be mitigated. They have to be addressed. We have to confront the Chinese government. And canceling a trip, I think, would be counterproductive in an effort to at least let them know how serious this is and what the potential ramifications might be for this and other matters that they do like cyberattacks."

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