Editor's note:William Jones is a former White House correspondent for Executive Intelligence Review and a non-resident fellow of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily those of CGTN.

Just in time for Christmas, U.S. President Joe Biden signed a big Christmas bonus for the Pentagon in the form of a $863 billion bill to fund the Department of Defense (DoD) for 2023. Rather than a Defense Authorization bill, it should be characterized as a whole-of-government mobilization bill to contain China. The bill pertains to military outlays for the Pentagon. There is a significant increase for the U.S. Navy, which will carry the brunt of U.S. operations in the declared "Indo-Pacific" region.

But with regard to the People's Republic of China, which is mentioned 268 times in the bill, the powers of the DoD have expanded far beyond the sphere of national security. The legislation calls for the U.S. National Security Council to create a Task Force, to examine so-called Chinese economic coercive policies and implement a strategy to counter them, as well as to prevent the federal government from purchasing semiconductors from several Chinese chip firms. The DoD will likely use the authority of the Pentagon under the expanded "national security" label to prevent much of the cooperation, which already exists between the U.S. and Chinese companies. This will be especially targeted to those companies that engage in high-tech production as most such production is of a so-called "dual-use" character.

The document also calls for an investigation into the educational facilities of the U.S. military, including military schools to assure that materials that are produced under the aegis of the Communist Party of China or the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) are eliminated.

But it is not only military schools that are getting targeted, but also civilian educational institutions, particularly those receiving funding from the Defense Department. Apparently, if a university or college is receiving such funding and has courses that don't exude absolute hostility toward the lawful government of China, they could have their funding slashed. The tactic has already been used extensively to target Confucius Institutes, which conduct Chinese language courses and are partially supported by funding from the Chinese government; many of them have been forced to close under similar DoD pressure. The legislation also calls for reporting on educational institutions "domiciled in China," which have connections to the PLA.

These dictatorial measures are not limited to the United States. The DoD bill also calls for monitoring foreign governments, perhaps using National Security Agency's listening posts communications monitoring, in order to detect any "illicit" activity of China against these governments, including "pressure" on them to adhere to the one-China principle, to which the United States itself claims to adhere to.

There is also a section devoted to Taiwan region, which, under the one-China principle, the U.S. does not recognize as an independent entity. But in the Defense authorization bill you wouldn't know that. The DoD encourages more cooperation with Taiwan, sending more students to study there, increasing military expenditures for Taiwan, and conducting military maneuvers with Taiwan. It also urges that measures be taken to give Taiwan greater representation in international organizations, again a prerogative of only independent governments.

The legislation also calls for an examination of port-related infrastructure by China, a measure that targets Belt and Road Initiative programs throughout the world. The report is concerned most specifically about China's investment in the Caribbean and Latin America as well as Africa.

Rarely has one seen such a document, which reflects the notion of a world imperial power.  What right does the United States have to interfere into the internal affairs of another country, even those who are declared "allies" of the United States? The document is an abomination. China's Foreign Ministry responded to the legislation the day it was signed into law. Calling it "a serious political provocation," targeting the sections regarding Taiwan, which stand in conflict with the assurances given by President Biden during his last meeting with President Xi Jinping.

The legislation is also an attack on the rights of Americans to discuss these issues in a free manner. Trying to impose "thought control" on our educational institutions, limiting discussion about U.S.-China relations, and restricting the legitimate efforts of the Chinese government to get its story to the American public, seems an attempt by the "military-industrial complex," warned by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1961, to promote a narrative, which is in line with their aggressive policy toward China. The U.S. attempts to assert its hegemony will inevitably create an "Orwellian nightmare" for Americans. And this is just the beginning.

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