The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) poses one of the greatest geopolitical threats of our time, and their actions have only become more brazen over the years.
The CCP is deliberately buying up farmland in the United States threatening our national and food security. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CCP obscured the origins of the virus, resulting in its worldwide spread and millions of unnecessary deaths.
They enable the production of lethal fentanyl-precursor chemicals by bad actors, which are sold to Mexican cartels and smuggled across our southern border, killing our neighbors. The regime sends surveillance balloons to monitor our citizens in their own backyards and spy on strategic military sites, then proceeds to lie about it.
We know that they commit genocide against the Uyghur people and intimidate the sovereign nation of Taiwan, all while ignoring international norms. Simply put, the CCP is a hostile authoritarian regime that poses a significant threat to the free world and must be taken seriously.
The CCP has a long history of aggression towards any nation that impedes their quest for supremacy. To remain competitive in the global marketplace, it is crucial our nation stands united and pursues practical solutions. This Congress, I was appointed to serve on the bipartisan House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. We have been holding hearings with witnesses to understand the nature of the threats from the CCP, so we can counter their path towards global dominance.
The CCP has a long history of aggression towards any nation that impedes their quest for supremacy.
The Select Committee will concentrate on restoring U.S. economic independence in key areas and exposing the CCP’s coordinated strategy of undermining American leadership. In this committee, cooperation is crucial, and confronting the regime will necessitate the country speaking with one voice against their harmful activities. Partisanship has no place in this mission – the CCP poses a threat too significant for any single political party to tackle alone.
The United States is engaged in a great power struggle with a regime that is notoriously opaque in nature and comfortable with extreme, aggressive action. It is vital we come together as a nation and respond with tough policies to stand up for human rights, protect our values both economically and militarily, and safeguard American sovereignty.
During the first hearing of the Select Committee, we explored the ongoing threat posed by the CCP to our security, economy, and values. Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, the former United States National Security Advisor, and Ms. Tong Yi, a Chinese human rights advocate, along with other policy experts, testified before our members. The testimony of Lieutenant General McMaster highlighted the extreme threat the purchase of American farmland near U.S. strategic and military sites poses to our nation – an issue I aim to address through the passage of my legislation, the Prohibition of Agricultural Land for the People’s Republic of China Act. Ms. Yi also shared information on the “White Paper” protests, a movement initiated to challenge the CCP’s “zero-COVID” policy that led to the detention of thousands of Chinese citizens.
To remain competitive in the global marketplace, it is crucial our nation stands united and pursues practical solutions.
During our most recent hearing, Ms. Gulbahar Haitiwaji and Ms. Qelbinur Sidik, Uyghur concentration camp survivors and witnesses to the atrocities perpetrated by the CCP in the Xinjiang province, provided testimony to our members. These courageous women recounted stories of abject horror, including mass sterilization and forced labor camps, all at the hands of the CCP. Additionally, Ms. Naomi Kikoler, director of the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; Elisha Wiesel, Chairman of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity; and other esteemed guests warned our Committee about the dangerous path the CCP is following with the Uyghur genocide and provided us with valuable historical context. The atrocities unfolding before our eyes cannot be allowed to continue unchecked.
The United States has always been a beacon of hope and freedom for all, and the CCP does not share this sentiment. Their calculated and harmful aggression towards the free world threatens our democracy, making it more important than ever to safeguard against them. The Select Committee is an excellent first step in countering the CCP antagonism, but there is still work to be done. This regime has gone unchallenged for too long, and it is past time for us to unite and stand up for freedom, as this is a threat that affects us all.
Dan Newhouse represents the 4th District of Washington in the U.S. House of Representatives and is a member of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party.