The Select: A Weekly Committee Recap (Week of 11/11)
Welcome to The Select, a weekly newsletter on the work of the Congressional Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party led by Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI).
See below for this week's updates
Moolenaar Introduces Legislation to Revoke China's Permanent Normal Trade Relations
On Thursday, Chairman Moolenaar introduced the Restoring Trade Fairness Act today, a bill that would revoke China’s Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR). In 2000, as China prepared to enter the WTO, Congress voted to extend PNTR status to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), hoping that the Chinese Communist Party would liberalize and adopt fair trading practices. Achieving PNTR status meant that the Chinese state-run economy received preferential tariff treatment under U.S. law, opening the door for the mass influx of products made in the communist nation. This gamble failed. In the two decades since, the United States manufacturing industry has been depleted, American firms have had their intellectual property pillaged by CCP economic coercion, and the CCP grew into America’s foremost adversary.
Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced companion legislation in the Senate earlier this year.
Read the Restoring Trade Fairness Act HERE.
Moolenaar, Krishnamoorthi Encourage Italian Ambassador to Increase Protection for Chinese Dissident Living in Italy
On Wednesday, Chairman Moolenaar and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) wrote to the Italian Ambassador to the United States today, urging Italy to increase the protection of a notable Chinese dissident, Li Ying. Li had become widely known for sharing uncensored updates and videos within China following the White Paper protests and the CCP’s draconian COVID lockdowns.
In the letter to Ambassador Mariangela Zappia, Moolenaar and Krishnamoorthi write, “As Li’s influence expanded, he became a target of severe harassment. He has received death threats and faced coordinated smear campaigns aimed at discrediting him. His PRC financial accounts have been frozen, and his parents have been placed under extreme scrutiny. Ministry of State Security officials have visited his parents' home in Fuyang City, pressuring his family for information about his whereabouts, threatening to block their pensions unless he ceases his online activities and returns to the PRC, and installing surveillance cameras outside their house. These tactics are unacceptable.”
Read the lawmakers’ letter HERE.
Moolenaar: Biden, Xi Meeting Chance to "Affirm US Revolve on World Stage"
On Thursday, Chairman Moolenaar released the statement below following reports that President Joe Biden will meet with General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit on Saturday.
“President Biden’s meeting with Xi Jinping is an opportunity to affirm the United States’ resolve on the world stage. He must stand up to Beijing’s military aggression in the Indo-Pacific, call out its funding of fentanyl flowing across our borders, make clear attacks against American critical infrastructure will not be tolerated, and reiterate that American money will no longer fuel the Chinese Communist Party’s military build-up, technological ambitions, or ongoing genocide. I sincerely hope President Biden takes this critical opportunity on Saturday to deliver the message that America is strong and that our commitment to our allies and partners, especially Taiwan, remains unshakeable.”
Moolenaar, Krishnamoorthi Applaud Candian Efforts to Address National Security Risks of TikTok
On Wednesday, Chairman Moolenaar and Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi commended Canada’s announcement that TikTok will be required to close its Canadian offices, following a national security review:
“We are pleased to see Canada take the important first step of scrutinizing ByteDance’s foreign investment in Canada and closing TikTok’s offices. As Congress recognized when it enacted the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Applications Act, the CCP’s control over ByteDance and TikTok poses a profound national security risk, and it is imperative for our partners and allies around the globe to take action to counter the threat.”
Moolenaar: U.S. Participation in CUSEF Forum Sends Wrong Message
Today, Chairman Moolenaar released the statement below following the news of U.S. officials attending a forum in Hong Kong convened by the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF), a united front-linked organization that advances Chinese Communist Party interests. The CUSEF was founded by former Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, best known for seeking to implement draconian national security legislation. At the CUSEF Forum in 2023, the event featured Hong Kong’s current Chief Executive, John Lee, who is sanctioned by the United States.
“The CUSEF forum is not an open and honest exchange of ideas. Instead, it is an event that seeks to legitimize the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) ongoing crackdown in Hong Kong. This year’s forum is happening as Jimmy Lai and other pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong are on trial for fighting for the freedoms they once enjoyed, and it is disappointing that American officials would legitimize this CCP event. I hope in the future they will send a clear message that the deterioration
Moolenaar, Krishnamoorthi, CEEC Chairs Urge Concrete Action to Address Mistreatment of Political Prisoners in Hong Kong
This week, a bipartisan group of legislators urged Secretary of State Blinken to issue a report on prison conditions in Hong Kong and take additional diplomatic steps to address reported instances of torture and mistreatment of political prisoners.
The letter was signed by Chairman Moolenaar and Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi, and Representative Christopher Smith (R-NJ) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the Chair and Cochair, respectively of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China and the United States.
The letter raises concerns about the treatment of Jimmy Lai, including solitary confinement, restricted access to sunlight, and the denial of independent medical care, and also cites concerning reports about physical and sexual abuse taking place in at least one juvenile detention facility. The letter asks the State Department to brief Congress on prison conditions and its efforts to hold Hong Kong government officials accountable for carrying out torture and arbitrary detention.
Click HERE to view the letter.