Welcome to The Select, a weekly newsletter on the work of the Congressional Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party led by Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI).
See below for last week's updates.
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WATCH: Chairman Gallagher & Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi deliver remarks at a press conference alongside Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu. Read Chairman Gallagher's remarks HERE.
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Last week, Chairman Gallagher led a historic U.S. congressional delegation to Taiwan, featuring Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD), and Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA). The lawmakers met with top officials including Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, President-Elect Lai Ching-te, Vice President-Elect Hsiao Bi-khim, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu, and Deputy Speaker Johnny Chiang.
“'America Against America' also describes the strategy that Wang, Xi Jinping, and the CCP have pursued in the years since — in America, in Taiwan, and around the world — pitting people against each other to undermine our countries and our resolve," Chairman Gallagher told reporters. "But that strategy is failing. Standing here, together, we are evidence of that failure. Democrats and Republicans, Blues and Greens, the people of Taiwan and the people of America — united against Chinese Communist Party aggression... Free People don't need a dictator to tell them what to think. They know the truth. They see the Chinese Communist Party for what it is: a Marxist Leninist regime, for which people are mere tools for the party. And free people know what is at stake: our dignity, our rights, and our freedoms. They know that this is about what kind of world we want to live in. And they're standing up for what's right. The United States, Democrats and Republicans, stand with Taiwan, for your freedom. And for ours. As Taiwan goes, so goes the world. Taiwan must remain as it stands today, a candle burning freely, fiercely and improbably against the darkness."
Read more about the lawmakers' historic delegation HERE.
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After U.S. customs reportedly blocked thousands of Porsche, Bentley, and Audi vehicles made by Volkswagen Group for containing parts made with forced labor in Xinjiang, Chairman Gallagher and Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi wrote to Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume, urging Volkswagen to immediately comply with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) within its global supply chain. Separately, the lawmakers called on Volkswagen to cease operations in Xinjiang, China where it maintains a factory with a joint venture backed by the Chinese government.
In the letter, Chairman Gallagher and Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi wrote, “We urge Volkswagen to cease its operations in Xinjiang, where the U.S. government has determined that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is conducting an ongoing genocide against the Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities."
Chairman Gallagher and Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi gave the Volkswagen CEO until March 5, 2024 to respond.
View the lawmakers letter HERE.
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Ahead of Chairman Gallagher's trip to the Indo-Pacific, he published an op-ed in The Hill.
"As Congress scrambles to meet the early March government funding deadlines, the bipartisan Compact of Free Association Amendments Act must be part of any FY 2024 appropriations package. This critical legislation would fund the agreements between the United States and the Freely Associated States (FAS) — Palau, the Marshall Islands, and Micronesia — for another 20 years.
If we don’t fund this agreement, which provides economic assistance in exchange for military access and denial rights, these states have warned they may soon be forced to turn to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for economic support and political patronage. This would deliver a catastrophe of cataclysmic proportions to our ability to prevent CCP domination of the Indo-Pacific and defend our homeland.
Why? These agreements facilitate United States military access and basing rights throughout these islands — and the ability to prevent any other foreign militaries, to include China’s, from operating there. The FAS occupy a critical strategic location in the Central Pacific and are set to play a key role in any future U.S. military operations in the region, including through a forthcoming early warning radar in Palau and distributed airfields that will help facilitate the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment concept. Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands even costs critical ballistic missile defense test site."
Continue reading Chairman Gallagher's op-ed in The Hill HERE.
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Chairman Gallagher, House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN), Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security Chairman Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), and Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX) released the following joint statement concerning the Biden administration’s announcement of investments in the domestic manufacturing of port cranes and other maritime security efforts in order to combat threats from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This announcement follows a lengthy joint investigation by the Committees and numerous calls to action to counter the cybersecurity risks, foreign intelligence threats, and supply chain vulnerabilities within the U.S. maritime sector.
“In light of our Committees’ warnings about the grave threats posed to our maritime security, this is the right move by the administration. It is deeply troubling that the vast majority of ship-to-shore cranes at U.S. ports are manufactured by the Chinese state-owned company, ZPMC, and the operational technology, sourced from various global suppliers, is often installed in China. Many of the cranes’ operational components are manufactured by the Swiss firm ABB, which partners closely with both ZPMC and the U.S. government.
“The United States must not give the CCP another way to infiltrate our critical infrastructure, conduct surveillance and espionage, steal intellectual property, and potentially throttle our port activity altogether. The threat is real—we now know Chinese-affiliated hackers, Volt Typhoon, maintained access to our critical infrastructure, including the maritime sector, for five years before discovery.
“This announcement does not end the threat, but it is a meaningful step to counter it. The follow-through will be essential. We will continue conducting a rigorous investigation into the threats posed by the CCP’s access to our ports. Our Committees will continue urging the Biden administration to strengthen the resilience of our critical infrastructure and to resolve vulnerabilities in our supply chains.”
Read more HERE.
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