The Select: A Weekly Committee Recap (Week of 6/3)

June 7, 2024

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.

Press Conference: "Tiananmen at 35 - The Ongoing Struggle for Human Rights and Democracy in China"

WATCH: “We’re here because 35 years ago hundreds of thousands of students and workers gathered in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square— joined by millions more across China— to demand democracy. The CCP chose to stamp them out.” - Chairman Moolenaar kicks of the Select Committee's press conference.

On Tuesday, the Select Committee held a bipartisan press conference to commemorate the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre titled "Tiananmen at 35 - The Ongoing Struggle for Human Rights and Democracy in China".

Chairman Moolenaar, Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi, Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) provided remarks.

At the press conference, lawmakers commemorated the legacy of Tiananmen Square and highlighted the courage of dissidents and pro-democracy activists in China today. Both storied veterans of the Tiananmen Square generation and younger Chinese activists, many of whom are victims of the Chinese Communist Party’s transnational repression, were in attendance including: Wei Jingsheng, Wang Dan, Zheng Xuguang, Times Wang, Sophie Shengchun Luo, and Zhang Jinrui.

Watch highlights from the press conference HERE.

Moolenaar, Rubio, Lawmakers Uncover Shocking Evidence of Slave Labor Links at Chinese Battery Companies Gotion, CATL & Demand Immediate Blacklist

As first reported by the Wall Street Journal, on Thursday, in two letters to the Department of Homeland Security, Chairman Moolenaar revealed shocking new evidence implicating major Chinese battery manufacturers, Gotion and CATL, in Chinese Communist Party state-sponsored slave labor and the ongoing Uyghur genocide. Despite CATL and Gotion holding these ties to Chinese paramilitary organizations and state-sponsored slave labor programs, the companies have operated and expanded their presence in the United States.

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), House Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-TN), Homeland Security and Government Affairs Subcommittee Chairman Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), and Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) joined the effort.

Products made with Uyghur forced labor are strictly prohibited from entering the United States. The Department of Homeland Security maintains a Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List to enforce the prohibition. Companies that have engaged in forced labor are placed on the list and blacklisted from the United States.

Chairman Moolenaar said, “The Select Committee has uncovered indisputable evidence that Gotion High Tech and CATL have supply chains that are deeply connected to forced labor and the ongoing genocide of Uyghurs in China. That is why the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force must immediately add Gotion High Tech and CATL to the UFLPA Entity List and block the shipments of these companies from entering the United States. The American people expect companies in the U.S. to avoid all involvement with the Chinese Communist Party’s campaign of genocide.”

Read the letter on CATL HERE.

Read the letter on Gotion HERE.

Moolenaar, Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Ban DHS from Procuring Batteries Manufactured by Six PRC-Aligned Companies

Today, Chairman Moolenaar co-sponsored the Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act, legislation to prohibit the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from procuring batteries from six companies owned and operated in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and advance efforts to decouple the supply chain from the United States’ geopolitical adversary.

The bill was led by Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security. Other cosponsors include House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN) and Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX). This commonsense legislation resembles a provision signed into law in the previous National Defense Authorization Act, which prevented the Department of Defense from procuring batteries from these PRC-aligned Chinese companies.

Moolenaar, Krishnamoorthi, Rubio, Coons: MSCI Shouldn't Attempt to Minimize Evidence of VW's Uyghur Forced Labor

As first reported by Radio Free Asia, Monday, Chairman Moolenaar, and Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi, alongside U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Chris Coons (D-DE), sent a letter to MSCI's President Henry Fernandez outlining significant concerns after the firm removed its forced labor red flag for Volkswagen's factory in China.

The Volkswagen factory in Xinjiang is known for using Uyghur forced labor, which has tainted our nation’s supply chains with modern day slavery and benefits the Chinese Communist Party. This led MSCI, an American finance company, to grant Volkswagen a “red flag” rating in 2022. However, MSCI recently relied on a flawed audit. Because of this, MSCI made the erroneous decision to lift Volkswagen’s “red flag” rating.

The lawmakers write, “As you are aware, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is currently committing genocide against Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in the XUAR. The CCP has subjected these populations to detention, forced sterilization, forced abortion, brainwashing, and several forms of forced labor. As a result, the XUAR operates what experts assess to be the world’s largest contemporary system of state-imposed forced labor, with more than two million people at risk.”

They continue, “Despite widespread concerns surrounding the audit, including concerns from the auditors themselves, MSCI decided in December 2023 to lift the 'red flag' rating on Volkswagen. Volkswagen has continued to partner with certain companies in the PRC that appear to use forced labor since the lifting as well.”

View the lawmakers’ letter to MSCI HERE.

Moolenaar, Cline on Appointment of Cline to Select Committee

Wednesday, Chairman Moolenaar released the following statement on the appointment of Congressman Ben Cline (R-VA) to serve on the Select Committee.

“I welcome Speaker Johnson’s announcement that Congressman Ben Cline will serve on the Select Committee. Congressman Cline has years of experience on the Judiciary and Appropriations committees, and he has been clear eyed and vocal on the national security threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party. I look forward to working with him on this important issue.”

Congressman Cline on his appointment to the Select Committee:

“I am honored to be appointed to the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. China is an existential threat to America and its allies. The Biden administration’s weak policies on China have only empowered and emboldened the CCP, affecting everything from national security to economic stability and technological advancement. Now more than ever, we must respond with tough policies that tactically confront the CCP at home and abroad and safeguard our nation’s interests. I am grateful to Speaker Johnson for this privilege, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to counter the multifaceted threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party.”