House Committee Vows To Stop Chinas ‘techpowered Dystopia, Threat To Turn Americans Against Each Other

WASHINGTON. The chairman of the House Select Committee to review China's threats to the United States warned late Tuesday that Beijing was trying to "pit Americans against each other to undermine our country" and vowed to end "a technology-driven dystopia to stop the CCP."

"Just because this Congress is divided, we can't afford to spend the next two years lingering in the legislature or supporting the press," the Rep. said. Mike Gallagher (Republican, Wisconsin) said in his opening remarks. "We must act urgently."

The first-class debut of the body, officially known as the Select Committee on Strategic Rivalry between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, comes amid a national security threat posed by an Asian powerhouse.

On Feb. 4, the United States shot down a Chinese spy balloon near South Carolina after it flew over the continental United States last week, hovering over secret military installations along the way.

Meanwhile, Sunday's report showed the Department of Energy now believes COVID-19 leaked from a Chinese lab.

Beijing also remains at the center of suspicion over its threats to invade Taiwan and its claim to the South China Sea, as well as its role in smuggling deadly fentanyl into the United States amid the opioid crisis.

In his opening remarks, Gallagher, a former Marine who served in Iraq, cited a 1991 book by Chinese scholar and Communist Party leader Wang Huning.

“[Wang] wrote a book called America Against America, a critique of the internal conflicts he found at the core of American society,” he says. “America vs. America” also describes the strategy followed by Wang, [Chinese President] Xi Jinping, and the CCP in subsequent years to play Americans, whom they see as greedy and biased against each other, to undermine our country.”

Last month, the House of Representatives voted to create a committee with rare and extraordinary bipartisan support.

Gallagher formed a House with 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats, making it one of the most politically balanced houses in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives.

Gallagher said he wants to continue as a member of the House of Representatives. Michael McCall (R-Texas), current chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, whose 2020 China Task Force Report was drafted with more than 130 experts but no Democrat help.

“We must build on [the work of the task force] as we investigate and uncover ideological, technological, economic and military threats from the Chinese Communist Party,” he said.

The three-hour hearing was interrupted by two successive protesters holding signs reading "China is not the enemy" and "Stop Hatred of Asia," the latter echoing messages sent in January by a handful of Democratic lawmakers who opposed the announcement. committee formation.

“This committee is engaged in sword-rattling; this is not about peace,” one protester yelled before Capitol police escorted him out of the courtroom. “We need cooperation. Military recruitment is the biggest threat to this country.

The bombing contradicted the testimony of former Trump administration national security adviser G. R. McMaster, who suggested that "this bombing really shows the impact the United Front labor department has" on the American public. "...and neutralize potential sources of opposition" to China's ruling party around the world, according to the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

“They kind of reinforced what you might call the self-hate agenda that has been in place in academia for many years,” McMaster said of the impact of UFWD in the United States. "I think they're reinforcing the idea that America is the world's problem, and only if America backs down — or, for that matter, becomes more passive — will things get better."

“The reality is that the work of this committee is very important because we have some catching up to do, especially because of the complacency that is being shown — perhaps to the extreme — in these two epidemics,” he added.

Capitol police handcuffed protesters outside the courtroom, but it's unclear if they were formally arrested.

Gallagher said he had no intention of pressing charges against the couple after being a member of the House of Representatives. Ro Hanna (D-CA) questions their detention in his court appearance.

“If we listen to dissidents, if we listen to people who question the existence of the committee, we will show by example what distinguishes the United States from the Chinese Communist Party,” Hanna said. “Mr. President, I think you did the right thing in asking him to leave… but I was told that you were handcuffed outside; I hope you don't get arrested just for saying what you mean."

In a statement, Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for the American Industrial Union, pointed to the irony of the outbreak, noting that the protesters "would not have those rights in China."

“I think it needs to be said that these protesters are entitled to unlimited free speech in the United States and are demanding compensation from their government,” he said. “In China…their voices will be silenced, perhaps forever.”

Paul also spoke of the importance of convincing US companies to stop relying on Chinese manufacturers and asked the committee to continue holding hearings to warn Americans of the grim reality that "no company [in China] is 'shunning' the CCP and the United States." depends too much on China for many necessities.

“China's entry into the global trading system in 2000 looked like a success, but instead turned out to be a spectacular failure of conventional wisdom and elitist opinion,” he said. "American workers are suffering: the trade deficit is widening, 3.7 million jobs are being lost, wages are falling [and] communities are crumbling."

While the protesters called for "cooperation" between the United States and China, several witnesses, including former deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger, said hopes were naive, especially as diplomatic and military ties deteriorated.

Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken canceled his planned visit to Beijing earlier this month due to a spy balloon raid.

A week later, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe ignored pleas from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin after the balloon was shot down.

The two men last spoke on Nov. 22 at a meeting of defense ministers in Cambodia, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

“Look, we want to keep channels of communication with Beijing open, especially high-level channels,” he said. “But we must not be mistaken, it is our business, well-meaning protesters, whoever they may be… that it is in Beijing’s interests to work with the United States or other countries to try to prevent and avert serious problems in the world. "decrease."

While better communications "may prevent a major miscalculation by Xi Jinping" that would drag the United States into the war, Pottinger said Washington cannot rely on Beijing to defuse tensions or cooperate on issues.

“Whether it’s drug addiction, weapons production, pollution of our oceans, warming our atmosphere, or a pandemic, in general, if you wait and take the time to study the root causes of this problem, the CCP is usually one of the root causes. this problem,” he said, “very rarely are there honest attempts to solve this problem.”

During the trial, Gallagher was careful to label the CCP as the enemy, not the Chinese people, who he said had "always been the Party's ultimate victim."

To illustrate this point, the commission showed a video at the beginning of the hearing that Gallagher said "depicts some of the suffering caused by the Chinese Communist Party since coming to power over 70 years ago."

"The CCP is focused on its vision of the future - a world of techno-totalitarian surveillance state in which human rights are subordinated to the wishes of the party," Gallagher said. “This is an existential struggle for what life should be like in the 21st century, and the most fundamental freedoms are at stake.”

To highlight the risks, human rights lawyer Tong Yi, who spent 2.5 years in China's forced labor camps in the 1990s for working as an interpreter for CCP dissidents, testified at a trial in Beijing about the brutality.

“Thirty years ago, in 1989, I myself was a protesting student. I witnessed the killing of innocent people [by the Chinese military] ... on the fateful nights of June 3-4 [in Tiananmen Square],” he said. “Many other people, more experienced and outspoken, can sit here in front of you, but cannot harm themselves or their families, especially those who have relatives in China.”

Gallagher said Tong's words served as "a cautionary tale" to inspire the committee to take meaningful steps to contain China and prevent conflict.

“Our policies for the next 10 years will set the direction for the next 100 years,” he said. "We cannot let the technology-based dystopia of the CCP win."

Closing the hearing at 10:00 pm, Gallagher expressed his hope that the committee would continue to consider the CCP's threats against the United States in future sessions for the benefit of not only the country but the entire world.

“Three hours is about the length of a feature film – very similar to the feature film Avatar. And, as with any cinematic experience, today's exploration of the strategic fight against the CCP provides us with both heroes and villains," he said. "And while we sometimes disagree a little about who the good guys and bad guys really are, I have no doubt that we are the good guys."

“We are good people and the whole world, even on the worst day, still expects us to lead,” he added.