U.S. Representative Gallagher (Mike Gallagher). (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
[The Epoch Times, February 13, 2023](The Epoch Times reporter Chen Ting comprehensive report) Amid heightened tensions between the United States and China, the U.S. House of Representatives told the members of the Chinese Communist Party Committee that the group is a bright spot in bipartisan cooperation and will “seriously “Dealing with strategic competition with the CCP.
According to NBC News (link), Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot, said: “If you look at the word cloud (word cloud) about this committee, Max The first one will be ‘serious,’ I hear everyone say that. It’s a serious committee, and I believe so.”
The full name of the committee is “House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, referred to as the Committee on the Chinese Communist Party”. The House of Representatives was created by a landslide vote of 365 to 65 at the start of the current Congress, a major bipartisan feat when 146 Democrats voted in favor.
The committee’s two leaders, Republican Chairman Mike Gallagher and the leading Democrat, Raja Krishnamoorthi, a member of Indian descent, said they expected to find a bipartisan approach to policy and legislation. consistent field.
These areas include focusing on the CCP’s human rights violations, formulating strategies to reduce U.S. dependence on China, investing in new technologies such as artificial intelligence to compete with Beijing, investigating the Sino-Russian alliance, and assisting Taiwan in defending against CCP invasion, among others.
“I think both Republicans and Democrats, to a large extent, are committed to helping Taiwan defend itself and making sure that Taiwan’s future is not like Ukraine is now,” Gallagher said.
Gallagher and Krishnamurthy have been working together since entering Congress in 2017. That year, the two launched the Middle Class Work Caucus (link). They also worked together on the House Intelligence Committee, demanding the Pentagon release information about unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and gaining media attention.
“We’ve done a lot of work together in the past,” Krishnamurthy told NBC News. “We know each other well and get on well, and I think that will help us in the future.”
After the bipartisan membership list was announced, there were high hopes for the committee that the panel would avoid partisanship.
Democratic Rep. Sherrill said that the Republican members are stable candidates, which eased her concerns about being drawn into partisan battles.
Republican Representative Darin LaHood (Darin LaHood) said: “I was pleasantly surprised that there were some thoughtful, pragmatic, no-nonsense members on the committee, and they all took the China (CCP) issue and their problems in a serious way. Malicious activity.”
For more than half a month, the CCP’s spy balloons have caused an uproar, and this newly established committee has attracted much attention. The lawmakers said the spy balloons underscored the military, economic and technological threats from Beijing.
While the balloon incident was not a focus of the committee, Gallagher said the balloon incursion “raised the threat” of China and helped explain why Americans should be concerned about China.
The committee has 24 members, and the first hearing is likely to be held in early March. Gallagher said he hoped to lead a delegation of committee members abroad in the near future.
The Nikkei Asian newspaper reported on Sunday that Republican Rep. Rob Wittman said he and other committee members were discussing visiting Taiwan.
He said: “We know this will anger the CCP, but I think this is very important to us, because we must send a signal of standing firmly with Taiwan.” Wittman also mentioned that the delegation does not rule out holding hearings in Taiwan , but the schedule remains for further discussion. (learn more)
Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the group. Rep. Andy Kim of New Jersey, a Korean-American, was a State Department official in Afghanistan and served on the Obama White House national security team. He called on Gallagher not to use “new cold war” to describe US-China relations.
“Chairman Gallagher keeps saying this is a ‘new cold war,’ and that doesn’t help,” Andy Kim told NBC News. “There’s a fine line between deterrence and provocation, and the way you cross that line , will only irritate the opponent and provoke a greater challenge.”
Gallagher said he wanted to sit down with Andy Kim to address his concerns.
Gallagher said: “The cold war model reminds us that we should try to ensure that it remains calm and does not escalate into a hot war. Our core function is to deter and prevent hot wars.”
Responsible Editor: Ye Ziwei#