Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
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Tuesday, the House Select Committee on the CCP resolutely decried the actions of the Chinese Communist Party on a variety of topics, then warned the worst might be yet to come.
The committee, which was created by Republicans but enjoys the support of numerous Democrats, heard from H.R. McMaster, one of former President Donald Trump’s security advisors, Matt Pottinger, another former Trump advisor, and Human Rights activist Tong Yi, among others.
“The CCP fears more than ever Republican and Democrats working together to expose the malign activities of the CCP,” Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), a committee member, said.
Topics of discussion ranged from the origin of COVID-19 to China’s alleged use of TikTok to gather information on Americans to the ongoing geopolitical back-and-forth between the two nations.
McMaster, in particular, painted a bleak picture for the coming two years.
When asked about the prospect of China moving on Taiwan, McMaster remarked, “There’s a Taiwanese election in 2024. It’s not going to be good, I think, from the view of Xi Jinping.”
He added,
And then we [have] our own election, which we tend to be sometimes fractious during an election. I think he may perceive weakness. If we think of deterrence as capability times will, our capabilities are not where they should be and capacity and their perception, which I don’t think is right, but the [communist] party’s perception of our will I think makes it a dangerous period.
McMaster later stated, “I think what Xi Jinping sees is a fleeting window of opportunity … to move while he perceives weakness in the United States.”
There truly was not an upbeat note to the hearing. Tong described being sentenced to forced labor and beaten for her work.
“I was handed a two and a half year sentence…and sent to a forced labor camp.
The camp authorities organized other inmates to beat me up.” – Ms. Tong Yi pic.twitter.com/Eoa5T2zj2h
— Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (@committeeonccp) March 1, 2023
Pottinger and Tong spoke at some length about the Chinese Communist Party’s manipulation of the internet to both meddle in U.S. affairs and propagandize their own people. Central to the tech issue was TikTok.
“If TikTok is permitted to continue operating in the United States … it gives the Chinese Communist Party the ability to manipulate our social discourse — the news,” Pottinger said.
Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) President Scott Paul, another witness, testified that the American worker has suffered and stands to suffer more thanks to China’s economic policies, which Paul said “represent a clear and present danger to the American worker.”
There were no major decisions made during the hearing, which was primarily about laying out the complexity of the issue, but there were numerous stern warnings.
“It’s not a choice between Washington and Beijing. It’s a choice between sovereignty and servitude,” McMaster said.
The hearing was halted briefly when protestors began to heckle McMaster during his opening remarks. One woman stood and declared that China is not America’s enemy before she was escorted out. Another protestor screamed “Stop Asian hate” before he, too, was removed.