Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) issued the following statement on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC):
“Seventy years ago, the Chinese Communist Party seized power from the Chinese people. Since then, its ruthless rule has resulted in the deaths of millions of its own citizens. Concentration camps in Xinjiang and a rush toward digital authoritarianism are the latest examples of the Party’s totalitarian nature, which dates back to the Great Leap Forward and the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
“The Party’s transgressions are not limited to inflicting horrific atrocities against the Chinese people. The Party has stolen American jobs and ideas through trickery and deceit. It regularly engages in economic warfare against Missourians through currency manipulation and tariffs targeting our farmers. The Party is eager to use military force, economic sanctions, and information warfare to impose its influence on its neighbors in the Indo-Pacific and others around the world.
“I hope that Beijing will one day forgo its imperial agenda. Until then, the world must continue to shine a bright light on the Chinese Communist Party’s misdeeds.”
Senator Hawley has led numerous efforts to hold Beijing accountable for its abuses at home and abroad:
- Introduced the China Technology Transfer Control Act of 2019 in order to stop the Chinese military’s theft of sensitive American technologies.
- Introduced the Protect Our Universities Act of 2019, which would limit the Chinese government’s ability to steal sensitive government research from American university research centers.
- Sent letters to the heads of University of Missouri and Webster University asking them to reconsider their universities’ partnerships with Confucius Institutes, upon the FBI’s testimony that the CCP uses these institutes to spread propaganda, encourage censorship, and restrict academic freedom.
- Introduced a resolution commemorating the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre, condemning the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) use of force to suppress dissent, and calling for a unified international response to the CCP’s pivot toward digital authoritarianism.
- Sent a letter to the U.S. Secretaries of State, Treasury, and Commerce calling upon them to levy sanctions against those responsible for the Xinjiang concentration camps.
- Introduced the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which reaffirms America’s intent to hold the PRC responsible if it reneges on its commitment to respect Hong Kong’s autonomy.
- Sent a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai expressing concern regarding Google’s role in the spread of misinformation during pro-democracy protests in Hong-Kong.
- Introduced a resolution commending the Taiwanese military’s efforts to deter Chinese aggression, especially by adopting and implementing its Overall Defense Concept.
- Introduced the South China Sea and East China Sea Sanctions Act of 2019, which reaffirms America’s desire for the peaceful resolution of territorial disputes in these seas, and calls for sanctions against those Chinese persons working to forcibly impose the PRC’s sovereignty over the South and East China Seas.
- Sent a letter, co-signed by Senators Cruz, Rubio, and Blackburn, to the Secretary of State condemning Chinese officials’ active facilitation of the trafficking of North Korean women and children, supporting punitive action against those officials, and encouraging the State Department to prioritize development of a multilateral initiative to combat these atrocities.
- Co-sponsored the Uyghur Humans Right Policy Act of 2019, which articulates concrete measures the U.S. government can take to punish Chinese officials responsible for interning Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang concentration camps, and to protect American citizens and residents from CCP threats here in the U.S. homeland.