ICYMI: Gallagher Seeks Vatican Accountability on the CCP & Addresses American Chamber of Commerce Leaders, Press Release, The Select Committee on The CCP, May 11, 2023.
Yesterday, Chairman Mike Gallagher called for the release of Hong Kong democracy advocate and devout Catholic, Jimmy Lai, while criticizing the Vatican's silence since his arrest. Lai owned the pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily. Following the imposition of the PRC national security law which established PRC legal authority over Hong Kong, Lai continued to speak out against the regime. This led to his arrest and ongoing political imprisonment.
The group Chairman Gallagher addressed included Jimmy's son, Sebastian, Ambassador James Cunningham (Former Counsel to Hong Kong) and Maria Ressa (2021 Nobel Peace Prize Awardee).
From Chairman Gallagher's remarks:
"Jimmy Lai may be at peace with his suffering, but that doesn’t mean that we should be. The silence from the Vatican on China’s human rights abuses and Jimmy’s case in particular is deafening. Jimmy Lai’s example shows that the true prison is one built from fear of speaking the truth to the powerful."
Read Chairman Gallagher's full remarks HERE
Read More: Reuters' Recap
In the afternoon, Chairman Gallagher and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi outlined the Select Committee's economic priorities to American business leaders at an event hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Top Moments
On Outbound Investment to China
"I think we should not be funding our own destruction, whether it's American investors pouring money into PLA affiliated technology or into Baidu. Or whether it's technology transfer of critical technology that can be used to build things to enslave Uyghurs, or kill Americans in a future conflict." - Chairman Mike Gallagher
On American Competitiveness
"I think that this opportunity in examining our strategic competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party is also an opportunity for us to up our game as Americans. That means we have to increase our American competitiveness, economic competitiveness." - Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi
On Risk of Business in China
"Let's be clear eyed about the risks of doing business in China. You can't minimize the risks down to zero. But there are serious risks. Perhaps a good litmus test is if you are afraid to recognize obvious human rights abuses, then the Chinese Communist Party has too much leverage over you." -Chairman Mike Gallagher
On Supply Chain Dependence
"The fact that such a large percentage of our active pharmaceutical ingredients for so many antibiotics are sourced from China means that we are at grave risk in the next pandemic, or if it's used as a source of coercion." - Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi
On Allies and Partners
"You cannot selectively de-risk, without simultaneously enhancing your economic and technological partnerships with the free world and countries that don't neatly fit within the free world paradigm. Getting that second step right, and embarking on that second step with as much alacrity as we embark upon the first step is critical to our overall international economic competitiveness." - Chairman Mike Gallagher
Read the event's full transcript HERE