Exclusive–GOP Lawmakers Target the Chinese Communist Party’s Political Warfare Operations in U.S.

Three Republican lawmakers who serve on the House Republican Study Committee are targeting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s political warfare operations in the United States in a new bill, Breitbart News has exclusively learned.

Reps. Jim Banks (IN), Mike Johnson (LA), and Joe Wilson (SC) on Thursday morning introduced the Countering Chinese Propaganda Act, which would sanction the United Front Work Department, the CCP’s political warfare arm, and cripple its current operations inside the U.S.

The United Front coordinates the CCP’s political warfare operations not only inside China, but overseas to include state-run news media outlets, Chinese propaganda appearing as inserts in American newspapers, and the spreading of Chinese propaganda via American think-tanks, universities, businesses, and other institutions.

This week, Chinese President and CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping issued “instructions” at a United Front conference to strengthen its efforts.

Placing sanctions on the United Front would prevent it from being able to access the U.S. financial system, and block its members from receiving visas to travel to the U.S. and openly work to undermine U.S. national security.

“This is the whole ball game,” said a senior Republican staffer.

According to Banks’s office, the United Front has led aggressive campaigns of subversion and espionage especially on U.S. college campuses through the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) and Chinese-language centers called Confucius Institutes, and has also funded a number of think-tanks in D.C., and co-opted business leaders to squash criticism of China.

“The Chinese Communist Party’s disinformation campaign targets our classrooms, our news outlets, our social media platforms—they even want to our rewrite our Bibles to include ‘socialist characteristics,'” Banks said in a statement. “The CCP has taken advantage of our open society for far too long. We need to fight back.”

Johnson said in a statement there are currently over a hundred United Front organizations that openly operate in the United States.

“Our nation’s greatest threat, the Chinese Communist Party, has a weapon on U.S. soil. This weapon is not just active, but it has over 100 affiliated organizations in our nation today–the United Front,” he said.

He added, “This organization suppresses freedom of religion and human rights in their own country and is actively working to spread malign disinformation in ours. We must act now to sanction this organization and prohibit its operations in the U.S.”

Wilson said, “More Americans need to know about the United Front Work Department of the CCP and their goal of political warfare.”

“I was grateful to propose designating this malign wing of the CCP as part of the Republican Study Committee National Security and Foreign Affairs Task Force report last June and I am grateful to support this crucial legislation which would do just that and protect American national security,” he said.

“Communist party operatives engaged in subversion, espionage and human rights abuses should not be able to access the U.S financial system and operate freely in the U.S.,” he added.

Republicans have stepped up their efforts at protecting the country from threats from China throughout the Trump administration, but especially after China’s failure to contain the coronavirus has led to a global pandemic.

Meanwhile, Democrats have avoided blaming China for the virus, fearing it would distract from their criticism of President Trump. Instead, they have criticized him for pointing out the virus’s origin in China, calling it “racist.”

 

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