Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this select committee. As an Asian American who represents the only Asian majority district in the continental United States, I would never support a committee that I thought would engage in xenophobia or attacks on the Chinese people. I am pleased that this committee is not directed against China but is directed against the Chinese Communist Party in the crafting of the language. I am pleased that it is going to focus on things that have been a bipartisan concern: human rights violations that Representative McGovern has advocated in standing up for the Uyghurs. The fact is, this country has lost our industrial base. For 40 years, on a bipartisan basis, we have watched as jobs were shipped offshore, factories shut down, our trade deficits going from $70 billion to almost $400 billion. That has hurt the working class. It has hurt our ability to be a superpower, and it has led to rising tensions with China. If we want to deal with Asian hate in this country, one of the things we need to do is rebalance our production. It is the loss of our jobs that has fueled some of the xenophobia. It is the loss of those jobs that fueled the killing that Representative Chu talked about in Michigan with Vincent Chin. I believe this committee cannot only stand up for American interests.…”