Jill Tokuda: “There is no denial that the CCP has worked for decades to steal our intellectual property and research in critical…”

“There is no denial that the CCP has worked for decades to steal our intellectual property and research in critical technologies. We should be here today finding real solutions, not putting up false choices to combat those efforts and defend our national security. Instead, Republicans are obsessed with starting a racially charged witch hunt against Asian Americans across the country. They want to revive the Trump administration's failed China Initiative, which overwhelmingly targeted people of Chinese descent, destroying careers and spreading fear. Despite years of damage, with Asian Americans across the country have been telling us that the China Initiative was racially profiling them and infringing on their civil rights, yet House Republicans' proposal for a restarted CCP initiative includes no language that would address those concerns. I filed an amendment to try and address this issue, but House Republicans refused to allow my amendment to be considered. In their single-minded focus on the CCP, they have forgotten the lessons of our country's history in targeting Asian Americans and the lives that have been destroyed as a result of it. According to a recent national academic survey, 86 percent have said that it is harder to recruit international students than just 5 years ago, 72 percent do not feel safe as an academic researcher, and 61 percent have thought of leaving the U.S. altogether.…”