Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, keep in mind that China is a country that steals hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of U.S. intellectual property every year. They commit espionage against the United States on an unparalleled scale every year. They are doing the bare minimum to prevent fentanyl precursors from flooding into Mexico en route to the southern border. They are directly supporting every single designated state sponsor of terrorism on the State Department's list: Cuba, Syria, North Korea, and Iran. Even considering all of this, Beijing is not fully excluded from participating in RIMPAC. For robust democratic allies like Taiwan, however, participation currently is impossible. The existence of the waiver undermines the precondition on China's participation in RIMPAC. Currently, the Secretary of Defense must certify to the congressional defense committees that China has stopped all land reclamation activities in the South China Sea, removed all weapons from land reclamation sites, and established a consistent 4- year track record of taking actions toward stabilizing the region. If they do all those things, China could be invited to RIMPAC. It is important that we send a message to our adversary that they are a bad actor, it is time for them to behave and to understand that countries in their region, like Taiwan, have a right to participate in the free market, to be free and democratic, and not to be under their thumb. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr.…”