We will not be bullied by China

By Blaine Luetkemeyer, 3rd District Congressman
Posted 8/10/22

Feb.   24th of this year, Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine completely unprovoked and has taken countless lives since. He has been relentless in his quest for control of his neighboring sovereign …

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We will not be bullied by China

Posted

Feb.  24th of this year, Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine completely unprovoked and has taken countless lives since. He has been relentless in his quest for control of his neighboring sovereign nation, with Russian soldiers continuing to conduct missile strikes taking the lives of men, women, and children almost daily. The situation with Ukraine is a complex one, but one thing the free world can all agree on is Putin is a dangerous maniac whose actions should not be tolerated. This Administration’s slow response to his attacks was disappointing, and I warned back in February that if we didn’t firmly and quickly react to Russia’s actions, we could be setting a dangerous precedent. Now, we’re seeing the emboldened China I feared we would. 

The relationship between China and Taiwan is very complicated. Taiwan is a democratic, self-governing island of 23 million people but is constantly under threat from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) due to their close proximity and somewhat intertwined history. While the U.S. and the people of Taiwan understand the island is an independent nation, China continues to claim Taiwan as its own territory. An important part of this situation is the fact that Taiwan is the world’s largest chip producer, something China would undoubtedly like to add to its own economic resume. In today’s day and age, the majority of the world relies on chips for everything from smartphones, to computers, to medical equipment, to cars – you name it. And with Taiwan having the most advanced chip factory in the world, they are a valuable ally to have. But China does not want to be Taiwan’s ally like we are, they want to take control. Now with what China perceives as a weakened U.S. and a President that has completely lost the trust of his citizens, the CCP believes it now deals with the world from a place of strength. 

When the Chinese government got wind of Nancy Pelosi’s scheduled trip to Taiwan, it immediately threatened “serious consequences.” CCP spokesmen spoke of military actions including firing on U.S. air crafts – something that would not have happened only a few years ago. In a phone call between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Xi threaten the President of the United States when he said, “those who play with fire will perish by it.” After those threats, China’s boldness appeared valid after conversations between the White House and the Speaker leaked and we learned that White House asked her not to go. It is unfathomable that a U.S. President would so easily cower to an advisory who has made very public plans to overtake the U.S. as the world’s superpower.

 I very rarely agree with Speaker Pelosi.  This is a person who thinks opening the southern border will have no effect on our national security and unlimited government spending would somehow help inflation. And while I certainly don’t believe the Speaker is the best figure to represent America, I commend her for showing more backbone than the White House.

Bowing down to China isn’t exclusive to the President.  Unfortunately, some of America’s business leaders and athletes all too often bend to China’s will.  In November, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon quipped in an interview that America’s biggest bank will outlast the CCP. Of course, after the Chinese government – who he must partner with to do business in the communist country – got upset about the remark, he promptly apologized as he was instructed to do. The CEO of BlackRock, Larry Fink, who as I said last week uses Americans’ retirement investments to push his political agenda on American companies, has repeatedly said BlackRock is going all-in in China. The person who is threatening to kill U.S. jobs over carbon footprints is investing billions of dollars in communist China, the largest polluter in the world, not to mention a government that murders and imprisons millions of religious minorities in their country. And many people remember when NBA star LeBron James, who has no problem publicly stating his often-uneducated opinion on social and political issues, refused to say anything that might upset the CCP when his fellow NBA players speak out in defense of Hong Kong and Taiwan. 

Whether it is out of fear of conflict or in seek of money, too many of our political and business leaders are placating China at the expense of the American people. There are hundreds of Chinese companies on the U.S. stock exchange, many of which do not follow our laws or meet the requirements to be listed.  I have been a consistent advocate for removing them from our markets and pursuing policies that bring our manufacturing back to the U.S. to limit China’s presence in our supply chain. The pandemic taught us a tough lesson on our dependence on China. It’s long past time that we heed it.

CONTACT  US: I encourage you to visit my official website or call my offices in Jefferson City (573-635-7232) Washington, Mo. (636-239-2276), or Wentzville (636-327-7055) with your questions and concerns. If you want even greater access to what I am working on, please visit my YouTube site, Facebook page, and keep up-to-date with Twitter and Instagram.