House Republicans seek revival of the China Initiative

SCREEN CAPTURE / C-SPAN

California Congressmember Judy Chu speaks out against the China Week bills passed by the
House of Representatives Republican majority.

While most of our attention has been on the Presidential campaigns of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, House Republicans hope no one will notice the backward step reviving the racist China Initiative.

Dubbed "China Week," tthe House of Representatives voted Sept. 12 to pass two bills which could increase hate acts against Chinese Americans, say the bills' critics. 

H.R. 1398, Protect America’s Innovation and Economic Security from CCP Act of 2024, a bill to reinstate the Trump-era China Initiative program, and H.R. 9465, Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024, a bill to require the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to review agricultural land purchases solely by immigrants from China, North Korea, Russia, or Iran.

"I am outraged by today’s passage of deceptively-named bills that would undermine our nation’s security and racially profile immigrants and Americans of Chinese and Asian descent," said Rep. Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

"We are concerned that the US House of Representatives decision to dub this week as ‘China Week’ may lead to increased racial profiling and animosity towards Chinese Americans," stated the Committee of 100, made up of prominent Chinese Americans.

“With precious little time remaining to fund our government, House Republicans could have worked on a bipartisan basis this week to do so—supporting our veterans and protecting our homeland. Instead, they launched a partisan ‘China week’ that does nothing to improve our competitive advantages to the Chinese Community Party or seriously address national security interests," she said.

"We have particular issue with these two bills that continue to drive misleading and dangerous narratives," continued the statement.

The China Initiative was a failed program that fueled racial animosity, xenophobia, and suspicion towards the AAPI community and Chinese Americans in particular. Reimplementing this program would send shockwaves of fear across the AAPI community. That program not only destroyed lives and careers but also undermined our academic community and stifled America’s ability to remain a leader in scientific innovation.

The second bill of adding the secretary of agriculture to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) dangerously echoes the discriminatory alien land laws of America’s past, treating immigrants and refugees from countries like China, Iran, and Russia as national security threats. 

"Contributions by immigrants play a vital role in U.S. economy and its competitiveness. Unnecessary and overzealous restrictions only add to the challenges faced by immigrants looking to live in and contribute to American societ," say the Committee.

Both of these bills legitimize harmful and xenophobic narratives about immigrants, creating conditions that fuel anti-Asian violence.

H.R. 9465 is similar to the racist anti-alien land laws that prevented Asian immigrants from owning land. By mid-20th century, the racist laws were deemed unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court.

The so-called China Week comes with a rash of public indictments against alleged agents working for the Peoples Republic of China and/or the Chinese Communist Party. The indictments filed this year by the US Department of Justice charge individuals for acting on behalf of the PRC and/or the CCP to harass and intimidate US citizens or residents who are critical of the Chinese government and the communist party. 

Some of the indictments were filed after the China Initiative was terminated by the DOJ in 2023 because it had resulted in racial profiling of researchers of Chinese descent. Most of the China Initiative indictments were dropped for lack of evidence.

The House bills now must be approved the Senate where the Democrats hold a slim advantage because Vice President Kamala Harris  has often cast the deciding vote

"We strongly urge the US Senate not to move any of these harmful bills forward. We call upon Chinese Americans, the Asian American community and all individuals that have felt oppressed to call on their local elected officials and explain the harm these bills would cause," the Committee of 100 states.

However, the recent indictments post-initiative  indicate that China does have an aggressive strategy against critics and espionage of strategies and technology with military value by offering monetary rewards to US citizens.

The actions offered by the House bills do not address those actions and instead may cast too wide net involving innocent US citizens or residents of the US.

CAPAC members and groups like the Committee of 100 recognize the PRC attempts to influence US residents or obtain military secrets and have offered to assist the DOJ and Congress to weed out the individuals who might be PRC agents.

"We welcome the opportunity to work with Congressional leaders to recognize, address, and prevent future harms to the AAPI community and continue the dialogue towards a shared vision of a better, more secure and inclusive America," states the Committee of 100.

Congressmember Chu added: "Let me be clear: while we all want to stop American secrets from being stolen, investigations should be based on evidence of criminal activity, not race, ethnicity, or national origin."

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