House committee examines CCP's use of law for control

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House committee examines CCP's use of law for control

Congressman John Moolenaar Chairman of the Select Committee on the CCP | Official Website

The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party convened this morning to discuss "How the CCP Uses the Law to Silence its Critics and Enforce its Rule." The hearing featured testimony from Jamil Jaffer, Founder and Executive Director of the National Security Institute; Anna Puglisi, Visiting Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution; and Dr. Jill Goldenziel, Professor at the National Defense University, College of Information and Cyberspace.

Chairman John Moolenaar remarked, "In China, there is no justice. There are no rights. There is no free speech. There is no rule of law. General Secretary Xi Jinping has said the judicial and law enforcement departments should hold the absolute leadership of the Chinese Communist Party."

Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi added, "The CCP views the law as a sword to use against its opponents, and a shield to protect its interests."

Jamil Jaffer addressed Chairman Moolenaar's question regarding Chinese crane manufacturer ZPMC’s refusal to cooperate in a Select Committee investigation due to China's national security law: "It tips us off. If these cranes have questions about state secrets… what does that say about what ZPMC is doing with those cranes?"

Anna Puglisi testified about her experience with threats from Chinese biotech company BGI Genomics after exposing their links to the CCP: "Speaking up today may put me in further jeopardy. But if we begin to self-censor based on the actions of an authoritarian regime, we become more like them and less like an open democracy."

Dr. Jill Goldenziel highlighted how Chinese scholars view legal warfare: "[Chinese] scholars view legal warfare as a form of combat in its own right. The goal of legal warfare is to factionalize the PRC’s adversaries and weaken their will to fight."