‘We Have to Stop Letting Our Adversaries Push Us Around’: Rep. McClain on ‘Stop CCP Act’

Unsatisfied with what they see as the Biden administration’s tepid response to Chinese Communist Party (CCP) human rights abuses and violations of trade commitments, a group of Republican lawmakers is pushing tough new legislative measures that would penalize top CCP officials and their relatives.

The members of Congress sponsoring the “Stop CCP Act” are Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), House Armed Services Committee ranking member Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), Republican Study Committee (RSC) Chairman Jim Banks (R-Ind.), and RSC National Security and Foreign Affairs Task Force Chairman Joe Wilson (R-S.C.).

The legislation would block visas and freeze the assets of CCP officials who make up the Party’s National People’s Congress, its high-level decision-making body, and their families until the regime makes a number of concessions, including stopping its repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China; curbing its aggression toward Taiwan; respecting freedom of speech and other basic political and human rights in Hong Kong; and ending the theft of the intellectual property (IP) of U.S. companies.

In an interview with NTD, an affiliate of The Epoch Times, McClain said the Biden administration simply hasn’t taken a forceful enough stance on these issues, citing, in particular, the genocide of the Uyghurs and the IP violations. McClain also condemned in the strongest terms China’s efforts, as she put it, to “take over” Taiwan, an issue from which much of the world may have grown temporarily distracted amid the crisis over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“If the administration is not going to be tough on China, then Congress needs to be, and I’m happy to lead that charge,” McClain told NTD. “Just look at the world and what’s happening right now [regarding the Ukraine crisis]. We have to show our adversaries, especially China, that this type of behavior will not be tolerated. And we have to stop letting our adversaries push us around.”

The congresswoman expects that such a law would send a strong signal to the communist regime.

“It has definitely touched a nerve, that is for sure. In fact, they came out with a statement and tweeted about it, I believe, on Saturday [Feb. 12], saying they’re not happy with it,” McClain said.

She was referring to a Feb. 10 Twitter post by Hu Xijin, a former editor of the CCP-controlled Global Times known for his hawkish remarks.

“If the bill is passed, I am sure China will sanction all the members of the US Congress and all federal cabinet members, including the US President,” Hu wrote.

But the possibility of retaliatory sanctions doesn’t bother McClain, as she has no plans to travel to or invest in China.

“So at the end of the day, yes, it’s touched a nerve, which tells me we’re on the right track, because we have their attention. And we are beginning to show some strength,” she said.

When asked about what kind of reaction the legislation has gotten both within the Republican Party and among Democratic Party rivals and what kind of support is likely to materialize for it, McClain said that her colleague Rogers, who’s likely to chair the Armed Services Committee again in 2023, has gotten strong support.

McClain said that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) doesn’t share the same will to get tough with China and that this makes significant progress on the approval of the measure unlikely in the short term. If the Republican Party can win back the House of Representatives in the midterm elections in November, its prospects will be significantly better, according to McClain.

‘Double Standards’

In the course of the interview, another timely topic arose: the professional fate of professional basketball star Enes Kanter Freedom, who played for the Boston Celtics until he was traded to the Houston Rockets earlier this month. The Rockets then waived the player. Some believe that Kanter Freedom’s outspokenness on China issues played a role in his release.

McClain signaled her concerns about the National Basketball Association (NBA), an industry that she said uplifts social justice causes domestically while ostracizing a player that stands up to the communist regime’s abuses.

“If you’re going to have a standard, let’s have a standard. But if it weren’t for double standards, the NBA would have no standards at all. If it doesn’t fit their narrative, they abolish it, and they penalize [Kanter Freedom],” said McClain, who also raised larger concerns about CCP involvement with Western organizations such as the NBA.

Fortunately, large segments of the U.S. public are growing more conscious about these issues, she said.

“I think what’s happening is the American people are waking up. The American people want traditional American values. They’ve seen what all this progressive, communist agenda is looking like, and they don’t want it. So I say continue the fight.”

Finally, McClain said she agreed that the record-low ratings that the Winter Olympics in Beijing have garnered on NBC aren’t the result of the ongoing pandemic, but reflect a “moral boycott” on the part of viewers who are outraged at Beijing’s conduct in so many different spheres.

“The American people are waking up. They’re not buying these spins. They know what’s going on.”