Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party
Floor Speech
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Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, as chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, or CAPAC, I rise to address the creation of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.
CAPAC strongly supports strengthening our economy and national security, and we have always recognized that there are legitimate concerns with the actions of the Government of the People's Republic of China. This committee could address these issues productively.
However, I rise to remind all Members that this committee should not be used as an open invitation to traffic in blatant xenophobic, anti- China rhetoric that we know results in physical violence against Asian Americans.
We certainly saw this with Trump's labeling of COVID as the ``China virus'' resulting in 11,500 hate crimes against AAPIs in this country.
This committee cannot be used to promote policies that result in the racial profiling of Asian Americans but should directly focus on specific concerns related to the Government of the People's Republic of China.
We know the danger for Asian-American communities if the committee devolves into xenophobic rhetoric and scapegoating.
Back in the 1980s, when the economic competition between the U.S. and Japan reached a boiling point, Vincent Chin was out at a bar in Detroit celebrating his upcoming wedding when two laid-off autoworkers shouted: It is because of you that we lost our jobs. These men harassed Vincent, chased him, and bashed him in his head with a baseball bat, beating him until he died. Neither of them served a day in jail and only paid a $3,000 fine. Instead of attending his wedding, Vincent's family attended his funeral.
This is part of our country's history, and what this shows is what we say and how we say it matters. We know how dangerous the consequences can be if we don't get this right.
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