US Representative Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the US House of Representatives, on Sunday said that he would form a select committee on China if he is elected speaker of the chamber, accusing the administration of US President Joe Biden of not standing up to Beijing.
“China is the No. 1 country when it comes to intellectual property theft,” he told Fox News in an interview.
“We will put a stop to this and no longer allow the administration to sit back and let China do what they are doing to America,” he added.
Photo: AFP
McCarthy also said he would keep his promise to oust a number of Democrats from key House committees, including US Representative Adam Schiff, the chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
He said he would also remove US Representative Eric Swalwell from the intelligence committee and US Representative Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee.
McCarthy is vying to become speaker after his party won a narrow House majority in the midterm elections this month, although he would need to secure enough votes to be formally elected when the new US Congress takes office in January.
A source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that McCarthy prevailed in Republican House leadership elections on Tuesday last week, overcoming a challenge from hardline conservative US Representative Andy Biggs in a 188-31 vote by the caucus.
McCarthy also told Fox News that his party would “stop these police stations in America,” after FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers on Thursday that the US was concerned about the Chinese government setting up unauthorized stations in US cities.
Europe-based human rights organization Safeguard Defenders published a report in September revealing the presence of dozens of Chinese police “service stations” in major global cities including New York.
The report said the stations were part of Beijing’s efforts to pressure Chinese nationals to return to China to face criminal charges as well as spread the Chinese Communist Party’s influence and propaganda overseas.
China’s embassy in Washington acknowledged the existence of volunteer-run sites in the US, but said they were not “police stations.”
The sites “assist Chinese nationals who need help in accessing the online service platform to get their driving licenses renewed and receive physical checkups for that purpose,” an embassy official told Reuters.
In Taipei yesterday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said that no official contact had yet been made with McCarthy regarding a visit to Taiwan.
McCarthy had previously pledged to visit Taiwan if he became House speaker.
However, Wu told lawmakers that he believes McCarthy’s busy schedule precludes a trip to Taiwan any time soon.
McCarthy had previously said he would have liked to join US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s delegation when she visited Taiwan in August.
Asked if McCarthy would expedite US arms sales to Taiwan, Wu said it was too early to tell.
Additional reporting by CNA
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
RSS