‘Committee on the Present Danger: China’ Hosts Capitol Hill Roundtable Discussion of Threat Posed by Communist China

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

For Immediate Release
April 10, 2019

CONTACT:
Hamilton Strategies, [email protected], Patrick Benner, 610.584.1096, ext. 104, or Deborah Hamilton, ext. 102

‘Committee on the Present Danger: China’ Hosts Capitol Hill Roundtable Discussion of Threat Posed by Communist China

Newt Gingrich, Ted Cruz, and Steve Bannon Join CPDC Members In Addressing Communist China’s ‘Unrestricted Warfare’    

 WASHINGTON—Current and former leading lawmakers joined national security experts and freedom fighters on the afternoon of April 9 for the first of a series of roundtable discussions aimed at raising awareness about the magnitude of the Chinese Communist Party’s multifaceted and intensifying effort to supplant the United States as the world’s dominant power and to discuss steps for countering it. This newly launched “Committee on the Present Danger: China” (CPDC) met against the backdrop of ongoing bilateral trade negotiations and rising concern—both in this country and the Western Pacific more generally—about Communist China’s economic warfare, military build-up and ever-more-aggressive behavior.

Frank Gaffney, Vice Chairman of CPDC briefly introduced the most consequential of the previous incarnations of the Committee: the one that informed and inspired Ronald Reagan’s strategy against the USSR, which he noted “in due course did bring down the totalitarian Communist regime that sought the destruction of this country and the enslavement of the rest of the world.”

The CPDC’s Chairman, Brian Kennedy, reminded the audience that the demise of the Soviet Union “was not inevitable or even likely, instead it was well thought out, debated in forums like this and later implemented by men and women in the Reagan Administration who defended Reagan’s policies.”  He warned of the broad lack of awareness among Americans about the present danger posed by Communist China but commended our Commander-in-Chief for being keenly alive to it: “President Trump like Reagan before him understands this threat and is taking actions to ensure our national survival.”

U.S. Air Force veteran and Utah Congressman Chris Stewart, a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, stated that China’s “intention is to dominate the United States and every other Western democracy,” that “they are moving methodically towards that goal,” and that “from the intelligence perspective there is nothing that I worry about more.”

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich described three ominous strategic victories Communist China has already secured: Its seizure of and effective control over the South China Sea; its empire-building inroads in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe; and its possibly irreversible ascendancy in the global 5G wireless market. He warned that we are “watching a revolution in strategic economic capabilities and a revolution in geographic location of power and all of it is being done while we sleepwalk.”  He said, “This is going to be a long-term struggle between a civilization that believes in liberty and a civilization that believes in authoritarianism with Chinese characteristics.”

Texas Senator Ted Cruz said, “China is in my view, and in the view of many, the greatest long term geopolitical risk that the United States faces. He added that, “We need multiple tools to combat the geo-political and geo-military threat that we face.” These three tools include: (1) shining the light of transparency and truth on Chinese totalitarianism; (2) taking the Chinese threat deadly seriously and rebuilding our military and space capabilities, especially our space-based missile defenses; and (3) safeguarding ourselves at home against Chinese espionage, corporate theft, and academic/political influence.  He completed his remarks with an inspirational call to action, saying, “Truth is stronger than lies, and light is stronger than darkness.”

Steve Bannon, the former Strategic Advisor to President Trump, closed the Committee’s roundtable with a reminder:  “The Trump Revolution started with a reaction among the American people, particularly the working class in the middle class, believing that America was in decline” and Americans recognized threats to our republic, including that of Communist China.  He said, “The Chinese people are among the most noble people that have ever walked the earth and they have been oppressed and abused for a millennium and are now under a ‘new emperor’ – a radical cadre of the CCP.”  He explained that the globalist elites know about the human rights abuses precipitated by the Chinese government and yet consistently “sell out the American people, and the Chinese people” with them.  Mr. Bannon warned the audience of the necessity that America defend against the threat of the CCP and its globalist enablers while echoing the sentiment of other participants who believe in the Chinese people.  “When you have rule of law and freedom of speech and freedom of religion” Bannon said, “there is nothing that the Chinese people cannot accomplish.”

The important roundtable event was live streamed on Facebook and each of the individual speaker’s segmentsare now prominently featured at the CPDC’s website, www.PresentDangerChina.org.

The CPDC’s mission statement:

The mission of the “Committee on the Present Danger: China” is to help defend America through public education and advocacy against the full array of conventional and non-conventional dangers posed by the People’s Republic of China. As with the Soviet Union in the past, Communist China represents an existential and ideological threat to the United States and to the idea of freedom—one that requires a new American consensus regarding the policies and priorities required to defeat this threat. And for this purpose, it is necessary to bring to bear the collective skills, expertise and energies of a diverse group of experts on China, national security practitioners, human rights and religious freedom activists and others who have joined forces under the umbrella of the “Committee on Present Danger: China.”

Founding members of the “Committee on the Present Danger: China”—a number of whom were present at the roundtable discussion—include: Brian Kennedy, chairman; Frank Gaffney, vice chairman; R. James Woolsey; Dr. William Bennett; Steve Bannon; Mark Helprin; Pastor Bob Fu; Kevin Freeman; Dr. Peter Pry; Dr. Sasha Gong; LTG William Boykin; Hon. Ed Timperlake; Dr. Mark Schneider; Richard Fisher; Amb. Hank Cooper; Lianchao Han; Dr. Michael Waller; Capt. James Fanell, USN (Ret.); Col./Dr. Lawrence Sellin, USA (Ret.); Dr. Dan Blumenthal; Dr. Stephen Mosher; and Dr. Bradley Thayer.

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To interview a ‘Committee on the Present Danger: China’ representative, contact [email protected], Patrick Benner, 610.584.1096, ext. 104, or Deborah Hamilton, ext. 102.