Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL), a Republican from Florida, called on the International Olympic Committee to immediately move the location of the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022, saying the Biden administration should boycott the games if the venue is not changed in response to the Chinese government’s violation of human rights in Xinjiang. In an interview with Voice of America on Feb. 17, Rep. Walz said he could not agree that Beijing should enjoy the benefits that come with hosting the Olympics and hoped the international community would work together to put pressure on China.
Rep. Walz, who is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, is also a member of the House China Working Group. Walz said that the new coronavirus pandemic has revealed the nature of China’s Communist Party and has made the United States aware of the need to reduce economic dependence on China for manufacturing and specific industries.
Congressman Walz emphasized that the fight between the U.S. and China is a government-wide competition, and that the most urgent imperative is to address the problem of Chinese intellectual property theft.
The following is the full text of the interview.
“The Chinese Communist Party should not have the privilege and benefit of hosting the Winter Olympics”
Reporter: You introduced a House resolution on February 15 calling on the U.S. to boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the content of which points out many human rights violations and the censorship and cover-ups carried out by the Chinese Communist Party. Can you talk to us about why you feel the U.S. should boycott the games?
Rep. Walz: I think the games should be moved to a different location. I think the IOC should move the games to another location. In fact, my colleague Senator Scott has been asking the IOC to move the games to another location for the last almost two years and has been getting no response, only a silent response. So unless the Winter Olympics games change locations, I do think we should have to boycott the games.
Seeing the egregious and indisputable cover-up of the new coronavirus since last year, seeing the arrests of journalists, the arrests of doctors, the Chinese doctors who are trying to sound the alarm, and the refusal of the Chinese Communist Party to share data with the World health Organization and the CDC and other global health organizations, and then what I think is most disturbing, the ongoing Uighur genocide in western China. Mass incarceration, reports of rape and sterilization keep coming up, and given these human rights violations, given that 180 international human rights organizations are calling for a boycott (of the Beijing Winter Olympics), I don’t know how we’re going to give the Chinese Communist Party the distinction and the benefit of hosting the Winter Olympics 11 months from now to reward them and provide an international platform for their continued cover-up and their continued propaganda.
Reporter: Yes, these are all very troubling questions for many people. Do you think the Biden Administration will agree with you or take a firm position on this? And, what about the American athletes who have invested years of training for this special occasion?
Rep. Walz: I wholeheartedly support our athletes, and that’s why I think the race should have to change locations. I hope that the Biden administration, if they’re serious about human rights, if they’re serious about freedom, whether it’s freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech and other rights that are protected by our Constitution, we should have to take a clear position on freedom, on the freedom of Uighurs in Hong Kong, Tibet, western China and on the two million people who have died from the new coronavirus around the world. We must be consistent with our values.
Reporter: Now that the resolution has been introduced, do you plan to push this plan on a large scale into a bipartisan, or even international, cooperation? Do you see any momentum for success in this boycott campaign?
Rep. Walz: I’m talking to some Democrats and they agree, they think like I do, that the IOC should have to move the games somewhere else so that all of our athletes can compete, and they agree that we can’t turn a blind eye to genocide, we can’t send our athletes there and put them in a situation where they ignore everything that’s happening in China. There’s also the international level, and of course we’ve seen the Canadian Conservative leader call for a boycott of the games, and Australian parliamentarians have called for a boycott. They have to stop the genocide that continues to happen, so I think it’s going to be a global collaborative effort.
“I will not allow the use of huawei equipment as long as Chinese regulations should not be changed.”
Reporter: Next we’ll move to another topic, Huawei. The founder of Huawei recently said he wants the new (U.S.) administration to adopt an open policy for the benefit of U.S. businesses and economic development. You are a member of the U.S. House China Task Force, what is your response to that? Is there a cross-party consensus in Congress on how to deal with Huawei?
Rep. Walz: Congress is now aware (of the problem), and that’s why the House China Working Group is so important. There is now a realization that as long as President Xi’s regulations remain in effect, particularly China’s spying laws, which require any private company to provide the Communist Party of China with the relevant data they want, even the best-intentioned companies have no choice but to provide the authoritarian regime with the data they require. As long as that remains the case, I cannot in my conscience allow Huawei’s infrastructure (in the U.S.) to potentially exploit or transmit global data back to Beijing. We can’t accept that. We absolutely will not allow that within the United States. And I don’t know how we can maintain an effective relationship with our allies if they continue to have that infrastructure knowing that Huawei has to provide any data that the communist regime in Beijing demands.
Reporter: Is that a bipartisan consensus in Congress?
Rep. Walz: Especially those on the Armed Services Committee, the Intelligence Committee, the Department of Homeland Security, both Republicans and Democrats are aware of the threat that installing this type of hardware and software in our national infrastructure could pose. So, yes, there is a consensus.
Economic decoupling? “The U.S. must strike a balance in industrial dependence.”
Reporter: A recent report shows that China’s financial markets are attracting record amounts of global capital, particularly from U.S. investors, and that this market is also expected to continue to grow. As more capital flows into the Chinese market, Chinese political leaders will be able to continue to increase the political power of their country. In the areas of finance, business and high technology, do you believe that a new U.S. administration means that the decoupling from China is over?
Rep. Walz: I certainly hope not. One of the things that the new coronavirus has revealed to us is that we have developed a dependency in the United States, whether it’s personal protective equipment, masks, our pharmaceutical industry, rare earth minerals, etc.
One of the topics that I was discussing with Democrats is that they want to develop a shift to more of a green economy, that we’re dependent on batteries, but China dominates 90 percent of the global market for lithium, so we need to bring that aspect of manufacturing back to the United States. We need to have more of a balance between our manufacturing and our dependence on those particular industries.
And also, our investment markets, our capital markets, need to be aware of that at the same Time. I’m all for capitalism, I’m all for corporations growing their own businesses, but not at the expense of our national security, especially when you know that President Xi is openly talking about replacing the American dream with the Chinese dream. As long as they’re an authoritarian model of governance, I’m not going to support that.
“It’s an all-government competition.”
Reporter: In his speech earlier this month, President Biden defined China as “our most formidable competitor.” The White House has also said it will discuss with Congress a comprehensive strategy to address the issues and threats posed by China. Have you had a chance to continue to communicate with the administration about China?
Rep. Walz: Not yet. We have some ongoing communications with congressional Democrats, and I’m glad to see that Secretary of State Blinken in the Biden administration agrees that what’s happening in western China (Xinjiang) is genocide. I was also pleased to see that President Biden’s Secretary of Defense set up a military working group on competition against China, but I asked them why only a military working group when we were also talking about economic competition, unfair trade practices, intellectual property theft at U.S. research institutions and on college campuses, ongoing cyber attacks, it’s a much broader issue than just the military, it’s an all-government It’s a government-wide competition.
Reporter: If you could give only one recommendation, what would be your top priority issue for dealing with China?
Rep. Walz: It’s technology theft. We cannot continue to be a global leader in embracing our values, in embracing freedom of the press, religion, freedom of speech, if our technological leadership is stolen directly from our universities, our research institutions and our businesses. Quite frankly, the Chinese Communist Party jumped to the top of the globe by stealing American technology. This is something we must confront.
Reporter: This concludes our interview with Congressman Walz. Congressman Walz thank you very much for taking the time to join us.
Congressman Walz: Thank you.
U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL), Republican U.S. Representative
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