Ranking Member Ro Khanna Questions Witnesses During Select Committee Hearing on the CCP’s Gaslighting and Manipulation to Marginalize Taiwan
WASHINGTON – Representative Ro Khanna (CA-17), Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, questioned witnesses at a Select Committee hearing titled Lies, Lawfare, and Leverage: The CCP’s Gaslighting and Manipulation to Marginalize Taiwan. The hearing examined non-military means by which the People’s Republic of China (PRC) seeks to isolate Taiwan and intimidate both Taiwan’s leaders and their supporters in the international community.
Ranking Member Khanna first questioned Shriley Kan, a Founding Member of the Advisory Board of the Global Taiwan Institute, about whether Trump’s policy in his second term has been clear and consistent enough to guarantee Taiwan security.
“Would you say you have concerns about President Trump’s policy in his second term in terms of being clear and consistent enough to guarantee Taiwan security?” Khanna asked.
Kan responded, “One question has been about the uncertainty of his policy from day-to-day. Whether the disruptions are welcome or not, is he a statesman? Or is he a peacemaker? Or is he a madman? But I do want to re-emphasize that the Taiwan Relations Act does not permit the president to decide alone on both coercion as well as use of force.”
Khanna then asked: “Are there a few areas that you think he needs to be stronger in to guarantee Taiwan security?”
“In terms of being stronger, I do not agree with so-called packaging. We should not be talking about packages of arms sales. There should not have been eight different programs that totaled $11 billion of arms sales to Taiwan,” Kan responded.
Khanna then turned to Dr. Mira Rapp-Hooper, Partner at The Asia Group.
“Do you believe that President Trump in his second term has been consistent and clear enough to guarantee the security of Taiwan?” Khanna asked.
“Mr. Ranking Member, I do believe it would be to the benefit to the United States to see a clarification of the United States policy towards Taiwan by way of a clear statement of elements of that policy,” Rapp-Hooper responded.
Khanna finalized his line of questioning by asking Julian Ku, the Maurice A. Deane Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law at Hofstra University, what he believed are three things the president’s administration can do to ensure that we have clarity and consistency in standing up for Taiwan security.
“A rhetorical campaign reaffirming from the president’s own mouth that he is affirming peaceful stability across the Taiwan Strait and that he committed to deterring any conflict [would be one way],” adding that, “I think this administration has been a bit better on this but the president obviously counts so I would prefer if he would just say that the “One China” policy is the policy of the Untied States and that his administration is committed to it just as he was in the first administration.”
Select Committee Democrats echoed the sentiments Ranking Member Khanna raised in his question lines:
Congressman Seth Moulton (MA-06) argued that U.S.-China policy under the first Trump administration aligned more closely with the Biden administration than it did with the second Trump administration, stressing that the stakes are extraordinarily high “because what we are talking about is deterrence – preventing a war that would not just cost Taiwan its freedom, independence, and millions of lives, but will cost America perhaps hundreds of thousands if not millions of lives – a war that could literally be World War III.” He added that “I hope we can come together in an honest, forthright, and bipartisan way to support strengthening our posture of deterrence towards China, and strengthening our alliance between Taiwan and the United States of America.”
Congresswoman Kathy Castor (FL-14) highlighted President Trump’s mistreatment of allies in response to CCP aggression, saying “take, for instance, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent sentiment that a Chinese attack on Taiwan may also serve as a threat to Japan. In response, President Trump told her to stop provoking China. What kind of signal does that send to an ally like Japan?” Later adding, “And clearly…when Trump says “stop provoking China,” that that would embolden Xi Jinping.”
Congresswoman Jill Tokuda (HI-02) reiterated the need for strong support for Taiwan ahead of the anticipated Trump-Xi meeting this spring saying, “let’s be clear here. There needs to be the beauty that Taiwan is not a bargaining chip for trade. 100%...Congress needs to take decisive action to disavow this notion that somehow, they are on the negotiating table.”
Congressman Greg Stanton (AZ-09), co-chair of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, explained the different aspects informing US deterrence of China emphasizing, “deterrence is not just about a weapons system. It's also about clarity, consistency, and credibility in American policy towards Taiwan. The PRC is watching every signal we send. That's why I was disappointed in a recent interview when President Trump suggested that Taiwan's status was ultimately up to Xi Jinping.” Stanton also criticized President Trump’s so-called “Donroe Doctrine” as “fueling speculation…in which the United States would seek to assert predominance in the Western Hemisphere while leaving the PRC to consolidate power in east Asia.”
“I hope that this Committee can be bipartisan in calling for more clarity in this administration’s policies to guarantee the security of Taiwan,” Khanna ended.
Watch the full Select Committee hearing: “Lies, Lawfare, and Leverage: The CCP’s Gaslighting and Manipulation to Marginalize Taiwan” here.
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