Transcript of Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi’s Opening Statement from Hearing on Deterrence Amid Rising Tensions: Preventing CCP Aggression on Taiwan

May 15, 2025
Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) convened a hearing entitled, “Deterrence Amid Rising Tensions: Preventing CCP Aggression on Taiwan.” 

Committee members examined how to deepen the U.S.-Taiwan partnership to expand mutually beneficial economic ties and step up coordination with U.S. allies and partners to deter the CCP’s growing military, economic, and diplomatic threats to Taiwan and its democratic government.

The following witnesses provided testimony:

Below is a transcript of the opening statement from the Ranking Member. Footage of the Ranking Member’s opening statement can be found here, and his questions to the witnesses can be found here.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. 

And thank you for convening this hearing on this critical topic: the deep ties between Taiwan and the U.S., and the CCP’s growing threat to Taiwan and, by extension, America and the world. 

But first, there’s a problem we need to address – Americans do not know much about Taiwan. Take this scene from the latest season of the hit HBO series “White Lotus,” which takes place in Thailand, but one of the leads, Victoria, confuses it for somewhere else.

At least she confuses Thailand for Taiwan, not China – but Victoria is not alone in her geographic illiteracy. 

Three years ago, I had the privilege of visiting Taiwan for my first time with then-Speaker Pelosi. After the trip, this poll was taken asking Americans if they could find Taiwan on a map.

It turns out that only 34 percent of Americans can correctly identify Taiwan. A lot of people thought Taiwan was in other places, where these yellow dots indicate, even up in the Arctic Circle. 

This is one of the key purposes of our hearing today: not as a geography lesson, but as an opportunity to clearly explain to Americans why Taiwan is so important. 

First, I want to talk about values. When I’ve been to Taiwan, I’ve been bowled over by how amazingly vibrant Taiwan’s democracy is.  

Let me show you this scene here. This is the celebration in Taiwan after President William Lai was inaugurated last May. Mr. Chairman, you and I were in Taiwan right before this occasion, and I’m upset we missed the party with street dancers, tiger costumes, and this huge horse.  

In contrast, this was the CCP’s recent celebration of Xi Jinping getting an unelected third term, setting him up to be dictator-for-life.  

This is your contrast. On one side of the Taiwan Strait, you have a one-party dictatorship. 

On the other side is Taiwan, a democracy doing everything it can to make sure that, in the words of one great Illinoian, “government of the people, by the people, and for the people [does] not perish from the earth.”  

This brings me to my second point, which is about the economy. A lot of Americans may not appreciate just how essential Taiwan is for our own prosperity. Taiwan is America’s 7th largest trading partner. And it is a huge market for our exports.

Take my home state of Illinois for example. Taiwan – believe it or not – is the 2nd largest importer of Illinois corn and 3rd largest importer of Illinois soybeans.

Taiwan is also a major investor. Since 2022, Taiwan’s investment in America has skyrocketed, surging from $1 billion in 2022 to $14 billion in 2024. This includes the first installment of $165 billion in investment from one semiconductor company alone – TSMC.

This brings me to my final point. I showed you how Taiwan celebrated its successful democratic election. But the PLA responded a little differently, practicing a blockade and missile attack on Taiwan. This is a clip courtesy of Chinese state television.

A little ominous if you ask me. We know that Xi Jinping has ordered the PLA to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027, and that clip gave you a visual of what a prelude to an invasion could look like. 

According to a recent study, a conflict over Taiwan would be absolutely devastating, dropping global GDP by a staggering $10 trillion, or 10 percent in one single year. As you can see, a war over Taiwan would be much, much worse than even the COVID pandemic. Losing access to Taiwan’s semiconductors alone would push the U.S. into a, quote, “immediate Great Depression.” People would die, and our economy would crash.  

America does not want war over Taiwan. A CCP attack on Taiwan would be unacceptable for our prosperity, our security, and our values. Chairman Xi, know that America – on a bipartisan basis – stands for peace across the Taiwan Strait. But, we will not tolerate actions that put that peace at risk.  

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