WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today gave the following opening remarks at a full committee hearing entitled, Combatting Authoritarianism: U.S. Tools and Responses . The witnesses for panel one included: The Honorable Uzra Zeya, under secretary for civilian security, democracy, and human rights at State, and Ms. Jennifer Hall Godfrey, senior official for public diplomacy and public affairs at State.
On panel two, the witnesses included: Ms. Anne Applebaum, Atlantic Magazine staff writer, senior fellow at the SNF Agora Institute, and Dr. Daniel Twining, president of the International Republican Institute.
Ranking Member Risch gave the following remarks:
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
“Every American can turn on the TV and see that authoritarianism is on the rise. From Putin’s personal war, very personal war, against Ukraine, to China’s genocide of the Uyghurs and technology-fueled repression, autocrats are busy quashing political dissent and actively working to undermine our open, democratic society.
“While Russia and China are the most egregious models of authoritarianism, Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, and Zimbabwe also demonstrate the global nature of this rise. Clearly, the United States and our allies need to step up our game against these regimes.
“The Biden Administration has made supporting democracy a focal point of its foreign policy. Last December, the president hosted the Summit for Democracy with much fanfare, unfortunately there were few if any results therefrom.
“Ukraine was a participant in this summit and is now fighting for its sovereignty against an authoritarian Russian regime. Ukrainian lives will not be saved by the declarations or pledges from the summit.
“Instead, the Ukrainians need air defense systems, including surface to air missiles, fighter planes, anti-tank missiles, ammunition, small arms, and bullet-proof vests. The United States once called itself the “arsenal of democracy.” We can become so again. Ukraine is fighting for its freedom, but also for ours. We must continue to give it the tools, now, to combat Putin’s authoritarianism.
“Russia’s repression goes beyond its current war and uses disinformation and cyber warfare to stir discontent abroad, including in Georgia, Moldova, the Baltics, and the Balkans.
“We have also allowed the ill-gotten financial gains of Putin’s cronies to find a home in the West, including, in the United States. I’m glad to see the administration has stood up a task force to remove the Kremlin’s influences from our systems and their holdings. But, it is long overdue. We have been far too permissive for far too long, and the results of that complacency are seen in Ukraine.
“Turning to China, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has a long history of malign influence that takes a variety of forms. Its coordination with Russia on misinformation about the war in Ukraine is only the latest example. The CCP is justifying Russia’s horrific and unjustified invasion by spreading disinformation about U.S.-supported biological research labs in Ukraine. This is similar to the false narratives China used to cover up the origins of COVID-19 and delay the global pandemic response.
“In other instances, the CCP is using transnational repression to target dissidents and even U.S. citizens outside of China, bully media outlets overseas that publish negative coverage of China, and silence debate at U.S. universities.
“Funding from China into universities is another major problem. From 2019 to 2021 alone, U.S. universities received $545 million in gifts and contracts from China. $545 million dollars. In one example, Chinese company Alibaba contracted with a U.S. university to develop facial surveillance technology. In Europe, multiple universities have ties with Chinese universities that directly support the People’s Liberation Army. These partnerships support bad actors that do not share the interests of democratic nations.
“It’s a simple question – why are we funding Chinese authoritarianism?
“As autocrats get more creative in pushing their agenda, the United States and its allies need to increase their efforts to block and tackle disinformation and authoritarian narratives before they take root.
“The U.S. should continue its support for democracies around the globe through our foreign assistance programs. We need to better coordinate within our interagency to focus on programs that are the most effective at pushing back against the lies and propaganda of our adversaries.
“We should also work with our allies and partners to promote democratic institutions, good governance, and an understanding of the playbooks of authoritarian governments. On universities for example, the U.S. and our partners should improve scrutiny of foreign donations and contracts.
“We must continue to counter authoritarian tactics through free media and civil society.
“I look forward to hearing more today about our current U.S. government efforts to combat authoritarianism and how we can improve upon these efforts immediately.
“We must not let the authoritarians win. As we see in Ukraine today, no one wants to live in a world controlled by Putin or Xi.
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman.”
These remarks have been lightly edited for clarity. Witness testimony is available on foreign.senate.gov.
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