Jimmy Lai, the founder and ex-Chairman of Apple Daily, was found guilty of bogus charges brought by Hong Kong prosecutors in a verdict announced on Monday. The courageous 78-year old Hong Konger has been imprisoned for years on charges of sedition and collusion with foreign nations. The CCP-controlled Hong Kong court will sentence Lai next month.
Chairman John Moolenaar of the Select Committee on China joined leaders from around the world in denouncing the verdict, signing on to a statement released by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance of China (IPAC). Moolenaar is the U.S. co-chair of IPAC.
IPAC STATEMENT ON JIMMY LAI VERDICT
This weekend marks the beginning of Hanukkah, a holiday celebrated by Jews around the world. Sadly, Jews living in China will not be able to openly celebrate the eight nights of the celebration that starts on December 14 and ends on December 22.
“While Jewish people around the world will proudly light the menorah this month, Jews living in China will be forbidden by the government from practicing their religious faith freely. America proudly allows people of all faiths to worship as they choose, and our values must win in the competition between us and China. I wish Jews living in China a happy Hanukkah and hope that one day they can practice their religious faith freely,” said Chairman John Moolenaar of the Select Committee on China.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent highlighting that China has become the indispensable customer and operational hub for large-scale sanctions evasion involving Venezuelan and Iranian networks. The letter commends the Trump Administration’s decisive action against the oil tanker SKIPPER and urges Treasury to review and possibly sanction the Chinese-managed tanker LUOIS and its operators.
This week, Select Committee Chairman John Moolenaar delivered remarks at the Uyghur Genocide Resistance event, hosted by the Uyghur Human Rights Project alongside Campaign for Uyghurs, the Uyghur Academy, and partner organizations. Chairman Moolenaar honored the Abbases and all Uyghur advocates for their courage, condemned the Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing genocide, and reaffirmed the need to enforce the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and hold the CCP accountable.
Chairman Moolenaar's remarks as prepared for delivery:
Good afternoon everyone,
Ms. Elaine Dezenski, Senior Director and Head of the Center on Economic and Financial Power, Foundation for Defense of Democracies Mr. Charles Parton OBE, Senior Associate Fellow, Royal United Services Institute Mr. Peter Ludwig, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Applied Intuition.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the Select Committee on China voted for the National Defense Authorization Act of 2026. The legislation included major Select Committee victories on outbound investment restrictions and the BIOSECURE Act.
Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the Select Committee on China sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio raising concerns about Ivanhoe Atlantic, a company with significant Chinese state-linked ownership that has received statements of support from the State Department for a multibillion-dollar rail project in Liberia. The project could possibly receive U.S. taxpayer funding from the federal government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation.
This week, Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the Select Committee on China and Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) sent a letter to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins urging decisive action to aggressively enforce existing laws, request information on any legislative action needed to protect American investors from foreign malign influence, and remove Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges. This continues Moolenaar and Scott's push for the SEC to delist Chinese companies that pose serious national security and investor protection risks.
Chairman John Moolenaar of the Select Committee on China issued the following statement on the inclusion of outbound investment restrictions and the BIOSECURE Act – two signature Select Committee bills – in the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act conference report:
“This legislation empowers President Trump to better protect our nation by restricting the flow of American capital to Chinese military companies and critical technology sectors. It closely mirrors the bipartisan COINS Act framework championed by the Select Committee in 2024 and the President’s America First Investment Policy from earlier this year. For too long, the hard-earned money of American retirees and investors has been used to build up China’s military and economy. This legislation will help bring that to an end.