Harris Mentions China Once in Acceptance Speech | China in Focus

Welcome to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story, Vice President Kamala Harris mentioning China once in her acceptance speech at the DNC. How former President Trump reacted. I will make sure into the future. President Biden is sending his national security advisor to China next week. What's on his agenda? We will hear directly from a White House spokesperson. Taiwan rejects being ruled by China's Communist Party in new remarks. And wants to keep its freedom and way of life. Taiwan's president spoke out while standing on an island just miles from China. And for the first time ever, Australian personnel carry out direct maintenance on a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine. A closer look at the operation and why it matters. Vice President Kamala Harris officially accepting the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday. In her 40-minute speech, she mentioned China once. I will make sure into the future on space and artificial intelligence that America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century. And that we strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership. Reacting to Harris' speech, former President Trump wrote on Truth Social that, quote, she didn't mention China. She didn't mention fracking. She didn't mention energy. And she didn't mention meaningfully Russia and Ukraine. Biden also only mentioned China once in his Monday speech at the DNC. Harris' speech mainly focused on her upbringing and journey from prosecutor to senator to vice president. She didn't give much detail about her policies, instead choosing to explain them in broad strokes, such as offering tax cuts for the middle-class Americans, ending housing shortages and securing the border. She talked about foreign policy for about five minutes, vowing to stand up for Israel's right to defend itself. Ability to defend itself because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on October 7. Speakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival. She also said she and President Biden are working to end the war so the Palestinians can realize their right to security. She added she would stand strong with Ukraine and NATO allies. NATO is the world's most powerful military alliance, which the U.S. is part of. Harris notes she would ensure the U.S. always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world. It remains to be seen how her foreign policy would pan out if she's elected. Harris has limited experience in foreign policy and is expected to walk a path similar to Biden's. On China, Biden largely kept Trump's policy positions in place after taking office. Here's a brief overview of Harris's China remarks. Last year, she told CBS that U.S. policy is not about decoupling with China, but de-risking and understanding. When asked if the U.S.-China relations were still tense, Harris said there is tension when you're in a competition of any sort, but added that doesn't mean that the U.S. is seeking conflict. As for China's economy, she said there is increasingly an understanding that China may not be the best bet when investors are looking for stability. And speaking about Taiwan, Harris said the U.S. would continue to support Taiwan's self-defense in 2022. Harris has been a supporter of human rights in China. She joined Senator Marco Rubio to push bills that sanction individuals tied to harming freedom in Hong Kong and human rights in Xinjiang. Is China a growing threat to the United States? To explore this, we've brought together two distinguished voices, vice chair of the Center for Energy and Environment at the America First Policy Institute and former U.S. ambassador to Denmark, Carla Sands, and founder and CEO of the U.S. Hispanic Business Council and former Obama campaign advisor, Javier Palomares. They joined us at the desk during NTD's special coverage of the Democratic National Convention. Ambassador Sands, I also want to give you the opportunity to talk about some of your personal experiences when you were the ambassador. You did a lot of things that were sort of targeted toward China. So from a foreign policy perspective, tell us kind of some of those initiatives that you took. China was trying to implement one of their national champions called Huawei as the 5G network in the Kingdom of Denmark. And I began to talk to the ministers. I brought in experts from the White House to brief them. I went to Greenland and talked to their leaders, went to Faroe Islands and talked to their leaders. And the Faroe Islands leaders seemed to be reluctant to not use Huawei in their 5G. So I wrote an op-ed in their paper. It's only about 52,000 people in all of the Faroe Islands, but I was the first U.S. ambassador to do it. And as a matter of fact, the Chinese ambassador went to the Faroe Islands and threatened the premier of the Faroe Islands, if you don't use Huawei in your 5G, you're not getting a trade deal. Well, that's a big deal to a small country with that big market. And he actually repeated the story when he was miked for a TV show in the men's room soon after that. So it got out into the press. And when I learned about it, I kept talking about it to people. Look, this is a real threat. And there's not a backdoor in Huawei to use it against the people and to spy. There's a front door. So you really don't want to use Chinese-made 5G equipment. And finally, Denmark as a kingdom came out, they were the first EU nation to do so. We're not going to use 5G equipment from a non-democratic nation. Now, bringing it back in studio, we have, of course, Ambassador Carla Sands and Javier Palomares with us. We were talking about China earlier. So Javier, I will let you say your response now. Our elected officials are trying to do the right thing, but don't quite get it sometimes. Back when President Trump was in office, he banned disposable vapes. I'm sorry, rechargeable vapes. They were referred to as cartridge-based vaping products. And that was a good thing. It inadvertently created a loophole that the Chinese immediately capitalized on. They then started creating what is referred to as a disposable vape that can be thrown away after one use. The law didn't catch that when we wrote it. The law was the right law at the right time because those were the products that were being sold to American children. And so the law was well-meant and it was effective. But the Chinese very quickly picked up on that, found the loophole in that law and said, OK, we won't sell you the rechargeable vapes. We'll sell you disposable vapes. And so now any kid can walk into a vape store and pick up a vaping product. The vaping products have names and flavors like watermelon pop, cotton candy, rainbow flave. They have little teddy bears on the packaging. It is clearly aimed at American children. And if you look at that, and my team went out into the market in several places throughout the U.S. and bought these products. And if you look at the packaging, it literally says not for sale in China, in English and in Mandarin so that they can't sell those vaping products to their own kids, but they sell them to ours. The result among children aged 12 to 18, the use of vaping products has gone up some 2188 percent. That's how our legislators don't quite understand that we've always got to be on the alert. We've got to be watching out for China. If you close the front door like Trump did, they'll come in through the back door. And we need to be very, very careful about how we run the country, because China, as you said earlier, Ambassador, we are the prize and they're watching us very, very carefully. Next, the White House just confirmed that President Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, is set to visit China next week. Here's White House national security spokesperson John Kirby at a teleconference earlier. Let's take a listen. As for Jake's trip to Beijing, this is a follow-on coming out of the Woodside Summit back in November of last year. And I think Jake will also talk to Minister Wang about things, obviously, that we're still struggling with in terms of this relationship with China. Sullivan will talk to China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, but there's no further information on whether the senior U.S. official will meet China's top leader, Xi Jinping. Kirby said Sullivan will bring up a series of issues impacting the U.S. relationship with China, topics such as China's support for Russia in the war with Ukraine, tensions in the South China Sea and around Taiwan are expected to be on the agenda. And things that Washington and Beijing have agreed to work on together will also be discussed, such as maintaining communication channels and preventing measures of fentanyl precursor crisis. This trip marks Sullivan's first visit to China since he joined the Biden administration in his fifth meeting with China's Wang Yi. The Biden administration has been regularly sending high-ranking officials to China as part of its China policy, keeping high-level communication open between the two superpowers. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-de says Taiwan wants to remain free from communist control and rejects being ruled by China's Communist Party. He made the statement Friday. Lai visited the frontline island of Kinmen on Friday to mark a key battle with Chinese forces in the 1960s. The island is only a couple of miles away from China's coast, putting it under significant military pressure from Beijing. This is Lai's first trip to Kinmen Island since assuming office in May. We are no longer trying to retake the mainland, but we are also unwilling to be ruled by the Communist Party. We want to continue a life of democracy, freedom, human rights and rule of law. Communist China vows to take over Taiwan and doesn't rule out using force if necessary. To counter it, Taiwan's defense spending for next year will rise 7.7 percent year on year, outpacing its expected economic growth. The goal is to reach three percent of the island's GDP. This is higher than in most democracies around the world. Lai said Taiwan's defense spending will increase every year. It wants to strengthen training and purchase weapons from America. At the same time, Lai says Taiwan is standing shoulder to shoulder with democracies worldwide. A New York man charged with operating as an illegal agent for the Chinese regime. The Department of Justice announced the case against Yuan Jun Tang Wednesday. Tang is accused of spying on Chinese pro-democracy activists and dissidents in the U.S. between 2018 and 2023. He allegedly took orders from China's Ministry of State Security. The DOJ claims he provided information about individuals viewed as threats to China, including infiltrating a group chat used by Chinese dissidents. Tang is a former Chinese citizen. He was once imprisoned for his activities as a dissident. He was granted asylum and later became a U.S. citizen. Beijing has denied the allegations. A former researcher working at a top U.S. renewable energy lab recently took up a post in China. He's part of a trend that's seeing many Chinese scientists return to China after studying or working overseas. Zhang Xianyu worked as a specialist for new power systems at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado. The lab, known as NREL, is home to leading renewable energy technology, crucial for national energy security. After leaving the lab, Zhang accepted work as an associate researcher at China's Southeast University. His case comes after a math star from UC Berkeley named Sun Song left for another Chinese university that was in January this year. Physicist Gao Huajian, a tenured professor at Stanford and Brown Universities, also recently returned to China. He then joined Beijing's Xinhua University as a chair. The university is known for its close ties to China's military. Chinese media have since speculated that a policy from former President Donald Trump prompted their departure. Trump administration launched the China Initiative in 2018. The rule allowed the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute Chinese academics found to have transferred U.S. technology to hostile countries. The current administration abandoned that project after President Biden took office. Next, fast fashion retailer Xi'an makes a troubling discovery. The brand has admitted to finding child labor in its supply chains. The disclosure comes from its 2023 report, which was released on Thursday. In it, Xi'an said it had suspended orders from suppliers who employed children under 16, resuming business only after those issues were resolved. Last year, Xi'an's sales in the U.S. surpassed those of Zara and H&M. But its plan to list in New York failed after lawmakers raised a series of concerns. Media outlets and other organizations in the U.S. and Europe report that Xi'an faces accusations tied to low wages, forced labor, and child labor among its Chinese suppliers. Xi'an also bears lawsuits from competitors, including allegations of copyright infringement. Xi'an reportedly sought to list in London two months ago. The largest ever joint air drill with the U.S. and South Korea is underway, and it's aimed at countering nuclear-armed North Korea. The drills are part of the country's annual Yulchi Freedom Shield exercises, meant to boost war readiness. More than 200 South Korean and U.S. fighter jets are due to fly around the clock for five days this week. It marks the largest number of air-based training missions flown by the allies. The drills involve mock enemy aircraft interceptions and cruise missile defense. At the same time, South Korea is also conducting anti-terror attack drills in its capital. That's in response to potential drone attacks and a hostage situation. And for the first time ever, Australian personnel are doing maintenance tasks on a U.S. nuclear submarine. It happened in Western Australia on Friday. The U.S. and U.K. have trained Australian troops over the past year. Defense ministers from the U.S., U.K. and Australia said this is a key step towards deterring aggression in the Indo-Pacific. Three years ago, the three countries formed AUKUS. The Trilateral Security Alliance focuses on stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Last week, Representative Michael McCaul stressed the dangers of Chinese aggression toward the Philippines and the South China Sea. Now, he's pushing for cooperation between the U.S. and Australia to develop hypersonic weapons. Coming up, a U.S. destroyer sails through the Taiwan Strait, drawing Beijing's ire. That's alongside heightened tensions between the Chinese regime and the democratic Taiwan. A new epicenter for Chinese dissents to voice their grievances, the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. Waving photos of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, they're calling out injustices they faced back home. Xi Jinping, I'm here again today to bring you the people's grievances. And a fire breaks out at a sculpture park run by a Chinese-American dissident in California. Authorities are still investigating, while the artist says it's an act of sabotage. More on that after the break, here on China In Focus. Welcome back to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. A U.S. destroyer sailed through the Taiwan Strait Thursday. The body makes up the narrow waterway dividing communist China from the self-governed democratic island of Taiwan. The U.S. Navy called the maneuver part of routine transit, done in accordance with international law. Beijing took issue with the journey. It warned the U.S. not to engage in what it called publicity stunts. The Chinese Communist Party views Taiwan, including the Strait, as its own territory. It has never ruled the island. Taiwan's government rejects China's sovereignty claims and says only the island's people can decide its future. China has never ruled out using military force to bring Taiwan under its control. The Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. has become a new hotspot for overseas Chinese, as they voice frustration about their grievances tied to the communist regime. Here's a closer look at what's happening. Many Chinese have sought refuge in the west, looking to escape life under the Chinese communist regime. And now some of them are taking to the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., holding daily protests near the grounds. Spotted holding a photo of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, they're addressing injustices they faced back in China. I'm here again today to bring you the people's grievances. A veteran from northeastern China entered the U.S. through the southern border two years ago. He's been coming to the Chinese embassy in Washington every morning. He said after retirement from the Chinese military, he was offered a post at the state-run petroleum giant in Beijing, but he was dismissed in 2000 by corrupt officials within the company. Someone in the organization wanted my job. They fired me illegally in just 12 days. At that time, a job like mine could be sold for between $42,000 and $70,000. He filed complaints, but instead of justice, they led to over 10 detentions and two prison sentences. In 2022, he escaped China to avoid further persecution. Now living in Washington, D.C., he works while continuing his protest to the regime. Ma Yongtian also protests in front of the Chinese consulate daily. She said that local officials inside China illegally tore down her factory building. She had to flee China in 2012 after being repeatedly detained and tortured for defending her rights. After she fled to the U.S., Chinese officials prevented her son and husband from leaving China. The family remained separated. She says she constantly worries about her son, who suffers from epilepsy. Chairman Xi, I hope you can spare my sick child. If the local police stop harassing my family, I won't have to come to Washington to protest anymore. In China, when you protect your rights, you face only imprisonment and no real solutions to your problems. Even abroad, there's no resolution. But we protest to make sure the world knows how they treat their own people. Zhao said many people in China suffer injustices like this, adding he will continue fighting for his rights for the rest of his life. A fire scorching through part of the Mojave Desert. The blaze broke out earlier this week inside Liberty Sculpture Park in California. The Chinese-American dissident artist behind the sculptures says foreign adversaries sabotaged his work. Authorities are now investigating. Entities BJ Kang and Jimmy Ma were on the scene. Out here in this spot of the California desert stands a display of fascinating sculptures, created by Chinese dissidents protesting communism and the Chinese Communist Party. However, one of the buildings here, owned by the creator, lies a smoldering ruin, the result of what he calls sabotage by CCP agents. This was not the first time sabotage was suspected at Liberty Sculpture Park. In 2021, one of his art pieces was burned down, and earlier this year, another was intentionally damaged. Could there be a link between these acts of vandalism? In another incident this past May, just before the 35th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, the Tank Man sculpture was also vandalized. And for Wei-Ming Chen, worrying about democracy in China is more important than worrying about the CCP vandals. The fire at Mr. Chen's base camp is the second since Liberty Sculpture Park's inception. The first fire was investigated by the FBI, leading to the arrest of three suspected CCP agents by the Department of Justice. We reached out to the Yermo Sheriff's Department about this second fire, and they stated they couldn't provide any interviews or information at this time due to the case's status as an active investigation. BJ Kang and Jimmy Ma, NTD News, Yermo, California. That's all for today's China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. If you have any feedback on or have something you'd like to see us cover, send us an email at chinainfocusntd.com. We'd love to hear from you. For around-the-clock original news coverage, visit us at NTD.com or download our NTD app. Thanks for watching. See you soon.