Beaver State News

A group of U.S. senators has introduced a bill to combat the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) censorship of Americans and U.S. companies.

The bipartisan group, led by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), includes Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). 

Merkley, who is on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and waiting to be chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, commented on the human rights violations. 

“The ability to express oneself and make one’s voice heard is a fundamental human right—one that billions around the world cherish, and billions more yearn for,” he said in a statement, The Epoch Times reported, “We must monitor and address the impacts of China’s censorship and intimidation of Americans and our companies, so we can create a strategy to safeguard this bedrock freedom and hold those accountable who suppress and destroy it."

The president would need to form an interagency called the China Censorship Monitor and Action Group to address the censorship. The piece of legislation also requires a research report on the major patterns, trends and efforts the Chinese regime is making to suppress Americans doing business in China.

Sen. Rubio also released a statement:

“The Chinese government and [CCP] continue to use censorship and intimidation to bully American companies on issues deemed sensitive to the CCP,” he said in a statement as reported by The Epoch Times. “By highlighting Beijing’s coercive efforts against American citizens and companies, this interagency task force will shine a light on the long arm of China’s authoritarian reach.”

In 2019 a similar bill was passed following the suspension of the National Basketball Association games. Houston Rockets' general manager Daryl Morey had posted a message on Twitter in support of the Hong Kong democracy protesters. The CCP reportedly requested for Morey to be fired and it also resulted in loss of Chinese sponsorship by NBA.

The proposed legislation would require, within 90 days of its enactment, that the secretary of state commission a research entity to report on efforts by the Chinese regime to intimidate and censor Americans and U.S. companies.

Upon execution, the legislation would require the secretary of state, in 90 days, to commission a research entity to report on the Chinese regime and how it is being used to intimidate and censor American companies and individuals. 

The report must include “best practices for industries in which freedom of expression issues are particularly acute, including the media and film industries,” the legislation reads, according to The Epoch Times. The report must be submitted within a year and made accessible to the public.