Beijing on Wednesday imposed sanctions on former Rep. Mike Gallagher, the Wisconsin Republican who until recently was chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party that for the past two years has exposed nefarious Chinese activities and operations.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Mr. Gallagher, “driven by selfish interest and bias,” had “grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs.”
His select committee activities “undermined China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, disrupted China-U.S. relations and harmed China’s interests as well as the common interests of China and the U.S.,” Mr. Wang said.
The sanctions bar the lawmaker from visiting China and bar organizations from cooperating with him.
Mr. Gallagher, now with the Hudson Institute, said the sanctions were a failed attempt to silence criticism of the Chinese Communist Party.
“These sanctions reveal at least two important things about the CCP and the new Cold War,” he said.
“First, we are dealing with a perpetually paranoid, Marxist-Leninist regime fully committed to an ‘extended struggle’ and victory against such hostile foreign forces as Western constitutional democracy, universal human rights, and freedom of speech,” he said.
Also, there is no moral equivalence between the Chinese Communist Party and the United States since U.S. sanctions on party officials are imposed for their role in “committing genocide and trafficking deadly fentanyl precursor chemicals,” he said.
In a separate action, Beijing on Wednesday imposed sanctions on 12 U.S. military-linked companies and senior executives for supplying arms to Taiwan and in retaliation for American sanctions on Chinese companies.
The companies hit with the sanctions include Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and General Dynamics, according to Reuters.
The sanctions include freezing assets in China and barring senior executives from traveling to the country.
The ministry said in a statement the sanctions follow U.S. sanctions on Chinese companies linked to support for the Russian military.
U.S. arms sales to Taiwan were also noted, with the ministry stating that American weapons undermined Chinese sovereignty and territorial integrity.
• Bill Gertz can be reached at bgertz@washingtontimes.com.