China's Panda Propaganda Campaign
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Ms. MACE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to shed a very serious light on what appears to be a seemingly light-hearted subject.
As the world prepares for the Olympic Games, I rise to denounce the Chinese Communist Party and its worldwide panda propaganda campaign.
From the COVID-19 fiasco started in a lab in Wuhan to China's coverup, to the ongoing genocide against the Uyghurs and the repeated and increasingly hostile incursions by Chinese fighter jets over the island of Taiwan, including when a bipartisan delegation visited Taiwan just last November, this administration has decided to answer Chinese aggression with a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympic Games. I am sure Chairman Mao is trembling in his Tiananmen mausoleum at the thought of our diplomats staying home.
Well, two can play at this game.
Not many people know the Chinese Communist Party has leveraged the cuddly panda in an effort to soften their image around the world. Indeed, Bing Dwen Dwen, the panda dressed in an astronaut suit, is the official mascot of the Beijing Olympics. His costume is meant to demonstrate their embrace of the future and technology. Or perhaps it is a warm and fuzzy attempt to soften China's ambitions in space.
China claims all pandas the world over belong to China, and they charge zoos a half-million dollars per panda per year for the privilege of loaning these gentle creatures to us. Ultimately, every last panda must be returned to China, property of the Chinese Communist Government.
Every year, millions of Americans enjoy these pandas, not knowing the sinister plot behind their all-too-brief stay here. We should not fund China's panda propaganda campaign.
In the words of Sun Tzu: ``Begin by seizing something which your opponent holds dear; then he will be amenable to your will.'' Let's get serious with our diplomacy and hit China where it hurts. Give freedom to the pandas and allow them to stay here in the United States. Honoring Robert Smalls
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Ms. MACE. Mr. Speaker, America has always been a place known for its citizens and its heroes who have gone above and beyond. In honor of Black History Month, the State of South Carolina and the First Congressional District in South Carolina has one such hero, a citizen by the name of Robert Smalls. Robert Smalls is the epitome of a true South Carolina hero.
Robert Smalls was born a slave in Beaufort, South Carolina, in 1839. Robert Smalls faced countless afflictions in the early years of his life, but he never gave up. During the Civil War, he hijacked a Confederate ammunition ship and turned it over to the Union Navy, delivering its 17 African-American passengers from slavery to freedom.
Robert Smalls then became the first African American to pilot a U.S. vessel taking the helm of a Union warship in the first battle of Charleston Harbor in 1863.
At the war's conclusion, Robert Smalls received a commission as brigadier general in the South Carolina militia and eventually went on to serve the South Carolina State General Assembly and Senate.
But his tireless work for the people of South Carolina did not end there. Smalls would then go on to serve five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, from 1874 to 1886, for South Carolina's First Congressional District, the district that I represent today.
So, on behalf of the Lowcountry and the people of the First District, I am deeply honored to offer a bill being considered today in committee that will designate the U.S. post office at 11 Robert Smalls Parkway in Beaufort, South Carolina, as the Robert Smalls Post Office. Honoring Christopher Celiz
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Ms. MACE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the bravery and heroism of Sergeant First Class Christopher Celiz, an Army Ranger and proud son of South Carolina who made the ultimate sacrifice for his Nation during his fifth deployment in Afghanistan.
Christopher was born in Charleston in 1986 and graduated from Summerville High School in 2004. After graduating, Christopher joined the United States Army, where he became a well-respected leader among his peers.
During a mission in the Paktia province of Afghanistan, Sergeant Celiz and the First Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment were taking heavy fire from enemy combatants. When one of his men was hit, Christopher used his own body to shield the wounded soldier as he was being evacuated.
Sergeant Celiz took heavy fire and was wounded multiple times during this moment, but instead of having the evacuation helicopter come back to retrieve him, he instructed the aircraft to leave so his fellow soldier and many other lives could be saved that day.
Christopher's sacrifice is an inspiration to us all. His heroic actions deserve the recognition of our Nation, and I want to thank President Biden for posthumously awarding Sergeant First Class Christopher Celiz with the Medal of Honor. No one is more deserving.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source