West OC Times

Representative Michelle Steel held a roundtable on Friday with local leaders to discuss threats from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including the rise in fentanyl coming across the border and CCP influence on American society.

The panel in Fountain Valley included Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes and State Assemblyman Tri Ta. Steel has made countering the CCP a high priority during her time in Congress, including having legislation signed into law to ban the Pentagon from using any seaports that rely on a Chinese logistics platform known as LOGINK.

“As a member of the House Select Committee on Communist China, I’m passionate about countering threats posed by the CCP, especially their flooding of fentanyl into our country and efforts to harm our supply chains,” said Rep. Steel, who also serves on a working group dedicated to tackling the fentanyl epidemic. “Our discussion brought me new insights on tackling CCP threats, which I will take back with me to Washington to develop solutions.”

A significant portion of the event was devoted to the fentanyl crisis, which continues to plague Southern California families. Fentanyl materials are often manufactured in China and smuggled into the U.S. via Southern California through both the southern border and regional ports.

“The Orange County Sheriff’s Department continues to work diligently to address the threat of fentanyl through our education and drug interdiction efforts. A significant challenge continues to be the importation of precursors used by drug cartels to manufacture fentanyl. As noted in a recent report by the House Select Committee, the CCP has played a significant role in developing and shipping these precursors,” said Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes. “I appreciate Congresswoman Steel and her colleagues on the House Select Committee for raising awareness on this issue and putting forward legislative solutions to stop this illicit activity.”

In addition to highlighting Communist China’s role in the fentanyl crisis, the panel also touched on China’s malign activities such as spying, theft of intellectual property, attacks on human rights, and efforts to influence America’s colleges and universities. Rep. Steel sponsored and passed the DETERRENT Act, which aims to reduce Communist influence on higher education stemming from often unreported gifts and donations from CCP.

“I am grateful to Rep. Steel for taking the lead to sound the alarm on growing influence of Chinese Communist Party here in California. This panel was very informative but also laid out rising threat from China right here at home,” said Assemblyman Tri Ta. “The CCP’s role in fentanyl crisis that is killing our young people is unconscionable. And whether through propaganda-style college academic programs, foreign agents infiltrating highest levels of government or attempts subvert our democracy, CCP’s reach into our society is an extreme breach of our sovereignty.”