On May 21, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced its decision to take “countermeasures” against former U.S. Congressman Gallagher. This sanction includes freezing all assets in China, prohibiting any transactions, cooperation activities with organizations or individuals in China and denying entry visas to Gallagher himself.
Gallagher is a familiar name to many Chinese netizens as he not only served as the federal congressman of Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District from 2017 to 2024 but was also the first chairman of the U.S. House Committee on the competition with China.
So why did the Chinese government decide to sanction Gallagher? Gallagher has always taken a firm stance on how to deal with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and is known as a representative of the hawkish faction. He once pointed out that “China poses an unprecedented threat to the United States since the time of George Kennan.”
Under Gallagher’s leadership, the U.S. House Committee on China Competition has been a staunch opponent of the CCP. It focuses on China-related issues, endeavors to expose the underlying reasons for the escalating tensions between the U.S. and China, and strategizes on improving U.S. strategic competitiveness against China.
Gallagher has made three significant moves that have angered the CCP since becoming the chairman of the committee.
Firstly, he actively promoted the U.S. “strategic clarity” towards Taiwan, strongly supported Speaker Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, advocated for enhancing Taiwanese defense capabilities, and co-sponsored bills related to Taiwan with bipartisan legislators.
During a visit to Taiwan on February 22, Gallagher met with President Tsai Ing-wen and Premier Lai Ching-te, affirming that regardless of the next U.S. President, America would continue supporting Taiwan. On April 19, the U.S. House Committee on China Competition conducted a simulation game on the Taiwan Strait situation, highlighting potential vulnerabilities in the event of conflict with China.
Secondly, Gallagher vigorously pushed for economic sanctions against the CCP. According to reports, he and others introduced a bipartisan bill on April 17 to restrict Chinese military companies operating in Russia from access to the U.S. market.
The bill aims to identify technologies likely transferred from the U.S. via China, implement more robust nationwide controls, grant the U.S. Department of Commerce power to deny export licenses, and allow the President to sanction any Chinese companies involved in military modernization.
Gallagher’s third significant action was advocating for the TikTok ban. He had long maintained that TikTok, controlled by the CCP, posed a significant national security threat due to its addictive nature, seeking support for banning TikTok among Congress members and local governments.
After becoming the chairman of the U.S. House Committee on China Competition, Gallagher made banning TikTok a priority. On March 5, he co-sponsored a bill with Krishna Murti, calling for ByteDance’s divestiture of TikTok within 165 days to avoid a U.S. ban.
None of Gallagher’s actions have sat well with the CCP, leading to the issuance of three major accusations against him, including “interfering in China’s internal affairs,” “damaging China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” and “infringing on Chinese interests.”
Gallagher responded to these sanctions by stating, “These sanctions at least reveal two important facts about the CCP and the new Cold War. Firstly, we are dealing with a perpetually paranoid Marxist-Leninist regime that is wholly committed to a ‘long-term struggle’ with Western constitutional democracy, universal human rights, and freedom of speech. Secondly, there is no moral equivalence between the CCP and the U.S.”