Hamadeh Prompts Ban On Chinese Communist Party Propaganda From U.S. House

Hamadeh Prompts Ban On Chinese Communist Party Propaganda From U.S. House

by | Mar 16, 2025 | News

By Staff Reporter |

Congressman Abe Hamadeh convinced U.S. House leadership to ban circulation of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda styled as a newspaper.

China Daily will no longer be distributed at the House, per a Tuesday statement from House Administration Chair, Rep. Bryan Steil, and Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chair, Rep. John Moolenaar. 

“We are pleased to announce that China Daily will no longer be circulated by National News to House offices,” said Steil and Moolenaar. “We took action to directly block the Chinese Communist Party from using the halls of the People’s House to spread its propaganda. We appreciate National News’s swift cooperation on this important issue.”

“Chinese propaganda has no place in the halls of Congress. In coming weeks, China Daily will no longer be circulated by National News to House offices,” stated Chairman Steil. “There is no room for foreign influence in the People’s House. I thank Rep. Hamadeh for bringing this issue to the Committee’s attention and I appreciate National News’s swift work on this matter.”

National News included China Daily within the daily bundle of major publications provided to congressional offices, unless a particular office opted out. Per the Committee on House Administration, National News will “wind down and cease distribution” of China Daily at the Capitol. 

An end to the circulation of the CCP’s paper within the House was one of Hamadeh’s first priorities upon entering Congress. Hamadeh introduced a resolution to get rid of China Daily and all other CCP-controlled publications last month. 

China Daily constitutes a “foreign influence campaign” per Hamadeh’s resolution. 

“China Daily is registered as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 and operates as a direct propaganda outlet of the Chinese Communist Party’s Publicity Department,” stated the resolution. “[T]he distribution of foreign propaganda materials within the House of Representatives undermines institutional integrity and enables malign foreign influence operations [and] the presence of Chinese Communist Party-controlled publications in official House facilities legitimizes foreign propaganda efforts[.]”

Hamadeh’s resolution didn’t restrict the private receipt or public research access of those publications by House members and employees, however.

China Daily is an English-language newspaper owned by the CCP’s Central Propaganda Department. It has been registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act as a foreign agent since the 1980s. 

The paper maintains branch offices for “China Daily USA” in New York City, New York; San Francisco, California; Los Angeles, California; Seattle, Washington; and Washington, D.C. It also sponsors an insert, China Watch, for distribution within other American newspapers, such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. 

The editor-in-chief and president of China Daily USA, Tao Ji, has spent his entire career with China Daily and another offshoot, China Daily United Europe (United Kingdom). 

Although Hamadeh’s resolution has yet to be adopted, the congressman’s public remarks about his legislation and China Daily spurred action within House leadership. 

Shortly after Hamadeh initially introduced his bill to ban China Daily, he declared in an interview with the Epoch Times the publication to be an attempt by an enemy of the U.S. to influence its governance. 

“It’s propaganda by a foreign government that’s trying to influence the highest echelons of the United States government, and it’s unacceptable,” said Hamadeh.  

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Hamadeh Takes Steps To Rid U.S. House Of Chinese Propaganda

Hamadeh Takes Steps To Rid U.S. House Of Chinese Propaganda

by | Feb 10, 2025 | News

By Matthew Holloway |

On Friday, Arizona Congressman Abe Hamadeh took up the charge begun by Senator Jim Banks during his time as a Representative when he asked why China Daily, a newspaper owned and paid for by the Chinese Communist Party, is delivered routinely to House and Senate offices throughout the Capitol. Hamadeh, along with 14 Republican cosponsors, has introduced House Resolution 110, which if passed in the House, would prohibit the publication from being distributed in House offices. In a press release, Hamadeh’s office explained that the measure “ensures that foreign adversaries cannot use taxpayer-funded government buildings to push propaganda under the guise of news.”

Hamadeh said in a statement, “The halls of Congress should never serve as a platform for foreign propaganda, especially from a hostile regime like the Chinese Communist Party. For years, China Daily and other CCP-backed publications have been distributed freely in House offices, giving the CCP an unchecked pipeline into our institutions. That ends now. No more free passes for the CCP in the People’s House.”

In a corresponding post to X, Hamadeh’s staff expressed his exasperation writing, “China Daily News just showed up again at our office. It takes only a few minutes of research to learn this is CCP-funded propaganda.”

“Standing up to the CCP’s influence operations is a bipartisan national security priority,” Hamadeh added in the statement. “I’m grateful to my colleagues who are joining this effort to close an open door the CCP should have never had in the first place.”

Speaking with Jan Jekielek, Senior Editor of the Epoch Times, Hamadeh emphasized the absurdity of Chinese propaganda being permitted in the halls of Congress. He suggested that the China Daily matter would be the equivalent of the Chinese Communist Party allowing Voice of America to be distributed in the Chinese National People’s Congress.

He stressed, “What does that say about us as a government? Can you imagine us putting our propaganda like Voice of America into the Communist Chinese? They would never tolerate that. And they don’t tolerate it. And yet here we are tolerating that the Communist Chinese are able influence and infiltrate in that aspect.”

In February 2020, thirty-five Republican U.S. Senators and Congressmen penned a letter to then-Attorney General William Barr calling on him to “clamp down on Chinese propaganda,” asking that China Daily be investigated and labeled as a foreign agent, according to the South China Morning Post, a Hong-Kong based publication critical of the CCP,

“China Daily’s important role in China’s foreign disinformation campaign warrants a full-fledged investigation,” they wrote in the 2020 letter, launched by Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Banks which was co-signed by seven GOP senators and 26 representatives.

“We cannot allow a foreign dictatorship to use America’s legislative buildings to push their propaganda,” Hamadeh concluded in his statement. “Congress must take a firm stand against the CCP’s disinformation campaigns. This is about protecting our institutions, our national security, and the integrity of the People’s House.”

The resolution is cosponsored by fellow freshman Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) as well as, Reps. Eric Burlison (R-MO), Lance Gooden (R-TX), Mike Haridopolos (R-FL), Darrell Issa (R-FL), Darrin LaHood (R-IL), Troy Nehls (R-TX), Burgess Owens (R-UT), Derek Schmidt (R-KS), Greg Steube (R-FL), Dave Taylor (R-OH), Joe Wilson (R-SC), Rob Wittman (R-VA), Randy Weber (R-TX) .

China Daily was emailed for comment, however no response was received by time of publication.

Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.