announcer: with a control of congress in question, see the competition for yourself on c-span. housethe debates from key and senate races. make c-span your primary source for 20 -- camping 2018 -- campaign 2018. announcer: mike pence accused china of interfering in the 2018 midterm elections. this came at the hud student institute in washington. this is just over 30 minutes. ♪ >> thank you, ken, for that kind introduction.

to members of the board of trustees, to dr. michael pillsbury, to our distinguished guests, and to all of you who true to your mission in this place think about the future in unconventional ways. it is an honor to be back at the hudson institute. for more than a half century this institute has dedicated itself to advancing global security, prosperity, and freedom. while hudson's hometown has changed over the years, one thing has been constant, you always advanced that vital truth. that american leadership lights the way. and today, speaking of leadership, allow me to begin by bringing greetings from a great champion of american leadership at home and abroad, i bring greetings from the 45th president of the united states of america, president donald trump. [applause]

from early in this administration, president trump has made our relationship with china and president xi a priority. on april 6th of last year, president trump welcomed president she tomorrow i go -- president xi to maurgr-a-lago. he welcomed him warmly. over the course of the past of two years our president has forged a strong personal relationship with the president of the peoples republic of china , and they have worked closely on common interest. most importantly the denuclearization of the korean peninsula. but i came before you today because the american people need -- deserve to know as we speak beijing is employing a whole of a government approach using political, economic, and military tools as well as propaganda to advance influence

and benefit its influence in the united states. china is also applying this power in more pro-active ways than ever before, to exert influence and interfere with domestic politics of this country. under president trump's leadership, the united states has taken decisive action to respond to china with american action. applying the principals and the policies long advocated in these halls. in our national security strategy that the president released last december, he described a new era of great power competition. foreign nations have begun to, as we wrote, reassert their influence regionally and globally. and they are contesting america's geopolitical advantages and trying in essence to change the international order in their favor. in this strategy, president trump made clear that the united states of america has adopted a new approach to china.

we seek a relationship grounded in fairness, reciprocity, and respect for sovereignty. and we have taken strong and swift action to achieve that goal. as the president said last year on his visit to china, in his words, we have an opportunity to strengthen the relationship between our two countries. and improve the lives of our citizens. our vision of the future is built on the best parts of our past. when america and china reached out to one another in a spirit of openness and friendship. when our young nation went searching in the wake of the revolutionary war for new markets for our exports, the chinese people welcomed american people ladened with fur. ch china suffered through in -- when china suffered through in dignities during so-called century of humiliation, mercury -- america refused to join in and advocated open door policy

so we could have freer trade with china and preserve their sovereignty. when american missionaries brought the good news to china shores, they were moved by the rich culture of an ancient and vibrant people and not only did , they spread their faith, but the same missionaries founded some of china's first and finest universities. when the second world war arose, we stood together as allies in the fight against imperialism. aftermath, america made sure they became part of the united nations and a great shaper of the post war world. but soon after it took power in chinese communist party began to --9, five years after we fought together, -- fought each other we fought together. , in the mountains and valleys of the korean peninsula.

my own father saw combat on that frontier of freedom. but not even the brutal korean war could diminish our mutual desire to restore the ties that for so long had bound our peoples together. china's estrangement from the united states ended in 1972. and soon after, we re-established diplomatic relations and began to open our economies to one another. american universities began training a new generation of chinese engineers, business leaders, scholars, and officials. after the fall of the soviet union, we assumed that a free china was inevitable. heady with optimism at the turn of the 21st certainty, america agreed to give beijing open access to our economy. and we brought china into the world trade organization. previous administrations made this choice in the hope that freedom in china would expand in all of its forms. not just economically, but politically, with a new found

respect for classical liberal principals. private property, personal liberty, religious freedom, the entire family of human rights. but that hope has gone unfulfilled. the dream of freedom remains distant for the chinese people. and while beijing still pays lip service to reform and opening, a famousing -- policy now rings hollow. over the past 17 years, china's gdp has grown nine fold. it's become the second largest economy in the world. much of this success was driven by american investment in china. and the chinese communist party has also used an arsenal of policies inconsistent with free and fair trade, including tariffs, quotas, current

manipulation, forced technology transfer, intellectual profit -- property theft, and industrial subsidies that are handed out like candy to foreign investment. these have built chinese manufacturing base at the expense of its competitors, especially the united states of america. china's actions have contributed to a trade deficit with the united states that last year ran to $375 billion. nearly half of our global trade deficit. as president trump said just this week, in his words, we rebuilt china over the last 25 years. now, through the made in china 2025 plan, the communist party has set its sights on controlling 90% of the world's most advanced industries, including robotics and artificial intelligence. to win the commanding heights of

the 21st century economy beijing has directed its bureau cats -- bureaucrats and businesses to obtain american intellectual property, foundation of our economic leadership, by any means necessary. beijing now requires many american businesses to hand over their trade secrets as the cost of doing business in china. it also coordinates and sponsors the acquisition of american firms to gain ownership of their creations. worst of all, chinese security agencies have master minded the wholesale theft of american technology. including cutting edge military blueprints. and using that stolen technology, the chinese communist party is turning plow shares into swords on a massive scale. china now spends as much on its military as the rest of asia combined.

and beijing has prioritized capabilities to erode america's military advantages at land, at sea, in air, and in space. china wants nothing less to push america from the western pacific and to attempt to prevent us from coming to the aid of our allies. but they will fail. beijing is also using its power like never before. -- never before. chinese ships routinely patrol around the islands which are administered by japan. and while china's leader stood in the rose garden at the white house in 2015 and said that his country had, and i "no intention to militaryize the south china sea" today beijing has deployed advanced anti-ship and anti-air missiles on top of our military

bases constructed on artificial islands. china's aggression was on display this week when a chinese naval vessel came within 45 yards of the uss decay tore as it conducted freedom of navigation's in the south china sea forcing our ship to quickly maneuver to avoid collision. despite such wreckless harassment, the united states navy will continue to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows, and our national interest demand. we will not be intimidated and we will not stand down. [applause] >> america had hoped that economic liberalization would bring china in a greater partnership with us and with the world.

instead, china has chosen economic aggression which has in turn emboldened its growing military. we had hoped as beijing moved toward greater freedom for its own people. for a time, beijing inched toward greater liberty and respect for human rights. but in recent years, china has taken a sharp u turn toward control and oppression of its own people. today, china has built and unparalleled surveillance state and it's growing more expansive and intrusive often , with the help of u.s. technology. what they call the great firewall of china, likewise grows higher, drastically restricting the free flow of information to the chinese people. rulers aim tose's

implement an or wellian system premised on controlling every facet of human life. the so-called social credit score. in the words of that program's official blueprint, it will allow the trustworthy to roam every where under heaven while making it hard for the discredited to take a single step. and when it comes to religious freedom, a new wave of persecution is crashing down on chinese christians, buddhists, and muslims. last month, beijing shut down one of china's largest underground churches. across the country authorities are tearing down crosses, burning bibles, and imprisoning believers. and beijing has now reached a deal with the vatican that gives see atheist commonist party a direct role in appointing

catholic bishops. four chinese christians, -- for chinese christians these are , desperate times. beijing is also cracking down on buddhism. over the past decade over 150 tibetan buddhist monks have lit themselves on fire to protest china's belief and culture. jang -- jing jang the communist party has , imprisoned more than one million muslim in government camps where they endure around the clock brainwashing. survivors of the camps have described their experiences a deliberate attempt by beijing to strangle weaker culture and stamp out the muslim faith. as history attests though, a country that oppresses its own people rarely stops there.

and beijing also aims to extend its reach across the wider world. as hudson's own dr. michael pillsbury has written, china has opposed the actions and goals of the united states government. indeed, china is building tats -- its own relationships with american allies and enemies that contradict any peaceful or productive intentions of beijing. in fact, china uses so-called debt diplomacy to expand its influence. today that country is offering hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure loans to governments to africa, europe, and even latin america. yet the terms of those loans aro opaque at best and benefits flow overwhelmingly to beijing.

lanka- -- just ask sri which took on a massive debt to let chinese state companies build a port of questionable commercial value. two years ago, that country could no longer afford its paths, so beijing pressured sri lanka to deliver the newport directly into chinese hands. it may soon become a forward military base for china's growing blue water navy. within our own hemisphere, beijing has extended a lifeline and incompetent maduro regime in venezuela that's been oppressing its own people. they pledged $5 billion in questionable loans to be repaid with oil. china is also that country's single largest creditor. saddling the venezuelan people with more than $50 billion in debt, even as their democracy vanishes. beijing is also impacting some

nation's politics by providing direct support to parties and candidates who promise to strategice china's objectives. since last year alone, the chinese communist party has convinced three latin american nations to severe ties with taipei and recognize beijing. these actions threaten the taiwan andf the united states of america condemns these actions. while our administration will continue to respect our one china policy as reflected in the three joint communiques in the act, america will always believe that taiwan's embrace of democracy shows a better path for all the chinese people. [applause] these are only a few of the ways that china has sought to advance

its strategic interests across the world, with growing intensity and sophistication. yet previous administrations all but ignored china's actions. and in many cases they abetted them. but those days are over. under president trump's leadership, the united states of america has been defending our interests with renewed american strength. we have been making the strongest military in the history of the world stronger still. earlier this year, president trump signed into law the largest increase in our national defense since the days of ronald reagan. $716 billion to extend the strength of the american military to every domain. we are modernizing our nuclear arsenal. we are fielding and developing new cutting edge fighters and bombers. we are build ago new generation of aircraft carriers and wear -- warships.

we are investing as never before in armed forces and this includes initiating the process to establish the united states space force to ensure our continued dominance in space and we have taken action to authorize increased capability in the cyber world to build deterrents against our adversaries. at president trump's direction, we are also implementing tariffs on $250 billion in chinese goods. with the highest tariffs specifically targeting the advanced industries that beijing is trying to capture and control. and as the president has also made clear, we will levy even more tariffs with the possibility of substantially more than doubling that number unless a fair and reciprocal trade deal is made. [applause] these actions, exercises in

american strength, have had a major impact. china's largest stock exchange fell by 25% in the first nine months of this year, in large part due to our administration who has been standing strong against beijing's trade practices. as president trump has made clear, we don't want china's markets to suffer. in fact, we want them to thrive. but the united states wants beijing to pursue trade policies that are free, fair, and reciprocal, and we will continue to stand and demand that they do. [applause]

beijing is pursuing a comprehensive and coordinated campaign to undermine support for the president, our agenda, in our nation's most cherished ideals. i want to tell you today what we know about china's actions here at home, some of which we have gleaned from intelligence assessments, some of which are publicly available, but all of which are fact. as we speak,ore, beijing is employing a whole of government approach to influence and benefit of interest. it is employing this power in more proactive and coercive ways, to interfere in the domestic policies of this country and to interfere in the politics of the united states. is chinese communist party rewarding or coercing american businesses, movie studios universities,, think tanks,

scholars, journalists, and local, state, and federal officials, and worst of all, china has initiated an unprecedented effort to influence american public opinion, the 20th 18 elections, in the environment leading into the 2020 presidential elections. to put it bluntly, president trump's leadership is working, and china wants a different american president. there can be no doubt china is meddling in america's democracy. as president trump said just last week, we have in his words found that china has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming midterm elections. our intelligence community says that china is targeting u.s., state, and local governments and

officials to exploit any divisions between federal and local levels on policy. it is using wedge issues like trade tariffs to advance beijing's political influence. self circulated a sensitive document entitled "propaganda and censorship notice" that laid out its strategy. it stated that china must, in their words, "strike accurately and carefully, splitting apart different investing groups in the united states of america." end, beijing has mobilized covert actors, front groups, and propaganda outlets rception americans' pe of chinese policy. what the russians are doing pales in comparison to what

china is doing across this country, in the american people deserve to know. senior chinese officials have also tried to influence business leaders, to encourage them to condemn our trade actions, leveraging their desire to maintain their operations in china. in one recent example, china threatened to deny a business license for a major u.s. corporation if they refused to speak out against our administration's policies. and when it comes to influencing the midterms, you need only look at beijing's tariffs in response to ours. the tariffs imposed by china today specifically targeted industries and states that would play an important role in the 2018 elections. by one estimate, more than 80% of u.s. counties targeted by china voted for president trump

and i in 2016. now china wants to turn these voters against our administration. in china is also directly appealing to american voters. last week, the chinese government had a multipage supplement inserted into the des moines register. state -- af our home pivotal state in 2018 in 2020. the supplement, designed to look like a news article, casts our trade policies as reckless and harmful to iowans. fortunately, americans aren't buying it. for example, american farmers are standing with this president and seeing real results from the strong stance he is taking, including this week's u.s.-mexico-canada agreement,

where we have substantially opened north american markets to u.s. products and usmca is a great win for american farmers and manufacturers. [applause] by china's actions aren't focused solely on influencing our policies and politics. beijing is also taking steps to exploit its economic leverage and the over of their large marketplace to advance its influence over american businesses. beijing requires american joint ventures that operate in china to establish what they call party organizations within their company, giving the communist party of voice and perhaps a veto in hiring and investment decisions. chinese authorities have also threatened u.s. companies that depict taiwan as a distinct geographic entity, or that stray

from chinese policy on t ibet. airlinesforce delta to publicly apologize for not calling taiwan republic of china, and pressured marriott to fire the u.s. employee who merely likes the tweet about to ibet. beijing routinely demands that hollywood rotate china in a strictly positive light. it punishes studios and producers that don't. beijing censors are quick to edit or outlaw movies that criticize china even in minor ways. for the movie "world war z," they had to cut the mention of a virus because it originated in china. the movie "red dawn" was digitally edited to make the villains north korea, not chinese.

but beyond business and chinesenment, the communist party is also spending billions of dollars on propaganda outlets in the united states, and frankly around the world. china radio international now broadcast beijing friendly programs on over 30 u.s. outlets, many in major american cities. the china global television network reaches more than 75 million american, and gets its marching orders directly from its communist party masters. as china's top leader put it during a visit to the networks "theuarters, and i quote, media run by the party and the government are propaganda fronts and must have the party as their surname." is for those reasons and that reality that last month the

department of justice ordered that network to register as a foreign agent. the communist party has also threatened and detained the chinese family members of american journalists who pry too deep, and it has blocked the websites of u.s. media organizations and made it harder for our journalists to get visas. this happened after "the new york times" published investigative reports about the wealth of some of china's leaders. but the media isn't the only place where chinese communist party seeks to foster a culture of censorship. the same is true across academia. than the chinese students and scholars association, of which there are more than 150 branches across america's campuses. these groups help organize social events for some of the more than 430,000 chinese

nationals studying in the united states. they also alert chinese consulates and embassies when chinese students and american schools stray from the communist party line. maryland, arsity of chinese student recently spoke at her graduation of what she called, and i quote, "the fresh air of free speech in america." the communist party's official newspaper swiftly chastised her. she became the victim of a firestorm of criticism on china's tightly controlled social media and her family back home was harassed. as for the university itself china,hange program with one of the nation's most extensive suddenly turned from a flood to a trickle. china exerts academic pressure and other ways as well. beijing provides generous funding to universities, think

tanks and scholars. with the understanding that they will avoid ideas that the communist party finds dangerous or offensive. china experts and particular know that their visas will be delayed or denied if their research contradicts beijing's talking points. even scholars in groups that avoid chinese of funding are targeted by that country. as the hudson institute found out firsthand. after you offer to host a speaker, beijing did not like, your website suffered a major cyber attack originating from shanghai. the hudson institute knows better than most, but the chinese communist party is trying to undermine economic freedom and the freedom of speech in america today. these and other actions taken as a whole are and intensify effort

to shift america's public opinion and policy away from the america first leadership of president donald trump. but our message to china's rulers is this, this president will not back down. [applause] the american people will not be swayed in we will continue to stand strong, for our security and our economy. even as we hope, for improved relations with beijing, our administration is going to continue to act decisively to protect america's interest, american jobs, and american security. as we rebuild our military, we will assert american interest across the indo pacific.

as we respond to china's trade practices, we will continue to demand an economic relationship with china that is free, fair, and reciprocal. we will demand that beijing breakdown its trade barriers, fulfill its obligations, fully open its economy, just as we have opened hours. we will continue to take action against beijing until american intellectual property ends once and for all. and we will continue to stand strong and tell beijing stops the predatory practice of forced technology transfer. we will protect the private property interest of american enterprise. [applause] to advance our vision of free and open indo pacific, we are building new and stronger bonds

with nations that share our values across the region. from india to samoa, our relations will flow from a spirit of respect, filled on partnership, not domination. we are forging new trade deals on a bilateral basis, just as last week, president trump signed an improved trade deal with south korea. we will soon begin historic negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement with japan. [applause] i am also pleased to report that we are streamlining international development and finance programs. we will be giving foreign nations a just and transparent alternative to china's debt trap diplomacy. this week, president trump will sign the build act into law. next month, it will be my privilege to represent the

united states in singapore and papua new guinea at scn in aipac. there, we will unveil new measures and programs to support a free and open indo pacific. on behalf of the president, i will deliver the message that america's commitment to the indo pacific has never been stronger. [applause] closer to home, to protect our interest, we recently strengthened the committee on foreign investment. tightening our scrutiny of chinese investment in america. to protect our national security from beijing's predatory actions. when it comes to beijing's malign influence and interference and american politics, and policy, we will continue to expose it. no matter the form it takes.

we will work with leaders at every level of society to defend our national interest and our most cherished ideals. the american people will play the decisive role. in fact, they already are. as we gather here, a new consensus on china is rising across america. more business leaders are thinking beyond the next quarter, and thinking twice before diving in to the chinese market if it means turning over their intellectual property or abetting beijing's depression. -- oppression. more must follow suit. for example, google should immediately and development of the dragonfly app that will strengthen the communist party's censorship and compromise the privacy of chinese customers. [applause]

it is also great to see more journalists reporting the truth without fear or favor, digging deep to find where china is interfering in our society, and why. and we hope that american and global news organizations will continue to join this effort on an increasing basis. more scholars are also speaking out forcefully and defending academic freedom and more universities and think tanks are mustering the courage to turn away beijing's easy money. recognizing every dollar comes with a corresponding demand. we are confident that their ranks will grow. across the nation, the american people are growing in vigilance. with a newfound appreciation for our administration's actions, and the president's leadership, to reset america's economic and strategic relationship with

china. americans stand strong, behind a president that is putting america first. under president trump's leadership, i can assure you, america will stay the course. china should note that the american people and their elected officials in both parties are resolved. as our national security strategy states, we should remember that competition does not always mean hostility, nor does it have to. the president has made clear that we want a constructive relationship with beijing. where our prosperity and security grow together, not a part.

while beijing has been moving away from this vision, china's rulers can still change course, and returned to the spirit of reform and opening. that characterize the beginning of this relationship decades ago. the american people want nothing more than the chinese people to serve nothing less. the great chinese storyteller, lu schwan, often lamented that his country, and he wrote, has either looked down at foreigners as brutes or up to them as saints, but never as equals. today, america is reaching out our hand to china, and we hope that soon beijing will reach back with deeds, not words.

and with renewed respect for america. but be assured, we will not relent until our relationship with china is grounded in fairness, reciprocity, and respect for our sovereignty. [applause] there is an ancient chinese proverb that reads, men see only the present, but heaven sees the future. as we go forward, let us pursue a future of peace and prosperity with resolve and faith. faith in president trump's leadership and vision and the

relationship that he has forged with china's president. faith in the enduring friendship between the american people and the chinese people. and faith that heaven sees the future. and by god's grace, america and china will meet that future together. thank you. god bless you. and god bless the united states of america. [applause] ♪

announcer: tomorrow, a panel discussion on trade, protectionism, and the outcome of the u.s.-china trade war. live coverage from the brookings institution starts at 2:00 p.m. eastern on c-span3, online at c-span.org, and on the free c-span radio app. ♪ 's c-span bus recently

made the long journey to hawaii for the 39th stop of our 50 capitals tour. join us all weekend to watch our c-span,.tv,aii on and american history tv. we will feature stops across the hawaiian islands, showcasing the natural beauty, unique history, and literary culture of the 50th state. announcer: the color ranch on a lot of has been family owned and operated since the 19th century. david morgan, one of the descendents of the founders, told us about his family and the history of camel branching in hawaii. kualoa ranch has been family owned and operated since the 19th century.david morgan , one of the descendents of its

founders, told us about his family and the history of cattle ranching in hawaii. >> i like to think of us as being the real hawaii. we are probably more like what used to be many years ago. we like to have people share that and experience what i feel is the real hawaii. my great, great, great grandfather came from the east coast. he and my great, great, great, grandmother came out here in 1828. he was a doctor in the missionary. they lived here for the rest of their lives and became very close. the original purchase of the property was in 1850, when he purchased the ranch headquarters. hereirst cattle to arrive he just had a0,

few cows and the ball, and the bull died before the cattle got here. he had already impregnated the cattle, so they were let loose and ran free for quite a few years. but the cattle industry really started during the california gold rush. people realized there was a blue in california, a lot of people moving in. so they started going up into the forest and capturing the , and i believe the first products they really went off to , you can imagine, milking cows to make butter when they are wild.

started to go it into a more traditional cattle industry. you had an older cattle industry than most of the western united states. we have been on the cattle ranch for 100 years now. then in 1980 we started expanding out. as you can see, we have an incredibly beautiful piece of property, and we have been tolding a business here share that beauty with other people as well. we are just under 4000 acres in size, but more than half of that is mountains, which are absolutely spectacular to look at but difficult to utilize, they are kind of steep. landost of the usable

divided up into pastors for the cattle operation. we do a fair amount of agriculture, we do saltwater ilapia, we're growing bananas, papaya. we just started making our first run at chocolate. it's a very unique place in the world, it's incredibly beautiful, a great place to get back to nature and see how beautiful they can be. day,ncer: on constitution c-span visited the national constitution center in philadelphia, where we ask, what does it mean to be american? >> i feel like i'm home, you know? when you are at home, you feel like you are comfortable.

>> well, for me, what it meant was that i was blessed with being born in a country, one of the countries that is the most to pursueall people happiness in life and joy with the family. >> freedom. to see your dreams and opportunities, make friendship. getting along with everybody. family and love. responsibility, civic and to the family. as a daughter of a service member and a service member i felt it was my

responsibility under the constitution to go ahead and do my duty and surf the country. pursue yourom to , and i have been able to do what i love for a living and where i come from this wouldn't be possible. areuncer: this year, we asking middleton high school students to produce a five to six minute documentary, answering the western what it means to be american. we are awarding $100,000 in total cash prizes, including a grand prize of $5,000. so tell us, what does it mean to be american? the deadline is january 20. for more information, go to our website, studentcam.org. "q&a" on "thet, field of blood: violence in

congress and the road to the civil war." after that, british prime minister theresa may at the annual conservative party conference. vice president pence talks about u.s. relations with china. ♪ >> this week on "q&a," yale university history professor joanne freeman. she discusses her book, "the field of blood: violence in congress and the road to civil war." ♪ brian: joanne freeman, what is your book, "the field of blood" about? joanne: physical violence in the u.s. congress between 1830 and the civil war. brian: how many instances of violence do you have in your book? joanne: i found about 70, which is not the total, but at some