Chinese propaganda has even infiltrated the halls of Congress

On my very first day as a US congressman in January, I walked into my office on Capitol Hill and learned a startling lesson.

There among the array of American newspapers delivered free to every member of Congress was a copy of China Daily — a state-run propaganda arm of the Chinese Communist Party.

That’s when I knew my first piece of legislation needed to send a clear message: America is not for sale.

For too long, Washington has looked the other way as foreign adversaries have bought influence, shaped narratives and quietly infiltrated the institutions that are supposed to safeguard our democracy.

The bill I introduced to halt unsolicited delivery of China Daily to Capitol Hill was a necessary act of defense against information warfare being waged on our own soil.

China Daily is not journalism, but the voice of the Chinese Communist Party, registered as a foreign agent under US law.

By allowing it to be distributed through our internal mail systems — with taxpayer resources covering that cost — Congress was effectively endorsing foreign propaganda.

Once I sounded the alarm, my Republican colleagues took action.

House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil of Wisconsin and Michigan Rep. John Moolenaar, chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, announced a ban on the internal distribution of China Daily — and on all other CCP-controlled publications — in House facilities, thus stopping them from using taxpayer’s money to spread propaganda through the guise of news.

If members or staffers want to personally subscribe to China Daily, they remain free to do so.

But taxpayers should not be subsidizing it.

And this summer, the impact of their decision reached beyond our borders.

Last month, the British Parliament announced that it too would end the unsolicited delivery of China Daily to members’ offices.

This is what leadership looks like: When America takes a stand, our allies follow.

Why does this matter?

Because authoritarian regimes like China do not just use military power or economic leverage to achieve their goals.

They rely on narratives, influence operations and propaganda to weaken democracies from within — and every glossy issue of China Daily that found its way into a congressional office was another brick in Beijing’s wall of deception.

Stopping that flow is one step in the larger effort to protect our institutions from foreign manipulation.

What excites me most is the ripple effect.

Parliament’s action shows that our allies are beginning to confront the uncomfortable truth: Free societies cannot allow adversarial states to use the openness of democracy as a weapon against itself.

When we push back, it sends a message not just to Beijing but to every authoritarian regime that propaganda will not be given safe harbor in the halls of freedom.

Too often, Congress waits until a crisis erupts before taking action.

By then, the damage is done.

That’s why our proactive move was so heartening.

If we cannot keep the propaganda papers out of our own offices, how can we expect to confront China’s larger campaign of intellectual theft, cyber warfare, and economic coercion?

From Washington to Westminster, democracies are waking up to the reality that information warfare is real and that we have to take it seriously.

Stopping China Daily from being hand-delivered to lawmakers plugs one hole in the dam and shows that we have the will to defend ourselves.

This fight is not just about newspapers.

It’s about whether free societies have the courage to defend themselves in an age in which propaganda is as dangerous as any missile or drone.

What began as a stand in the US Capitol is now shaping policy abroad.

And that should serve as both a warning to our adversaries and a rallying cry to our allies: We will not be silent, and we will not be sold.

When America leads with strength and resolve, the world follows.

Abraham J. Hamadeh represents Arizona’s 8th Congressional District.