China exile-turned-GOP nominee warns socialist surge could give Beijing greater influence in Washington
A congressional nominee who escaped communist China after the Tiananmen Square massacre warned that a Democratic-controlled Congress could create opportunities for Beijing to expand its influence in Washington, threatening U.S. national security.
Lily Tang Williams, the Republican nominee for New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District, told Fox News Digital that China, a country she believes "wants to bring down the United States," would capitalize on "America’s weakness" if Congress were to be controlled by Democrats in January.
"I fear that the country I love is becoming the country I left," Williams, who is challenging Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., told Fox News Digital. "China will be very happy to see Democrats control the House and Senate. The Democrats want open borders, they want to defund police and abolish private property. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is looking at this as good news."
CHINA EXPERT WARNS BEIJING WANTS AMERICANS — NOT THE CCP — TO SPREAD ITS MESSAGE
Williams pointed to a recent Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) trip, claiming that more than a dozen high-ranking members of the organization traveled to China to "produce favorable coverage of China and its regime," as an example of the Chinese government taking advantage of the "vulnerable Democratic Party" to promote itself in the U.S.
"They now share a similar ideology," Williams said.
DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA NEED TO ACTUALLY MEET THE CHINA THEY CLAIM TO LOVE
Williams also argued that Democrats' immigration policies could make it easier for Chinese intelligence operatives to enter the U.S., warning about the potential for espionage along the southern border.
The candidate said she believes the DSA's growing influence within the Democratic Party could shape congressional decisions even if Democrats remain in the minority or more moderate lawmakers hold leadership positions.
"The Democrat Party is hijacked by the DSA," Williams said. "We’re going to have a DSA-run Congress, whether moderate Democrats like it or not. Moderate Democrat voters are still so complacent. They don't come out and condemn this extremism because they may even be afraid of repercussions from the DSA and DSA voters."
A recent Gallup poll found that 43% of Americans have a positive view of socialism, for the first time since 2010.
Williams pointed to the rise of socialism among Americans and the possibility that at least six new DSA-affiliated lawmakers could enter Congress in January as reasons for concern about the direction of the Democratic Party.
"Congress will be controlled by people who sympathize with the CCP and its Marxist principles," Williams warned.
TOP DEM TORCHES SOCIALISTS TAKING OVER HIS PARTY: 'THEY'RE ANTI-AMERICAN'
Williams also criticized her Democratic opponent and other members of the party for what she described as their refusal to condemn Marxism, arguing that moderate Democrats could increasingly side with the party's progressive wing in the 120th Congress.
"Our country could fall from within, because we don't really have a good policy to protect ourselves and our national security," Williams said. "My opponent refuses to condemn Marxism and Marxist American figures like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani when asked. This is very troubling."
During her phone interview with Fox News Digital, Williams raised concerns that lawmakers sympathetic to Marxist ideology could pose national security risks if they gained access to sensitive or classified information.
Goodlander, the DSA and the Democratic Party did not respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.
