CPAC Statement on Combating Global Communism, Democratic Backsliding, and Lawfare Against Free Societies

Presented by CPAC Board Member Gordon Chang.

CPAC warns that the world is witnessing a dangerous resurgence of communist ideology, totalitarian and authoritarian governance, and the weaponization of legal systems to silence political opposition. From the Chinese Communist Party’s growing aggression abroad to the repression of dissidents in countries influenced by socialist or authoritarian models, freedom itself is under coordinated assault. Democratic backsliding, censorship, and politically motivated prosecutions, lawfare, are increasingly used to neutralize opposition leaders, manipulate electoral outcomes, and erode constitutional institutions from within.

CPAC expresses particular concern for frontline democracies such as South Korea, Taiwan, and other nations in the Indo-Pacific facing sustained pressure from communist regimes and their proxies. South Korea’s security and democratic resilience are vital not only for its own citizens but for the stability of the entire region. We stand with the South Korean people and all democratic societies confronting intimidation, political polarization fueled by external actors, and attempts to undermine their institutions through disinformation, economic coercion, or judicial overreach.

Around the globe, we are seeing a pattern: elected leaders investigated, censored, or removed through politicized legal processes rather than defeated through fair elections; independent media suppressed under the guise of regulation; and civil society constrained by bureaucratic harassment. These tactics mirror the methods long used by authoritarian regimes to maintain power while preserving a façade of legality.

CPAC calls on President Trump, allied governments, and freedom-loving citizens worldwide to confront this threat with clarity and resolve. This includes strengthening defense partnerships among democratic nations, imposing costs on regimes that export repression, supporting dissidents and political prisoners, and defending the principles of free speech, rule of law, and national sovereignty. The fight against communism did not end with the Cold War; it has merely evolved into new forms that demand renewed vigilance.