Congressman Chris Smith, a long-time human rights advocate in Congress and senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, has been named chairman of the “Congressional-Executive Commission on the People’s Republic of China,” a congressionally-mandated, bipartisan panel made up of Members of the House and Senate and Presidential appointees serving in the Administration. Smith was appointed to the position by House Speaker John Boehner.
“China has attempted to set itself up as the alternative model to democracy while savagely persecuting democratic activists, religious believers, Tibetans, Uyghurs, women who become pregnant without a ‘birth permit,’ cyber activists who promote democracy and human rights on the internet, and many others,” said Smith, chairman of the House subcommittee that handles international human rights. “We have seen China’s military and economic power grow enormously while its record on human rights has not improved at all, and has even regressed in some areas.
“The abusive regime in China has ignored basic human rights, suppressed free speech and religious expression and illegally arrested and tortured its own citizens with impunity,” Smith said. “The China Commission has a major role in calling attention to these abuses and pressuring China to comply with basic internationally recognized standards such as those contained in the U.N. Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. For the direct benefit of those suffering in China, as well as our own national interests, it is critical that we work as hard as ever to promote fundamental freedoms and human rights in China.”
Smith also chairs the U.S. Helsinki Commission and is an executive member of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.
“Congressman Smith has been a long-time leader and advocate for human rights and democratic reforms in China,” said Speaker Boehner. “I have known Chris for many years, and my appointment of him as chairman of this commission recognizes the emphasis the House of Representatives will continue to place on promoting democracy, respect for human dignity, the sanctity of life, and religious freedom for all."
Smith has a long history of advocating for human rights all over the world, including China. He has held nearly 30 hearings on Chinese human rights issues. Currently, an amendment he wrote calling for the release of blind human rights activist Chen Guangcheng, who along with other human rights leaders and lawyers has been persecuted relentlessly by the Chinese government, awaits full House passage. (The Smith amendment to H.R 2583).
In 2010 he successfully led an effort to nominate Liu Xiaobo for the Nobel Peace Prize. When the Chinese government refused to allow Liu to attend the ceremony, Smith and then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi represented the U.S. at the presentation ceremony. Smith also traveled to China in 2008 in an attempt to prod the government to release political prisoners in a prelude to the Olympic Games. Smith chaired a comprehensive November 2009 hearing called “Thirty Years of the One-Child Policy” which detailed human rights violations including forced sterilizations, forced abortions and “gendercide” bias against girls resulting in alarming gender imbalance seen in many areas of China today. Computers in Smith’s office and that of another congressman active in human rights in China were hacked in 2006 and 2007, with strong indications that the hackers were based in China (AP article of incident). Smith is also the author of the proposed Global Online Freedom Act, a bill that would prohibit U.S. companies from assisting in censorship and surveillance in countries like China which repress internet freedom.
The commission’s co-chairman, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), was recently appointed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Brown also served on the commission as a member of House. The commission was created by Congress in October 2000 with the legislative mandate to monitor human rights and the development of the rule of law in China, and to submit an annual report to the President and the Congress (2010 report). The Commission consists of nine Senators, nine Members of the House, and five senior Administration officials appointed by the President. The commission maintains a list of known Chinese political and religious prisoners.
“Strong U.S. leadership is required to advance human rights in China, not only for the sake of those suffering from violent human rights abuses, but for our own sake as well,” said Smith, who was critical of President Obama’s warm welcome of Chinese President Hu Jintao earlier this year in Washington. “The interests of the U.S. depend on a future China that protects its citizens’ rights and freedoms. We have seen a bold emergence of China into African affairs, particularly in Sudan. The U.S. should speak out when necessary.”
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