Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) joined Fox News Channel anchor Ed Henry, host of America's News HQ, on set in New York regarding bipartisan legislation named in honor of Samantha “Sami” Josephson—a senior at the University of South Carolina who was kidnapped and brutally murdered earlier this year by a predator pretending to be her Uber driver. Sami’s Law, which would establish needed protections for ride-share customers across the country, is authored by Smith (NJ-04) with lead Democratic cosponsor, Re... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today enthusiastically welcomed today’s release of Xiyue Wang, a Princeton, NJ graduate student who was taken hostage by the Iranian government while working on an Iranian government-approved research project. “In April of 2018, I met Hua Qu, wife of Princeton University grad student Xiyue Wang—who until this week was unjustly incarcerated in Iran’s infamous Evin prison,” said Smith. “Many who heard her appeal for her husband’s release—and witnessed her remarkable love fo... Read more

Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) discussed the return of Princeton University graduate student Xiyue Wang today after Wang's imprisonment at the hands of the Iranian government. Smith was on the set of Fox News Channel in New York with anchor Ed Henry to discuss Wang's release. Smith, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, worked with Wang's wife, Hua Qu, pressed the State Department to keep working to bring Wang home. Smith had appealed directly to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ... Read more

Dec 07, 2019 5:28 PM EST A Princeton University graduate student held in an Iranian prison for more than three years was released after a prisoner swap Saturday. Xiyue Wang is a Chinese-born naturalized American citizen and doctoral student of history at Princeton. He was arrested and convicted of espionage in 2016 while doing research in Iran for his Ph.D. Rep. Chris Smith says Wang had all the proper clearances to travel and he was detained in Tehran unjustly. The swap took place in Surich, Sw... Read more

By Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com WASHINGTON — The release of Princeton University doctoral student Xiyue Wang after more than three years of captivity in Iran was the product of months of negotiations facilitated by the Swiss government, a senior administration official said Saturday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he hoped the release would lead to other U.S captives being freed from Iran. Wang was released Saturday in exchange for Iranian scientist M... Read more

The following are excerpts of remarks by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) during debate in the U.S. House of Representatives on the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019 December 3, 2019 Special thanks to the 128 bipartisan cosponsors of my bill, the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019, HR 649—comprehensive human rights legislation I introduced earlier this year with lead Democratic cosponsor Tom Suozzi of New York to address the massive crimes against humanity committed by the Chinese government aga... Read more

By Chris Smith - Published by The APP 9:48 a.m. ET Nov. 28, 2019 Family and friends gathered Tuesday evening in Robbinsville, NJ to mourn the death of Samantha Josephson who was killed when she got into the wrong car, thinking it was her Uber ride. Peter Ackerman, Asbury Park Press In March, University of South Carolina senior Samantha “Sami” Josephson of Robbinsville, N.J., left a late-night outing with her friends alone because she had to work in the morning. The extraordinarily talented stud... Read more

By Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Legislation to support Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters has been signed into law by President Donald Trump. Trump acted Wednesday evening as he traveled to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, for the Thanksgiving holiday. The bill had passed Congress with just one dissenting vote. “Beating, torturing and jailing of democracy activists is wrong and this historic legislation lets China know that respecting fundamental human rights ... Read more

The following are the remarks of Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) after President Trump's signing of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which Smith first introduced in 2014: “The enactment of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act—which was expected and greatly welcomed—makes it abundantly clear that the Trump Administration, the United States Congress, and the American people stand in solidarity with the people of Hong Kong. “Xi Jining should understand that the US is not kidding about ... Read more

By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press NOVEMBER 27, 2019 — 8:15PM President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed two bills aimed at supporting human rights and pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. Trump signed the bills, which were approved by near unanimous consent in the House and Senate, even as he expressed some concerns about complicating the effort to work out a trade deal with China's President Xi Jinping. "I signed these bills out of respect for President Xi, China, and the people of Hong Kong,... Read more