In response to Secretary Mike Pompeo actions today to impose restrictions on Chinese Communist Party officials responsible for the severe crackdown on the free people of Hong Kong, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Ranking Member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said the following: “I welcome Secretary Mike Pompeo’s announcement today that the Trump Administration is sanctioning Chinese Communist Party officials responsible... Read more

Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) gave the following remarks at a congressional hearing of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission entitled "Human Rights in Russia on the 5th Anniversary of the Nemtsov Assassination," on Feb. 27, 2020: Good morning. Today’s Hearing marks five years since the assassination of Boris Nemtsov, a true advocate for democracy and freedom of speech in Russia. It is tragic that it sometimes takes a death to put a problem into focus, but his death was not the end of his movem... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith’s (R-NJ) bipartisan bill, HR 3289, the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019, was unanimously passed out of the House Foreign Affairs Committee today sending a unified message to the governments of China and Hong Kong that the peaceful protesters of that long-autonomous city have the full support and backing of American lawmakers. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) along with more than three dozen other cosponsors joined Smith on the bill. At its core, the Smith-McGovern bill d... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) gave opening remarks at a hearing of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) Tuesday at the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The following are excerpts of remarks from Rep. Smith, a commissioner on the CECC: It’s been a long, hot, summer in Hong Kong. The inspiring protests there are a daily reminder of the stark differences between free and authoritarian societies. The people of Hong Kong have shown us again that a free people will not easily accept the boo... Read more

The following are excerpts of opening remarks by Rep. Chris Smith, co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at the hearing "The Goldman Act at Five Years," convened on July 25, 2019: The commission will come to order. I want to thank all of you—especially all of the left- behind parents I see in the audience, such as Ravi Parmar from Bring Our Kids Home—for joining us this afternoon. Today’s hearing will examine the efficacy of the Sean and David Goldman Child Abduction Prevention a... Read more

Below are excerpts of remarks of Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Cochair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and Ranking Member on the Congressional -Executive Commission on China, at a joint hearing of the commissions on Tuesday on the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre: This joint hearing of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and the Lantos Human Rights Commission—with lead witness Speaker Pelosi—underscores the importance we attach to remembering the infamous Tianan... Read more

The following are excerpts of remarks by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Global Health, at a June 4 hearing of the Subcommittee on “Eradicating Ebola: Lessons Learned and Medical Advancements”: I would like to thank Chairwoman Bass for convening this very important and timely hearing. As she knows, and as some of you may remember, this subcommittee was heavily engaged in the summer of 2014 in addressing Ebola, when we were in the midst of an E... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, delivered excerpts of the following remarks at a Subcommittee hearing he chaired on "Nigeria At a Crossroads: The Upcoming Election" on Thursday, Dec. 13: Today’s hearing will come to order. I would like to thank both of our very distinguished witnesses, Ambassador Tibor Nagy and Ramsay Day, for doing double duty two days straight. You were h... Read more

I want to thank all of you for joining us this afternoon to discuss the continuing crisis of international parental child abduction and how the Trump Administration can and must use current law more aggressively to bring American children home to their families. I especially want to thank the brave left-behind parents in this room and hundreds of others who are here in spirit for tenaciously struggling to recover their child or children from an abduction. The deleterious physical and psychologic... Read more

Rep. Chris Smith, co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, delivered excerpts of the following remarks at a hearing he chaired on "The Communist Party's Crackdown on Religion in China" on November 28: The current assault on religion in China is the most comprehensive attempt to manipulate and control religious communities since the Cultural Revolution. What is happening under Xi Jinping’s leadership is a systematic effort to transform the very nature of some religious communi... Read more