On the eve of the 25th Anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, when the Chinese government violently suppressed demonstrations for democracy and human rights on June 3-4, 1989, as well as the recent passage of the 20-year mark since then-President Bill Clinton renewed China’s trade privileges and removed an effective tool for supporting democratic reforms, Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) said human rights should be put at the heart of U.S. foreign policy toward China’s government.
“Twenty-five years ago, a generation of young Chinese believed that there was a serious chance their government would greet them with an open hand of friendship, understanding, and empathy rather than a clenched fist…the beatings, bayoneting, torture, and murder of students, and the ubiquitous display of tanks turned that dream of freedom into a bloody nightmare,” said Smith, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and co-chair of the bipartisan U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China.
Smith was a guest on C-SPAN's Washington Journal (click here or on image below) on Tues., June 3 to discuss the massacre.
 |
At a Capitol Hill ceremony building up to the 25th Anniversary, Congressman Smith, a senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, was joined by Speaker John Boehner, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and others Members of Congress on May 29 in a bipartisan show of support for those killed, jailed, executed, and exiled for standing up for freedom and liberty in China.
“While some may prefer to look beyond the past or even trivialize the wanton slaughter by Chinese soldiers, the memory of the dead and wounded as well as the plight of the jailed and tortured requires us to honor them and respect their noble aspirations for fundamental freedoms.” (Click here to read Smith’s remarks at the May 29 event)
The House also overwhelmingly passed H.Res. 599 May 28 in a 379-1 vote. The resolution, introduced by Congressman Smith to remember the 25th Anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre, urges more robust U.S. human rights, democracy, and internet freedom policies with China. (To view Smith’s floor speech click here)
PHOTO: Rep. Smith is joined by Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader Pelosi along with prominent Chinese dissidents and human rights leaders on May 29.
“This year also marks two decades since 1994 when then-President Bill Clinton renewed China’s trade privileges, removing an effective tool for urging democratic reform,” said Smith. “President Clinton said that human rights improvements would come with increased trade, but now we have a huge trade imbalance with China and few human rights improvements. China is now the world’s biggest market and the world’s worst abuser of human rights.”
Click here to watch a C-SPAN coverage clip of Clinton’s May 26, 1994 decision to delink China’s human rights from trade issues with the United States.
“I believe China will one day be free. Human history is filled with examples of dictatorships that matriculated to democracy because courageous people refused to capitulate or stand down. The 25th Anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown must re-inspire, re-energize, and re-prioritize our efforts for human rights and freedom in China.
“The U.S. must again be the foremost champions of liberty in China, doing so is in our strategic and moral interests. A more democratic and open China, one that respects human rights, and is government by the rule of law, is more likely to be a productive and peaceful partner rather than aggressive and hostile competitor.”
Smith also held a May 30 hearing to mark the 25th anniversary of the bloody crackdown entitled “Tiananmen 25 Years Later: Six Leaders Who Were There.”
Click here to read Smith’s statement about recent arrests in China related to the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
