Asa Hutchinson: “I rise today, on the eve of Chinese President Jiang Zemin's official state visit to the United States. I rise today…”

“I rise today, on the eve of Chinese President Jiang Zemin's official state visit to the United States. I rise today because I believe that, while it is important to continue relations with a country that contains one-fourth of the world's population, it is also important for us to remember that this one-fourth of the world's population--these 1.2 billion people--suffer today under an oppressive regime committed to a violent suppression of dissent, a regime which steadfastly refuses to recognize inalienable human rights, a regime which uses imprisonment, torture, and execution as tools to forge a society that is void of individual liberty. It is a regime that has a government program to market human organs and body parts, using the execution of prisoners as a profit method for the Government of China; a regime that systematically jams Radio Free Asia. While coming to the United States and professing their belief in liberty, they systematically jam the expression of freedom that this country subsidizes, underscoring its importance by broadcasting throughout Asia. Yet, with all of these facts, all of this evidence, the United States rolls out the red carpet for President Jiang Zemin of China, the same leader who was named General Secretary of the Communist Party 3 weeks after the protests were quelled with violence and bloodshed in Tiananmen Square. This is the same leader who is the hand-chosen successor to Deng Xiaoping, the so-called Butcher of Beijing.”