Political Quotes

“The headline is ``Beijing Pulls Visas of Three U.S. Reporters; Move Targets Radio Free Asia.'' Deep in the article, it is noted that the three reporters were not all American citizens, but that is really irrelevant to the point here. The point is that the Chinese Government, apparently, uses the granting or denial of visas as a way to effectuate aspects of its foreign policy. It would be difficult, therefore, it seems to me, for the Chinese Government to argue that there is anything wrong with the United States Government using that same kind of visa authority to make points with respect to our foreign policy. My question is this: If it is United States policy that the kind of forced sterilization and abortion policy China has is inimical to the human rights and freedoms that we enjoy here in the United States and have urged upon the Chinese people, then why would it be inappropriate for the United States Government to use the very same--let me rephrase the question. What would lead us to think that the Chinese Government would have any right to object to the use of visa policy, since the Chinese Government itself has used visa policy to effectuate their foreign policy considerations? Why would there be any objection, per se, to the use of visa policy by the United States?”