Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, the gentlewoman from California, who I greatly admire is, in fact, in this case, wrong. She is making a mistake that I hope to correct in this debate. Xi Jinping is not the President. That is not the title that their government gives him. As I said in my opening remarks and I will clarify, President Bashar al-Assad of Syria is a President. That is the title his country gives him. The President of Egypt is a President. There are plenty of Presidents. We would not call Bibi Netanyahu President when he is the Prime Minister, and, of course, we would call the President of Israel President. I am only making the clear point that Xi Jinping has three titles, none of which includes, in any reasonable translation, the word ``President.'' He is the head of state. He is the chairman of his party. He is the chairman of, in fact, his military. As a member of Foreign Affairs, it is an important technical correction. I am in earnest agreeing with my friend, the gentlewoman from California, that we should not arbitrarily refuse to take any title given by their country. China could call him President if they wanted to; they do not. My amendment only says we need to stop changing his title. When the gentlewoman says that we shouldn't arbitrarily or in a petty way change a title, I agree. The title should be one of those three titles or, of course, he is the head of state and that can be used. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.”