Wendy Sherman: “I would now like to shift to a discussion of foreign policy, starting with the Americans being held on the Chinese…”

“I would now like to shift to a discussion of foreign policy, starting with the Americans being held on the Chinese island of Hainan; America held hostage, day four. Let us go through a few of the facts that have been uncontroverted. Our plane was in international air space. The Chinese have admitted that. Our plane was flying slow, clumsy, large, Turboprop, not looking for any trouble; not trying to approach any Chinese planes. Chinese fighter planes that are fast and maneuverable deliberately came as close as possible to the American plane, and then there was a collision. I ask us to think about this in our own lives. If one car is just proceeding about its business and another one, a hot rod, tries to squirm as close as possible, some teenager trying to get just as close as possible to an old driver and then there is a collision, who do we blame? This was not the first time, Mr. Speaker. Again and again and again, through formal and informal channels, the United States has, for a period of many months, told the Chinese side that their repeated unsafe and reckless flying, their interception of our planes and coming not just as close as safe but closer than safe, buzzing those planes, reckless disregard for the safety of both aircraft, gross negligence, would some day lead to an accident; and then it did.”