Political Quotes

“I stand for human rights progress and a secure Asian-Pacific region and against House Joint Resolution 79. This is fundamentally an issue which asks whether we want to engage in as normal relations as possible with an emerging world power in order to shape their future direction, in order to shape a safer and more secure Asian-Pacific world. This is not a one-shot process, and there is no one-shot solution. Engaging, shaping, relating to China requires difficult decisions and fully understanding what is at stake, a secure Asian-Pacific world in which the forces of democracy arise from local experiences under our encouragement, and is not forced by well-intentioned but misguided foreign policies. The issue is not human rights today but making it possible to have progress in human rights over the long haul. The issue is not Chinese hostility today, but whether we want to allow hostility to shape our and their policy. Some would have us believe that putting China on notice today through denial of MFN somehow brings their abuses to a halt. I urge my colleagues to reject House Joint Resolution 79.”