Political Quotes

“Yesterday was the ninth anniversary of the massacre of hundreds of prodemocracy students on Tiananmen Square in Beijing by troops acting under the orders of the Communist Government of China. In memory of the brave students who suffered and died there for speaking out peacefully against political repression, and in memory of those who are imprisoned still, last night I attempted to introduce this resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that our Government should remain committed to honoring the memory of these victims of oppression and also that supporting China's peaceful transition to democracy should be a principal goal of our foreign policy. I know that such sentiments are shared by all Members of this body. After all, who could possibly object to honoring the Chinese student martyrs to democracy on the ninth anniversary of their massacre? Unfortunately, however, we were unable to get the resolution cleared last night on the Democratic side. This objection prevented the Senate from making any statement in memory of the victims of Tiananmen Square on the ninth anniversary of their murder. I am pleased, however, to report today that the cold light of morning has helped bring some perspective to this issue and that the objection to my resolution has now been withdrawn.”