Chris Smith: “Despite the hopes and expectations of some that robust trade with China would usher in at least a modicum of respect for…”

“Despite the hopes and expectations of some that robust trade with China would usher in at least a modicum of respect for basic human rights and fundamental liberties, the simple fact of the matter is that the dictatorship in China oppresses, tortures and mistreats tens of millions of its own citizens. According to the U.S. Department of State, the government's human rights record remains poor, and the government continued to commit numerous and serious abuses, and the repression is getting worse. The State Department Human Rights Report went on to say there was backsliding, their word, backsliding on key human rights issues, including arrests. Abuses include killing, torture, mistreatment of prisoners, and forced confessions. Amazingly, many years, 15 years after Tiananmen Square when we saw people protesting the government asking for simple liberties and simple rights, carrying around a facsimile of the Statue of Liberty, 15 years after that there are still some 2,000 people remaining incarcerated in prison camps and detention centers. That is unconscionable this many years afterwards. I remind my colleagues that people who argue that if we just traded with the Chinese, that things would get better. Back in 1989, the trade deficit was about $6 billion. Now it is $124 billion and counting. It goes up by the day. We trade; they torture, abuse, incarcerate, arrest and mistreat.”