Chris Smith: “Mr. Speaker, I think as every Member of this body knows, the PRC and its leadership in Beijing would love to be regarded…”

“Mr. Speaker, I think as every Member of this body knows, the PRC and its leadership in Beijing would love to be regarded as a respected member of the international community. In pursuit of that goal, however, the PRC has sought and obtained membership in the World Trade Organization; and it has lobbied and received the Beijing Olympics of 2008. However, trade volume alone, and there has been a great deal of trade volume particularly between the U.S. and China, is not really a measure of success, I would say to my colleagues. What really determines the quality of a country is how it treats its own citizens, and how it respects fundamental human rights. History shows that some very unsavory regimes held the Olympic games. We all remember the Nazi Olympic Games prior to the Second World War, but holding a game, having trade, having the air of respectability does not necessarily mean that it is a respectable regime. The government of Beijing has an enormous way to go, I would respectfully submit, to earn the international respect that it craves.”