Political Quotes

“It has been my custom to make a report to the Congress, my constituents, and the general public when I return from a trip. I have sought recognition to speak about foreign travel I made to Beijing, Hanoi and Taipei from August 6, 2010, to August 16, 2010. We departed Dulles International Airport on United Airlines on Friday morning, August 6 en route to Beijing, China. This was my sixth visit to China, with the most recent taking place in 2006. On Sunday, August 8, we had a meeting with Mr. William Farris, Managing Counsel for Google. Mr. Farris had previously served as general counsel for the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which was created by congressional statute in 2001 to oversee human rights and the rule of law. Especially with his background in these critical issues, Mr. Farris offered his views on the potential for unfettered access to the internet in China, the recent cyber attack against Google, and an overview of the Chinese business environment. Although Google initially censored its search engine in China, I was pleased that it has decided to offer a reroute through Hong Kong servers in order to provide uncensored access. China continues to put pressure on international firms over the nature of content produced. The Chinese government maintains a block on many U.S. Websites, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. The pressure that the Chinese government places on firms has already led to the departure of major foreign ventures.”