Political Quotes

“Madam President, a few months ago, I spoke on this floor about Mark Swidan, who has been unjustly imprisoned by the Chinese Communist Party for over a decade. Mark is from Luling, a small city in my home State of Texas. His mother, Miss Katherine Swidan, still lives in Luling. And for the last 11 years, Mark has endured a living hell, trapped in a Chinese prison. He is exposed to extreme heat and extreme cold. He is deprived of sleep. He is subjected to physical abuse. Mark has also been denied access to his family and to American diplomats. And in 2019, a Chinese court sentenced Mark to death. Mark is being unjustly held by the Chinese Communist Party as a hostage. The CCP tells us that China is a great power, but this is how Third World thugs and dictators act. I called for Mark's immediate release and called on the Biden administration to use any and every available means to secure Mark's freedom. I am deeply distressed that since my speech on the floor a few months ago, Mark's plight has deepened. Recently, a Chinese court reaffirmed the death sentence imposed on him with a suspension for 2 years. That is wrong, and it is outrageous. We need Mark to come home. It is worth revealing how breathtakingly, infuriatingly unjust all of this is. How did it happen? On November 13, 2012, Mark was abducted by China's Public Security Bureau while he was in China on a business trip.…”