Urging China to Respect the Freedom of Assembly, Expression, and Religion and All Fundamental Human Rights and the Rule of Law

Floor Speech

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support for this resolution, which I join as an original cosponsor with my good friends and colleagues, Congressman Chris Smith (NJ) and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA). I cannot express strongly enough my admiration and respect for their leadership on protecting and promoting human rights in China, and their commitment to remembering, commemorating and educating others on the events that took place in Tiananmen Square twenty-five years ago.

Mr. Speaker, thousands of citizens brutally murdered. Students shot down by their own government. Tanks rolling into Tiananmen Square to ruthlessly repress the spark of hope ignited in the hearts of thousands of people. On June 4th, a massacre ended the weeks of student protest and civil society actions that sparked hope for change and good governance, hope for greater inclusion and democracy.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, it has been 25 years since Tiananmen Square--and China hopes that we've forgotten.

But we have not forgotten. We have not forgotten Tiananmen Square, nor have we forgotten all the brave Chinese citizens who every day attempt to exercise the basic rights promised to them under the Chinese Constitution. The right to speak out and to bring grave matters to the attention of their government. Chinese citizens and their legal advocates who have tried to bring issues like government corruption, corporate exploitation of workers, unsafe working conditions, inadequate housing, agricultural mismanagement--so many find themselves the targets of government repression, legal reprisal, harassment, house arrest and even long and brutal imprisonment.

They deserve the right to speak out and engage in intellectual and public debate about what constitutes fundamental human rights and respect, what constitutes the freedom to think and worship as one chooses, what constitutes respect for the ostensible cultural diversity of China when faced with the reality of brutal cultural repression in Tibet and Xinjiang.

There are so many past and current heroes and heroines in China who have dared to think, write, speak and act freely in defiance of government control, censorship and mythology. We remember all of them today, past and present, as we debate this resolution and recall the events of 25 years ago.

We stand with you, today and always. I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 599.

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