[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] good morning and welcome to joint hearing of the executive commission on china in the Human Rights Commission hosted by the word Affairs Committee i want to think my cochair, micah review on the China Commission and the congressman chris smith on the Human Rights Commission. I would also like to think Ranking MemberMichael Mccaul and all the members of the foreign Affairs Committee for hosting and participating in the support hearing. The title of todays hearing was examining the evolution of repression in china. The hearing will review the events in china in 1989 in the aspirations of the generation and the ongoing censorship and lack of accountability with those victims of the nazca. For first panel we are proud to welcome the speaker of the house representatives nancy pelosi. In 1989 just two weeks after the square massacre in her second term of Congress Introduced legislation to protect Chinese Students and nationals who feared being deported back to china. The Chinese Student protection act ultimately granted legal permanent resident status for approximately 53000 china nationals hosting our economy and the wonderful diversity of our country. Two beneficiaries of this legislation they were a researcher in genetics lab, lee was student in accounting in the computer as a Police Officer in salt lake city. We are proud that their daughter served our country, China Commission staff. The legislation that welcomes sophie and her family into our country is the best of what america has to offer. Want to think speaker policy on that. In 1981 attend must wear the glare of security cameras in the spotlight of Chinese Police nancy pelosi unfolded a banner that read to those who died to democracy in china. To this day the act of compassion is mounted by chinese and some of them who heard about it when they were in prison. Back in congress she was organizing, she founded and chaired the bipartisan Congressional Working Group on china with congressman frank wolf. She spared the effort of chinas most favorite effort of trade status on progress in releasing prodemocracy demonstrators. Just the 1990s, nancy pelosi took on both republican and democratic president s. With trade relations for china was considered a losey led the opposition stating they should only be granted after not before the Chinese Government implemented its commitments. Throughout her 30 years to the people china she fought for the release of countless number of political people. Any Chinese Government official who meets with her especially chinese president s can expect to receive a letter with prisoners that should be released. Her response or legislation the word of goldmedal she represented the u. S. The peace prize ceremony she led the way to provide assistance with refugees and pushback against World Bank Projects the harm the environment and people china. I am proud to join the pelosi delegations to hong kong, india, told a quebec. We are proud to have her to hear today for her expertise on the tenement square massacre and the role of congress. I welcome you out of speaker and the floor is yours. Thank you, mr. Chair, this is a committee, commission so many things, thank you for your leadership after in the Human Rights Commission as well as the role of the China Commission. Thank you cochairman rubio for extruded leadership as well and smith who worked with for decades on this issue. Thank you, mr. Chairman for leadership on the foreign Affairs Committee and to all you thank you for being here this morning and makes up the remarks and generous introduction you gave me on behalf of the colleagues, anything you said i did in a bipartisan way. Including the banner on tenement square and a bipartisan where in all the legislation to protect the Chinese Student of issues of trade in human rights in china in a bipartisan way. Also along the way. I want to acknowledge while we were in tijuan Tiananmen Squares actually in tenement square at the time of the massacre, thank you for the beautiful testimony in the photos that you have of that occasion which was an assault on humanity in my view. I think youll are focusing on the special anniversary. When we had our first very hearing and now 30 years later were so courageous in all these years and thank you for being here. Again as a Founding Member of the ecc commission and speaker of the house and americans im honored to speak of examining the evolution of depression in china. Today we remember the massacre that the Chinese Government committed against its own people 30 years ago. We remember the students, workers and citizens to peacefully define an oppressive regime to demand the liberty of human rights that they deserve. We all remember the race the goddess of democracy and an image of statue of liberty and how they quoted our founders and how the troops crossed the protest but could not distinguish the claim of freedom growing in the heart. Thirty years later the enduring images of the 20th century remain feared into our conscious and alone man standing in the street praying into a grinding halt. Most students in universities have no idea of the image when they are asked what they think it stands for they say its an ad for something, is an ad for soda or Something Like that, the chinese have suppressed what happened at the ottoma tiananm square. They are not unknown to the people in china. Over the years the mothers, god bless him. Who lost loved ones in the massacre and the chinese leaders this is what the mom said, this agreed entry during the 1950s and 60s there were tens of millions starved to death, the former chinese president the people were eating people and it will be written in the book. We must remember because china still tries to deny history as a writer wrote lies written in ink cannot disguise facts written in blood. I remember vividly the terrorism debate verizon error with some two weeks after the massacre and a bipartisan way we introduced the act to help Chinese Students facing persecution stay in america followed by the Chinese Student protection act again in a bipartisan way. This is important because they were pulling the demonstrations in the United States so they would be able to punish the students who participated not in china but here in the United States reaching their hand into deterring freedom. Two days after the massacre as you indicated to attend republicans stood in Tiananmen Square of what was interesting about that you might want to know why we were the people saw what looked like tourists when we took out the banner they had walkietalkies and they were calling police so they came out of the building and we could see the troops coming. She took off and they did manage to solve some of our members come to take thwhotake the films and arrest but nonetheless, the statement was made. Every year since, weve argued in a bipartisan way america and the world cannot afford to promote a bankrupt policy towards china. Sadly 30 years after, we see china has changed but its record of oppression has not from the abuse and repression at the hands of the Chinese Government to the plight of people in hong kong with the chinese controlled council pushing an extradition bill that makes mockery of the one country two systems budget with 85,000 citizens at risk to the decades long abuse by those whose religion, culture and language and on the mainland were journalists, human rights lawyers and activists, christians denied that he, justice into their rights. If we do not speak out for human rights in china because of economic concerns, we lose all moral authority to talk about human rights in any other place in the world. Human rights and trade are linked and that is why 1993 we worked together for any extension to improve human rights Chinese Government. In 1995 he urged her colleagues in congress for the products made by the Peoples Liberation army, the perpetrators of the massacre in jim demint square. 1999 we want the government signed agreements on the trade proliferation and human rights but havent honored them and in 2000 we worked together for efforts to get china a plank check by failing to comply with its market commitments on the world trade organization. As i said the Bilateral Agreement is insufficient into this issue is too important for the economy based on the patterns of broken promises not proven performance. They must recognize the greatest tribute they can make to use our influence to advance the democratic aspirations of the generation. Mr. Chairman, so many chairman, they say if you were in prison, one of the most excruciating forms of punishment upon you is to say nobody remembers you, or why you are here or that you are here in prison and we want to be sure that those prisoners now and we do believe the message gets to them that they are not forgotten and that in the congress of the United States important leaders such as all of you gathered here are saying their names, giving letters to the authorities in china recognizing their sacrifice which is a sacrifice not just for them personally but for the democracies throughout the world. 212 congress made clear the trade and human rights are firmly linked passion for the rule of law accountability act. In 2017 we build on that by making the act global. Thank you mr. Chairman forgot and all of you that participated. Last year we passed a bipartisan reciprocity act also led by chairman mcgovern to hold china accountable for the tibetan people. As we work on trade agreements today we continue that any policy be tied to human rights america must demonstrate the courage used to not only guarantee fair trade for our products in Chinese Markets but also to advance human rights in china. Let me repeat we cannot allow economic interest with china to point us to the mortal injustices committed and on the house floor 20 years ago during the debate what does it profit a country that gains a whol the we world and suffers the loss of soul just over ten years ago, the worlds great champion of human rights is death was an affront to the very identity of human dignity, the very idea of human dignity. In that text he asked where is china had in the 21st century to continue its modernization under authoritarian rule or will it increase universal human rights china mainstream civilized nations and built a democratic system. Mr. Smith and i and others were honored to represent when they received the Nobel Peace Prize in norway and of course they wouldnt let him out of the country prize was given to an empty chair that we were honored to be part of the delegation to show our support and our conce concern. As we examine the evolution of oppression today let us continue to work to achieving her dream and the dream of the protesters and the future of freedom for all. Thank you all for the opportunity to testify today. Thank you each and every one of you for your leadership, commitment to human rights and advancing a freedom and of course that includes tibet, hong kong, beijing and so much is taking place i think we are going in the opposite direction its important for the world to know 30 years later we havent forgotten what happened then and we know what is happening now and it will have an impact in our relationship with china. Thank you all for your leadership and opportunity to share some thoughts with you today. Thank you madam speaker. [applause] i want to point out as we are speaking now someone just gave me a picture of a candlelight vigil in hong kong where tens of thousands of people are doing a candlelight vigil in honor of those who lost their lives in Tiananmen Square and other uprisings all around china so this is happening as we speak. Thank you and i know you have a very busy schedule so i will yield to senator rubio. Thank you for being here on this important day i into the chairman for convening this important hearing. Let me thank you for showing the picture of whats happening in hong kong because thats the only place in china where people are able to speak out. Its a beautiful site to behold and i commend the courage of the people there speaking out in light of their actions in hong kong these days you get thank you again mr. Chairman. I will yield to the cochair senator rubio. I do want to begin by welcoming the witnesses and i look forward to your testimony and firsthand recollection of this watershed event of 1989 and policy recommendations that we should consider. Todays anniversary will remind us the fundamental yearnings into dignity and basic human rights is not limited to any one region or one country or one culture. They have transcended geography and culture through history of man. Today we honor the lives that were altered by the events of that toda day those who perished were imprisoned, those who lost mothers, fathers, sons and daughters into those whose loved ones went missing or unaccounted for. Attendance square is interviewed exclusively through the lens of history that we mus but we mustn with the ongoing systematic human rights abuses created by the Chinese Communist party and the Chinese Government against its own people and we must reckon with emerging into the new geopolitical competition between tyranny and liberty, democracy and the totalitarianism. To reflect briefly on the events that led up to that day in the spring of 1,989,000 students gathered at the center of beijing to mourn the death of a prominent within the communist parties who wanted to move china towards an open and Democratic Political system and in the days that followed, thousands have gathered to call for greater freedoms and political reforms and to protest the policies and the numbers grew in the past but only in beijing but also 400 cities and universities across the nation so more than 1 million people, that included journalists, government employees, police joined the students and eecho wit echoed r demands and late in the evening the third of june and into the fourth, the Peoples Liberation army acting on the orders of the communist party responded with brute force and lethal violence opening fire on peaceful demonstrators. To this day the precise number of the resulting casualties is unknown. There have been no count stuff d that weekend no justice for the victims. Rather those that seek to commemorate the event or seek information about those old are harassed, detained and arrested. Perhaps the most iconic Image Associated with the tiananmen massacre is tank man, the small solitary figure in an advancing line of tanks. It remains an enigma. We know his fate some bjp was in prison, others that he was executed and some still hope hes alive today. We dont know but while the names of many are now lost to history and to the Chinese Government the protesters in the face of certain danger it reminds us the principles of freedom, democracy and selfrule are not just an american principle that human principles neither tank treads were fortunate with terrorism and the race but even by the communist party of china. Principles like they still remain the hope and desperation in that noble nation. The nations of the free world should demand that they allow open discussion on the events of that day and the enforced amnesia of the massacre in china online that confucius institutes in the United States t that operate on our College Campuses and globally as well. Released those pretending to commemorate anniversary and reckon publicly with the violence experienced by the Chinese People at the hands of the party and the military. We must continue to use opportunities like this and i thank you for calling the hearing because we must continue to speak about the truth, the story of the Tiananmen Square massacre. This point is important because it revealed to the world of the nature of the communist party in china. For decades the administrations trade to pursue constructive engagement. The Bipartisan Commission assumed trade investment and other engagements that eventually persuaded beijing to accept liberty and human rights and that optimism was misplaced. Today we see an increasingly aggressive government that is more repressive domestic policy, in the trade and Economic Policy and increasingly dismissive of all International Norms and mark asserted in exporting their authoritarian model globally. While Chinese Government look much different today than 30 years ago the goal remains the same to preserve the communist party of the domestic political progress with statesponsored indoctrination with mass surveillance and arbitrary detention, torture, violence the communist party today in china is using technology to stay in power whether in the emerging social Credit System or a digital surveillance state and company to transform the religious