11 Congressmen Express Concern to Secretary Clinton Regarding Suppression of Rights Defense Attorney
11 Congressmen Express Concern to Secretary Clinton Regarding Suppression of Rights Defense Attorney
ICC Note:
“On July 31, eleven Congressmen issued a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressing concern over the recent crackdown on human rights attorneys in China.”
8/4/09 China (ChinaAid) On July 31, eleven Congressmen issued a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressing concern over the recent crackdown on human rights attorneys in China. In the letter, they also listed the names of 18 attorneys who are banned from practicing law, and urged Secretary Clinton to:
• Raise the plight of these lawyers by name and press the Chinese government to permit these individuals to once again practice law;
• Instruct senior U.S. diplomats in the Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Beijing to regularly meet with and support these human rights defenders both inside and outside China, and
• Instruct US diplomats to consistently raise human rights and rule of law concerns with their Chinese counterparts as a central tenant of U.S. foreign policy.
The 11 Congressmen who signed the letter were: Frank R. Wolf (R-VA), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Bob Inglis (R-SC), Donna F. Edwards (D-MD), W. Todd Akin (R-MO), Thaddeus G. McCotter (R-MI), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ), Walt Minnick (D-ID), Daniel E. Lungren (R-CA) and Joseph R. Pitts (R-PA).
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Bob Fu stated, “These incidents show that human rights and the rule of law in China are rapidly deteriorating. ChinaAid and many in the international community who love truth and justice will continue to support all the efforts that aim at promoting religious freedom, human rights and rule of law in China.”