U. S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi spoke on the House floor yesterday in a show of support of H.R. 489, recognizing the 20th anniversary of the suppression of protesters and citizens in and around Tiananmen Square. The House passed the resolution by a vote of 396 to 1. Here are Pelosi’s remarks in part:
“I thank Congressman Levin and Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen for bringing this legislation to the floor. I associate myself with the comments of Mr. Poe and my friend, Mr. Wolf. We have been working on this issue for a very long time in our task force on China, even before Tiananmen.”
“Human rights in China is a very, very important issue. China is a very important country. The relationship between our two countries is very important economically, security-wise, culturally, and in every way. But the size of the economy, the size of the country, and the size of the relationship doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t speak out. I have said that if we don’t speak out about our concerns regarding human rights in China and Tibet, then we lose all moral authority to discuss it about any other country in the world.”
“Today we come together to support a resolution on the floor of the House of Representatives recognizing the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Again, I thank my colleagues for bringing this legislation to the floor.”
“Twenty years ago, a generation ago, thousands, millions of Chinese students, workers, and citizens assembled in Tiananmen Square and all of the streets leading to it and from it to bravely speak out. It was about promoting more freedom in China in terms of accountability of the government in ending corruption. It was about more transparency and the ability to speak and to assemble. It was about the aspirations of people in a country that they love and their desire to have dialogue with their leaders on the future of China.”
“It will be forever seared in our memory what happened next. The People’s Liberation Army, the People’s Army, was used against the people, crushing demonstrators in Tiananmen Square and crushing dissent throughout China. And so again, Tiananmen Square is the place where many people assembled, but the demonstrations were beyond that and well into Beijing and across the country.” Click here for complete speech.