Representative Christopher H. Smith, Chair
Senator Jeff Merkley, Cochair
Human Rights and the Rule of Law in China
628 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510
| Wednesday, October 7, 2009 - 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Transcript (PDF) (Text)
Issues such as information control, climate change and environmental protection, and official responses to Uyghur and Tibetan protests present new challenges for the development of the rule of law and human rights in China. The Commission has asked a distinguished group of experts to assess the current state of criminal and civil rights defense, commercial rule of law, environmental enforcement, ethnic affairs, and political imprisonment in China. Witnesses discussed the implications of developments in these areas for U.S. policy, offering recommendations on how the United States might best engage with the Chinese government through dialogue on human rights and rule of law issues.
View a recorded video of this hearing here.
Opening Statements
Senator Byron Dorgan, Chairman
Representative Tim Walz, Cochairman
Representative Christopher H. Smith
Representative David Wu
Additional Members Present:
Representative Mike Honda
Senator John Barrasso
Witnesses
Mr. John Kamm, Founder and Chairman, Dui Hua Foundation
Dr. Elizabeth Economy, CV Starr Senior Fellow and Director for Asia Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
Mr. Donald Clarke, Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School
Dr. Gardner Bovingdon, Assistant Professor, Indiana University, Bloomington