118th Congress
In 1989, citizens in China from all walks of life participated in demonstrations that swept throughout the country including in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. The peaceful demonstrators of that year called upon the Chinese government to eliminate corruption, accelerate political reform, and protect human rights, particularly the freedom of expression—demands echoed during the “White Paper” protests that spread throughout China in 2022. The Chinese Communist’s Party’s violent suppression of the 1989 demonstrations, along with ongoing censorship of any public discussion of what happened in June of 1989, have had far-reaching consequences for Chinese society and U.S.-China relations.
(WASHINGTON, DC)—U.S. Representative Christopher Smith (R-NJ) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chair and Cochair of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) issued today the Commission’s 2023 Annual Report on human rights conditions and rule of law developments in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
(Washington)—A bipartisan group of Commissioners from the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) released a letter today asking the State Department to utilize existing rewards programs to seek information that will “deter and disrupt the market for illegally procured organs…and hold accountable those responsible for the gruesome practice” of forced organ harvesting in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). CECC Chair Representative Christopher Smith (R-NJ) was joined by CECC Ranking Member Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Representatives Jennifer Wexton (D-VA), Michelle Steel (R-CA), Zach Nunn (R-IA) and Ryan Zinke (R-MT).
(Washington)—The Chairs of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), Representative Christopher Smith (R-NJ) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), issued the following statement on World Press Freedom Day:
“The People’s Republic of China (PRC) jails more journalists and exports more propaganda than any other country in the world. Only North Korea ranks lower on the World Press Freedom Index. Over the past year, the media environment continued to shrink while the PRC spent billions to censor the flow of news and information and prosecuted Chinese citizens who exercise their right to free speech.
(Washington)—Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the Chair and Co-chair, respectively, of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), convened a hearing this week examining social compliance auditing and certifications of factories and supply chains in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). At the hearing “Factories and Fraud in the PRC: How Human Rights Violations Make Audits Impossible,” the Commission heard from witnesses about the failure of social audits to identify forced labor in the supply chains of major brands and retailers, including the garment and automaker industries.
Social compliance auditing and certifications of factories and supply chains in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) proliferated over the past 20 years as global brands and retailers sought to respond to concerns over human rights and environmental abuses in their supply chains. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act requires that supply chains be free of forced labor, yet companies are using social audits and certifications to help cover up rather than expose human rights abuses.
(Washington, D.C.)— Members of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) will conduct a press conference with other members of Congress and civil society groups to discuss the implications of the Safeguarding National Security Bill (a.k.a. Article 23 legislation) on Friday, March 22nd at 1:15pm (EDT).
Congressional-Executive Commission on China
243 Ford House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Email: infocecc@mail.house.gov Telephone: (202) 226-3766
Stay Connected
Follow the Commission's activities on social media, and get Commission updates from our RSS feeds.