118th Congress
(Washington) — The Chairs of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) today released two letters—one to Commissioner Adam Silver of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and one to President C.J.
(Washington)—Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the Chair and Cochair, respectively, of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) issued the following statement in response to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s announcement of the addition of three new PRC-based companies to the “Entity List” required by the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) and the Department of State’s announcement of the Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory Addendum.
(Washington)—Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the Chair and Cochair, respectively, of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), issued the following statement on the ninth anniversary of the conviction and life imprisonment of Uyghur scholar Ilham Tohti:
Amidst its systemic attempt to rewrite global norms, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has engaged in a campaign of transnational repression to harass diaspora communities and regime critics living around the world, specifically targeting Uyghurs, Hong Kongers, Tibetans, and others from groups that have been suppressed domestically. PRC agents – including those linked to the Ministry of State Security and provincial police forces – have engaged in forced rendition of asylum seekers, street assaults, digital surveillance, online harassment, and the coercion and intimidation of the family and friends of dissidents and political prisoners in the United States and globally.
(Washington)—The Chairs of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) today released a letter to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and the High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi requesting a meeting on the dire situation of North Korean refugees in the People’s Republic of China. Representative Christopher Smith (R-NJ) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) seek the meeting to discuss steps that can be taken by the international community to avert an impending human rights and humanitarian crisis on the North Korea-PRC border, where there are reportedly thousands of asylum-seekers awaiting repatriation.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has benefited greatly from the international rules-based order, yet its growing economic power has allowed it to present a systemic alternative that subordinates universal human rights to the PRC’s political and ideological agenda. As a result, international businesses and corporations that seek to operate in the PRC or maintain access to the Chinese market often find themselves at risk of being complicit in human rights abuses—in China and globally. These abuses range from genocide, imports made with forced labor, forced organ harvesting, the creation of mass technological surveillance systems, internet censorship, and restrictions on free speech.
Close to 2000 North Korean refugees are reportedly held in detention centers near the China-North Korea border. Once North Korea lifts its COVID-19 imposed border closure policy, these refugees will likely face forced repatriation, despite the Chinese government’s international obligation to protect asylum-seekers. Any large-scale repatriation is a humanitarian and human rights crisis, particularly considering that previously repatriated North Korean refugees experienced torture, sexual assault, forced abortion, forced labor, and, in some cases, execution.
(Washington)—The Chairs of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), issued the following statement concerning the Department of Homeland Security’s announcement of additions to the “Entity List” required by the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). The Chairs were the primary cosponsors of UFLPA with former CECC Chairs Marco Rubio (R-FL) and James P. McGovern (D-MA).
(Washington)—The Chairs of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), today wrote to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as he begins a two-day trip to United States, urging him to “coordinate actions on Hong Kong policy with the Biden Administration” and “publicly make the release of Jimmy Lai and other political prisoners in Hong Kong a priority.”
(Washington)—The Chairs of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), today issued a statement on the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre and announced formally their 2023 Nobel Peace Prize nomination of Peng Lifa (also known as “Bridge Man”), citizen-journalist Zhang Zhan, and Li Kangmeng, one of the key figures of the “White Paper Protests.” Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA) joined the Chairs in nominating the trio for the prize. The CECC is composed of commissioners from both the legislative and executive branches.