Two South Florida Republicans, members of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, turned their fire away from Cuba this week to focus it on another communist country China.
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairwoman of the committee, attended a meeting that Chinese leader Hu Jintao had with members of Congress and gave him a letter that she sent to President Barack Obama earlier in the month on a number of issues ranging from human rights concerns to economic matters.
"At the onset of the meeting, I hand-delivered to the Chinese leader a copy of a letter I sent to President Obama outlining strong concerns about Chinese actions on the security, economic, and human rights fronts, said Ros-Lehtinen. I then had an opportunity at the end of todays meeting to challenge Mr. Hu to free Liu Xiaobo, Gao Zhisheng, and other dissidents held in prison; to respect the rights of the Tibetan and Uyghur people; to end the persecution of the underground Christians and Falun Gong practitioners, and to end Chinas policy of forced abortion.
Ros-Lehtinen added that the only issue the Chinese leader addressed was her point about that nations abortion policy.
Out of all of the issues I raised, the only one which received a response from Mr. Hu was my statement urging the end of Chinas forced abortion policy, Ros-Lehtinen noted. I was astonished when he insisted that such a policy does not exist.
The congresswoman took exception to the praise China has received in recent days as Hu was feted at a state dinner at the White House earlier in the week.
"Chinese policies and actions are not those of a responsible actor, said Ros-Lehtinen. "The U.S. and China do not share values and principles as some have claimed in recent days. A regime which shows a blatant disregard for the basic human dignity and rights of its citizens, which facilitates the proliferation activities of a pariah state like Iran, and which stands in the way of efforts by responsible nations to address the threats posed by Iran, North Korea, and other dangerous regimes, has little in common with the U.S.
"It is my hope that, going forward, the U.S. will implement a policy toward China which more strongly stands up for our interests and our values, she added.
In the letter to Obama, Ros-Lehtinen warned the president not to underestimate Chinas potential threat as a military rival and backer of regimes hostile to the U.S.
The assertion by certain policymakers that China would emerge as a responsible stakeholder and even a strategic partner in addressing global issues of mutual concern, has proved sadly mistaken, wrote Ros-Lehtinen. From Tehran to Pyongyang and from Khartoum to Rangoon, Beijing has consistently adopted policy positions which are inconsistent with the advancement of global security and stability, and which undermine the interests of our nation. From the Yellow Sea in the north to the East China Sea and down to the South China Sea, Beijings military posturing has become a cause of concern for many regional friends and allies of the United States.
Ros-Lehtinen also noted that China remained a threat to Taiwan.
As you know, the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 (TRA) specifies that it is U.S. policy to consider any nonpeaceful means to determine Taiwans future a threat to peace and security of the western Pacific area and of grave concern to the United States, she noted in the letter. Over those past three decades a steady course has been adopted by both Republican and Democratic administrations to maintain the security in the Taiwan Strait through both defensive arms sales and regular consultations. The six assurances offered by President Reagan to Taiwan in 1982 further clarified the commitment the United States has made to Taiwans security.
The congresswoman also raised the Chinese government imprisoning American citizen Xue Feng and Noble Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaono whom she labeled Chinas own Man for All Seasons -- a comparison to Catholic martyr and English political leader Sir Thomas More.
I have long advocated for a closure of Chinas labor camps, the immediate release of political prisoners, unrestricted religious freedom, safe haven for North Korean refugees, human and religious rights for the Tibetan and Uyghur peoples and an end to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, wrote Ros-Lehtinen. I hope that these are issues of equal concern to you and your administration.
The congresswoman also hammered China on economic issues in her letter to Obama.
The American people, struggling with historically unprecedented levels of high unemployment, have watched as Chinas trade barons, through such nontransparent devices as currency manipulation and prison labor, have gained unfair advantages in the balance of trade, she wrote. A recent Pew poll showed that the long confident American people are beginning, for the first time in generations, to have doubts about their own and their childrens futures. Fully 47 percent in that poll named China as the No. 1 economic power. Only 31 percent chose America.
We need to provide leadership that inspires the American people to face the global challenges of a rapidly rising China, concluded Ros-Lehtinen. America is counting on us.
Fellow South Florida Republican U.S. Rep. David Rivera, a freshman who also serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, kept his comments on China closer to home, noting its rising influence in the Western Hemisphere.
Although China is on the other side of the globe, it manages to be a menace in our hemisphere, said Rivera on Thursday. As if the countrys record on human rights was not bad enough, China continuously partners and cooperates with totalitarian dictators like Hugo Chavez, and Fidel and Raul Castro who have similarly appalling track records on civil liberties.
Most recently there is growing concern about the connection between China, Venezuela and Iran, all three of which have begun to invest in Latin America by driving money toward Daniel Ortegas efforts in Nicaragua and toward the Cuban dictatorship, including entering into agreements to drill for oil off the coast of Cuba, added Rivera. China is a destabilizing force in Latin America, and that threatens American security. We have to be vigilant of Chinas movements, especially in our hemisphere, while demanding that they improve on their record of human rights.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
