Pelosi Remarks at Hearing on the Beijing Olympics and the Faces of Repression

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered a testimony at the Congressional-Executive Commission on China's hearing on the Beijing Olympics and the Faces of Repression on Thursday, February 3rd. Below are the Speaker's remarks:

Speaker Pelosi. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for your invitation to be here, for your kind introduction, for your great leadership. Your opening statement was values-based, a source of inspiration, and you use the word ‘hope.' It gives us hope as to how we go forward and how we can shed light on the injustices that are happening in China. I'm honored to be with you and with Mr. McGovern, who has been our spiritual leader on this subject when we've been to China and Tibet and the rest. Because, again, he has been relentless over the years and intensely involved in shining a light on human rights violations in China, particularly now with the genocide of the Uyghurs.

Congresswoman Wexton is blessed with a large number of Uyghurs in her district, and so she has been an important leader in passing the legislation that Mr. McGovern and you referenced. Thank you for your leadership, Congresswoman Wexton.

I know it will probably be coming – Chris Smith has been, we've worked in a bipartisan way for decades on this subject, sometimes with another Virginian, Frank Wolf, no longer in the Congress, but always with us in this struggle.

So, as House Speaker, it is my privilege to again – again testify before the CECC, as I did most recently in May 2021. And, to do so with leaders with whom I have worked to fight for human rights in China. As I mentioned, Mr. Chairman, Senator Merkley: you have been a respected voice on Foreign Relations – Foreign Affairs, Foreign Relations, I guess it is in the Senate – Foreign Relations Committee, and as CECC Chair, bringing a steadfast commitment to ensuring our nation lives up to our values abroad.

McGovern – CECC Co-Chair has been a clarion voice on human rights and in the House, across the country and around the world, and a leader since his days in the – well, actually he was a staffer before – but in Congress to advance human rights in China. I thank, also Chris Smith, again, a former Co-Chair of this Commission, longtime partner to many of us to hold Beijing accountable.

And, again, thank Congresswoman Wexton for her leadership. Thank you Mrs. Wexton, for – Mr. Merkley, on the entire Congressional-Executive Commission on China for hosting this important and timely hearing: ‘Beijing Olympics and the Faces of Repression.'

When the Olympic Winter [games] begin tomorrow in Beijing, the Chinese government once again attempt to distract the world from a decades-long campaign of abuse and repression. But, the United States and the international community know the truth: the People's Republic of China is perpetrating a campaign of gross human rights violations, including genocide. Over the next two weeks, it is our urgent moral duty to shine a bright light on the many human rights violations being perpetrated by the host nation. And, I say ‘by the host nation' because I associate myself with the remarks of Mr. McGovern: this is not about Chinese people; it's about the People's Republic of China and the repressive government that has been in power.

While we fully support and will root for our athletes, we cannot and will not be silent on human rights in China.

I also am honored to be here with brave witnesses testifying today: Yaxue Cao, Jewher Ilham, Sophie Luo, Nyima Lhamo and Nathan Law – Nathan remotely, as I understand.

For decades, the PRC has orchestrated a campaign of terror and repression. From the genocide of the Uyghur people most recently, to aggression against the culture, religion and language of Tibet, to crackdowns against the basic freedoms in Hong Kong, to the jailing of journalists, activists and dissidents throughout mainland China, and intimidation of Taiwan and more. Yet, the Chinese government works desperately to cover up their abuses, rewriting history and projecting a very different image to the world – or tries to, anyway.

Many in Congress have fought to ensure that the world remembers the truth of the PRC human rights record and to hold them accountable, including by seeking to deny them the honor of hosting the Olympics. In 1993, Congress passed strongly bipartisan legislation calling on the IOC to reject China's 2000 bid. And, we were successful then in doing so.

Many again opposed China's 2008 bid. Sadly, the IOC chose to sell out on human rights in China. But, we cannot – we continued to speak out, including by urging President, President – urging President Bush, then, to boycott the Opening Ceremony.

Now, the IOC, aided by corporate sponsors, once again turns a blind eye with the 2022 Winter Olympics – just to bolster their bottom line, as Mr. McGovern mentioned. As was said, if we do not speak out against human rights violations in China because of commercial interests, we lose all moral authority to speak out against human rights violations anywhere.

And, that is why, at a CECC hearing last May, I called for no official presence at the Beijing Olympics. Thanks to strong leadership of President Biden, the Administration has joined Congress in presenting a united front in this effort. And, proudly many nations have followed America's lead, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania.

Make no mistake, our athletes should participate. They've trained. They're disciplined. They've dreamed. They've aspired. They've worked hard. But this year, we must celebrate them from home, as they compete in China. I would say to our athletes, ‘You're there to compete. Do not risk incurring the anger of the Chinese government, because they are ruthless.' I know there is a temptation on the part of some to speak out while they are there. I respect that. But, I also worry about what the Chinese government might do: to their reputations, to their families. So again, participate, let us celebrate from abroad and don't risk thinking that there are any good intentions on the part of the Chinese – the People's Republic of China government, because there are none.

While you're competing, Congress continues to take bipartisan action to defend human rights in China and hold the Chinese government accountable. Most recently, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which was proudly signed into law in December, will harness America's economic might to make clear: the genocide of Uyghurs must end now. And, now with our America COMPETES Act, which is on the Floor of the House, we will take another strong step to help those who fear for their futures, by designating Uyghurs as prioritized refugees of special humanitarian concern and pursuing a humanitarian pathway for Hong Kongers who feel political persecution.

Mr. Chairman, Mr. Chairman and Congresswoman: one of the most sinister forms of torture employed by authoritarian regimes, and certainly the PRC, is to tell the prisoners: ‘Nobody even remembers you. They don't know why you're in prison. So, why are you just insisting on the truth?'

We say that – with this hearing, we declare to all who are suffering in the PRC, under their abuses: ‘America sees you, America stands with you, America will continue to fight for you.'

That is why I'm so proud to join our witnesses today, to lift up the names of those who were in prison, such as democracy activists Jimmy Lai and Joshua Wong, Uyghur leader Ilham Tohti and the Panchen Lama, just to name a few. Now, we have a – as the Chairman roughly indicated, we have reems of names of prisoners who will not be forgotten. Many of them will be named by our witnesses today, in that spirit of remembering and saying to the PRC, ‘No matter what you do, we are – we will not forget, we will not go away.'

Much of our activism when this started – Tiananmen Square – when we saw you crush, crush the young lives and hopes and dreams of so many young people in China who were there to demonstrate for a better future. Crush them with your tanks. And, then try to erase from the history and the memory of people in China what happened that day. But, we will persist.

In that spirit, I'll close by quoting Lee Cheuk Yan, a former legislator who has devoted his life to keeping alive the memories of those who died fighting for freedom in Tiananmen Square. A former chairman of the now defunct Hong Kong Alliance and supportive patriotic democratic movements of China, he is currently serving time in prison simply for standing up for democracy.

He said the following to the judge before he was sentenced this past fall, and I quote, ‘For 32 years we have marched together in the fight to bring justice to those who put their lives on the line June 4, 1989, and, in the struggle for democracy. Despite setbacks, we are steadfast in our belief that the universal values of freedom, the rule of law, human rights and democracy that we have been struggling for will one day take root in Hong Kong and China. And on that day, we will be able to count – console the souls who came before us.'

Thank you to the CECC for the opportunity to participate today. And, to elevate the voices of the Chinese government, that the government – that the Chinese – and to elevate the voices that the Chinese government has worked relentlessly to silence. We will not be silenced. We will not let those with courage be forgotten.

With that, I thank you again for the work of this Committee, not just this hearing today, but on the ongoing. And, especially at this timely – this time one day before the Olympics begin.

It's hard to fathom how they could choose a country like China to host the Olympics, but they have, and we wish all of the athletes well. We wish them safety, and that safety includes – don't for one moment believe anything the Chinese government might tell you about freedom of expression. You take a risk, be safe.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Madam.

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Speaker Pelosi. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

I will be brief because I want you to have the balance of your time. I want to thank you for the – and the Chairman, for the opportunity to be with you today to hear the benefit, to have the benefit of this very, very important testimony. I want to acknowledge, also, the bipartisan nature of all of this. You mentioned Senator Rubio's work as well as – Chris Smith participated as bicameral, both houses. It is bipartisan – both parties — and a reflection of the values of the American people. What I hear from our witnesses is further evidence of the courage, the people who are committed to freedom of expression and respect for human rights in China.

What I see is the cowardice of the Chinese government. The cowardice of their actions, to take actions against family members because you are speaking out in other places, as some of you have mentioned. The cowardice of the business community, not to be able to have confidence in their ability to compete but to fold to the Chinese government without speaking out.

I will again, thank all of you, as well as Congresswoman Wexton for her leadership on the Uyghur situation and make this point. And, I said this to our Caucus this morning: when we talk about genocide of the Uyghurs, it's a horrible thing. It's diabolical. It also has an impact on the workforce. Because when we say – talk about it, it is a human rights violation of the greatest magnitude. However, it is also unfairness to American workers or workers in other economies, because you're making people compete with slave labor.

I've told this story in press events before. I talked to the former President of United States, the most recent one, when he was in Japan at G20, and I said, ‘When you talk to President Xi, tell them of the bicameral, bipartisan awareness we have of what's happening to the Uyghurs and the genocide that is happening there.'

He called me the next day, the President did – the former President did, and he said, ‘I spoke to President Xi about that, and he said the Uyghurs like going to those camps.' Really?

So, I would just say to the business community – and to those who are afraid, as they demonstrate their cowardice vis-a-vis the Chinese government and the cowardice of the government — they're afraid of your values, your courage. What does it profit a country, if it gains the whole world and suffers the loss of its soul? That can – we don't want that to happen to us.

Thank you for challenging — this is a challenge to the conscience of the world. Thank you for your courage. And with that, in thanking you, I yield back to Mr. McGovern.