[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 111 (Tuesday, July 24, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1311-E1312]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 CONGRATULATING REV. ``BOB'' XIUQUI FU

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN R. CARTER

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 24, 2012

  Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Rev. ``Bob'' 
Xiuqui Fu on the ten year anniversary of his organization, ChinaAid 
Association. This Texas-based organization has been at the forefront of 
the struggle for freedom and rights in China. ChinaAid is doing 
important work and I hope they will continue to flourish in their next 
ten years.
  In 2002, only six years after migrating to the United States, Rev. Fu 
founded the ChinaAid Association to promote religious freedom and raise 
worldwide awareness of the ongoing and unjust persecution of religious 
believers in China. ChinaAid's goal is to provide for the physical, 
legal, and spiritual needs of victims of human rights abuses and to be 
a ``voice for the voiceless'' in Washington, DC and the capitals of the 
world.
  ChinaAid is not only an effective voice for the voiceless, but is 
also working to make sure China's human rights defenders are able to 
speak against injustice. In recent years, ChinaAid has expanded its 
mission to support legal defense in religious persecution cases, 
academic research on the rule of law, and the training of human rights 
defenders.
  Rev. Fu knows first-hand what it's like to be persecuted by the 
Chinese government. In 1989, he was one of the student leaders in 
Tiananmen Square demonstrating for freedom and democracy. After the 
bloody crackdown, Bob became a Christian and led a house church while 
teaching English at the Communist Party School in Beijing. Considered a 
threat to the Chinese Communist government, Bob and his wife Heidi were 
imprisoned for ``illegal evangelism'' causing them to flee from China 
in 1996. He eventually migrated to the United States with the 
assistance of members of Congress and then President Bill Clinton.
  Pastor Fu is recognized as a leading expert on religious freedom and 
the rule of law. He regularly testifies before the U.S. Congress and 
has provided expert testimony before the European Union and the United 
Nations. Bob has also established a close working relationship with 
President George W. and Laura Bush, taking the first group of Chinese 
``house church'' Protestant leaders to meet a sitting President in the 
White House.
  The work of his organization is vital, it is effective, it is 
bipartisan, and it is necessary. Everyone here in Congress will agree, 
a future

[[Page E1312]]

China that respects the freedom of speech, the freedom to worship, and 
the rule of law will be a critical strategic partner with the United 
States.
  ChinaAid is working to ensure this future and that is why it should 
be congratulated today on its tenth anniversary.

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