[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 164 (Monday, November 18, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1691-E1692]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 GUO FEIXIONG AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 18, 2013

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, last month I held a hearing 
that discussed China's detention of writer, activist, and self-trained 
legal advocate Guo Feixiong. A veteran of China's ``rights defense'' 
movement, Guo was criminally detained on August 8, 2013. We now know 
that he wasn't formally arrested until early September 2013. Guo's 
detention appears to be reprisal for his support of government 
transparency and calls for accountability. In recent months, Beijing 
has cracked down harshly on dozens of similar-minded advocates seeking 
political reforms.
   Guo is not a newcomer to public advocacy or punishments. A former 
novelist and businessman, he first became widely known in 2005 for 
organizing protests of land seizures on the outskirts of Guangzhou 
city. In 2007, a Chinese court sentenced the outspoken Guo to five 
years' imprisonment on charges of illegal publishing. He and his 
supporters maintain the charges were fabricated to silence him and 
others. In late 2011, he was released. Since that time, he's continued 
to participate in China's ``rights defense'' movement. He's continued 
to express himself freely in the hopes of advancing human rights. He 
has protested along reporters fighting the Southern Weekly's heavy-
handed-censorship and vocally supported recent calls for greater 
government transparency and an end to corruption.
   Now, Guo is being held on charges of ``assembling a crowd to disrupt 
order in a public place.'' This alleged crime--along with many others--
is all-too-often used unjustly against the courageous men and women who 
want accountability or change. For simply asking for transparency, he 
is suspected of disrupting the harsh ``order'' Beijing enforces.
   Notwithstanding China's own criminal procedural rules, authorities 
have denied Guo access to a lawyer and have failed to properly notify 
his family. Once again, China continues to enforce its legal 
protections haphazardly when punishing or silencing those who advocate 
for change.
   The hearing focused on the heroism and sacrifices of Mr. Guo. Sadly, 
Guo is one among many. In recent months, Chinese authorities have 
cracked down on dozens of human rights advocates participating in a so-
called ``New Citizens' Movement.'' The movement, which began forming 
last year, has been described as a loose network of like-minded, 
academics and lawyers who hold informal gatherings and promote various 
issues, including transparency and anti-corruption efforts.
   These detentions signify Chinese citizens' growing resolve and 
Beijing's growing fears. Guo, and many others throughout China, want 
change. They want accountability, they want transparency, and they want 
justice. And, increasingly, they are willing to endure great risks and 
willing to sacrifice their own personal security to speak freely.
   We were fortunate to be joined by Ms. Zhang Qing, Guo's courageous 
wife, and Ms. Yang Tianjiao, his wonderful daughter. We were also 
blessed to have with us two giants in the human rights field--Pastor 
Bob Fu and Mr. Chen Guangcheng who addressed the persecution of Guo and 
others and who also discussed more broadly the recent developments 
relating to freedom of expression in China.
   With this current crackdown on Chinese human rights activists, it is 
important to understand the brave and bold people challenging the 
Chinese state. Inspiring figures like Guo put another heroic face on 
these detentions. This face, however, does more than just contextualize 
the current crackdown or add details to a prisoner file. It causes us 
to wonder about ourselves, our commitment to human rights, and the 
risks we are willing to take for those around us. Guo now faces an 
uncertain punishment, as we must determine our own human rights 
commitment to him and others.
   In July 2013, Guo wrote about a 1989 Tiananmen activist now also 
facing the possibility of more prison time. He wrote, ``[Zhao 
Changqing] is an important symbol of the 1989 generation, who, in the 
face of danger, takes action, bears responsibility, persists, pushes 
forward, and becomes more evolved. This is how one should behave and 
shoulder his fate!''
   Despite the hardships and the odds, Guo reminds us that we must 
shoulder our responsibilities and our burdens. We are here today to 
accept our responsibility to Guo and these courageous Chinese human 
rights advocates. We hope that we can also ``take action, bear 
responsibility, persist, push forward, and evolve'' like these heroes. 
He reminds us that this is how we all should behave.
   We hope that the Chinese Government is listening. We hope the 
Chinese citizens seeking change are listening. And, we hope Guo is 
listening. And we hope President Obama and our administration are 
listening and will do everything in their power to help free Guo and 
others fighting for human rights in China--so far that has not been the 
case.

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