[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 14, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S177-S178]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            FREEDOM PROTESTS

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, we are in the wake of another global 
event or happening, if you will. No matter what it is, we always have 
people who come in on the back side and, as I say, are a bunch of 
armchair quarterbacks and Monday morning quarterbacks, and they are 
trying to put their spin on what should have been done and what wasn't 
done. I think that is probably a pretty good analogy when we think 
about the football game that took place last night.
  What ought to be a serious discussion about national security or 
human rights inevitably devolves into a political argument about who 
should be allowed to score the most points off the blood and bravery of 
people who are fighting half a world away. Here is a suggestion for 
each of us: In times of conflict or unrest, instead of looking to the 
pundits and listening to a lot of pundits, why don't we look to the 
people themselves who are involved in these conflicts?
  After the U.S. strike that took out Qasem Soleimani, armchair 
quarterbacks calling plays for the left picked up on what the 
propaganda arm of the Iranian regime was selling. Bear in mind, I just 
said the propaganda arm. After Tehran downed its own jet though, 
shouldn't the conversation have pivoted to the outraged protests

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not against Americans but against the Iranian Government? After all, 
those protests were fueled not by the act of one man but by months of 
domestic turmoil and decades of brutal repression by the Iranian regime 
against the people of Iran. Of course, it didn't pivot. The false 
narrative of the mad American President prevailed, even as the people 
of Iran railed against the brutality of the ayatollahs and the 
inexplicable recklessness of their own military. They were saying one 
thing, and the media said something else.
  In a stunning display of bravery, the people of Iran risked their 
lives--yes, they are risking their lives. In November, 304 got shot 
taking to the streets. The Revolutionary Guard brought about by 
Soleimani were shooting this week at people who were protesting and 
begging--begging for a little bit of freedom. It is amazing to me that 
it doesn't get acknowledged.
  The decisive elimination of Soleimani exposed the regime's extreme 
vulnerability on the global stage, and I think the ayatollahs in Iran 
know this. This is why we saw them respond with threats against America 
at large. It is why they strong-armed the Iraqi Parliament into its 
foolish stand against American troops, why they arrested the United 
Kingdom's Ambassador for attending a peace vigil, and why they 
violently retaliated against civilian speech. They know they are losing 
this argument. Tehran failed at silencing dissent. Their goal is to 
convince the rest of the world to ignore the protests of the Iranian 
people.
  Authoritarianism is not bound to one particular region or ideology. 
As we saw last year, the repressive behavior of Communist China 
backfired on officials in Beijing. In their case, there wasn't an 
airstrike or an incursion. There was just a simple but disastrous piece 
of legislation that would have jeopardized the already-strangled human 
rights of every citizen in Hong Kong--not just a few but everybody, 
blanket coverage. Don't be caught speaking out against China and 
against Beijing.
  The fallout from that violation is now legendary. Millions took to 
the streets on behalf of democracy and self-determination and turned 
Beijing's agenda on its head. Their protests captured the attention of 
the entire world and inspired others struggling to survive under 
Communist rule to speak up.
  This past Saturday, the people of Taiwan poured some additional salt 
on Beijing's wounds by delivering a stunning electoral rebuke against 
the Communist Party. Taiwanese citizens cast a record number of 
ballots, pulling the pro-democracy ruling party out of a 2-year skid 
and validating President Tsai's embrace of anti-Beijing protesters in 
East Asia. Let me tell you, China knows exactly who is to blame for 
this, but in official statements they are writing off the results of 
the election as a mere fluke, and they are blaming--get this--foreign 
interference for their humiliation. They couldn't possibly be 
responsible for this.
  I have to tell you, the election may be over, but you can count on 
China to find other ways to coerce Taipei into submission. They will 
likely continue to pressure Taiwanese businessmen and workers living on 
the mainland to toe the party line and engage in more military drills 
around Taiwan, with the goal of muscling away diplomatic support. It is 
all part of their playbook.
  Threats gilded in official policy are standard operating procedure 
for authoritarian regimes, but overt crackdowns on dissent still loom 
large over the heads of their people. Last December, China threatened 
to sanction the non-governmental organizations that backed pro-
democracy legislation in Hong Kong. On Sunday, they suddenly refused 
entry to activists from Human Rights Watch without even pretending to 
provide a plausible explanation. Imagine that. They have moved so far 
in repression, they wouldn't even let Human Rights Watch in the country 
to see what it is that they are doing to their people.
  Make no mistake, regimes like those in China or Iran are vicious and 
powerful, but right now, they are running on nothing but fear of their 
very own people, their own citizens. The fear is what drives them to 
repression, abuse, and murder, but time and again they forget that 
someone is always watching. The same technology that allows them to spy 
on and manipulate their adversaries allows freedom fighters to tweet, 
to live stream, and broadcast some of these crimes that are being 
committed by these oppressive regimes.
  The people of Iran and China have flung themselves onto the frontline 
of a global fight for individual rights and individual freedom, but 
don't neglect those risking life and limb in places like Lebanon, where 
peaceful opposition to authorities is labeled as criminal defamation--
imagine that, criminal defamation if you peacefully oppose the 
authorities--or in Morocco, where journalists have been jailed with 
impunity for unveiling corruption. You find corruption, you report it 
in the press, and they lock you up for telling the truth--or Burma or 
India or Algeria. There are dozens more examples.
  If you want to understand what is happening, look to the people. 
Listen to them and pay attention to their history as they seek to write 
their future.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Blackburn). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that I be 
allowed to engage in a colloquy with my friend and colleague, the 
Senator from Wyoming, Mr. Enzi.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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