[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17490]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          VIOLENCE IN XINJIANG

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Wolf) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with great concern regarding the 
recent violence and loss of life in Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region.
  While much is still unknown about the events which transpired over 
the past week, due to the Chinese Government's strict control and 
monitoring of foreign journalists, the situation devolved into an 
explosion of anger between Han Chinese and Uyghur citizens.
  President Hu and senior Chinese officials have vowed to severely 
punish individuals connected to the protests, including through the use 
of the death penalty.
  The Chinese Government's long-standing persecution and repression of 
the Uyghur people is well documented, including by our own Department 
of State, as is the government's history of covering up abuses and 
reacting violently in the face of peaceful protests.
  The Chinese Government must allow an independent, international 
investigation into the events surrounding the week's past violence. I 
have urged the State Department to work toward that end.
  The Chinese Government has blamed the unrest on Nobel Peace Prize 
nominee and human rights activist Rebiya Kadeer. This is eerily 
reminiscent of the Chinese Government blaming last year's protests in 
Tibet on the Dalai Lama. Both the Dalai Lama and Rebiya Kadeer have 
been made scapegoats by the Chinese communist government, and both are 
champions for their people.
  Rebiya Kadeer suffered in prison for 5 years before she was released 
to come to the United States. After her release, two of her sons were 
arrested and remain today languishing in jail for crimes they did not 
commit.
  Amazingly, the reach of the Chinese Government does not stop at its 
borders. In 2006, Rebiya Kadeer called my office seeking assistance 
because she noticed a suspicious vehicle outside her home in northern 
Virginia. After checking with the FBI, we learned that the vehicle had 
been rented by individuals connected with the Chinese Government.
  In a recent opinion piece she wrote for the Wall Street Journal, 
Rebiya Kadeer condemned the use of violence on both sides and called on 
the United States to speak out against oppression in China and monitor 
daily human rights abuses perpetrated by the Chinese Government.
  Today, I sent a letter to President Obama asking that senior 
officials of the National Security Council and the State Department 
immediately meet with Ms. Kadeer to discuss the events in Xinjiang and 
the U.S. response.
  President Obama is a father and Secretary Clinton is a mother, so 
they can understand well the anguish that Rebiya Kadeer feels as she 
considers the fate of her own children and grandchildren, particularly 
in light of this most recent violence and unrest.
  Failure to meet with Rebiya Kadeer would be reminiscent of 1975 when 
famed Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn visited Washington, D.C. 
and the city's foreign policy establishment sought to obstruct him at 
every turn. He was refused a meeting with President Ford, who declined 
to meet with him fearing it would sour an upcoming meeting with Soviet 
leader Brezhnev.
  I sincerely hope this administration does not repeat this mistake.

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