WASHINGTON—With the vocal support of four congressmen, five daughters of political prisoners in China made a plea to the Chinese communist regime to release their fathers from prison. At a press conference, which was held at “House Triangle” outside the Capitol Building on Sept. 17, the group expressed a strong wish to meet with President Obama. They hope that he would raise their fathers’ cases with General Secretary of the Communist Party, Xi Jinping, when the two attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Council (APEC) summit, in Beijing this November.
Congressman Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who organized the press conference, said that because private diplomacy has not produced results, he wants the administration to take a new, tougher approach, and for the president to find his voice on human rights in China.
“The repression [in China] is pervasive, unrelenting, and absolutely unnecessary—as those detained love their nation and want China to reflect its highest ideals,” said Smith, who has held numerous congressional hearings on human rights in China. He held a hearing concerning the daughters’ appeal to Beijing, Dec. 5, 2013, when they gave formal testimony.
Smith made an impassioned plea to the president, pointing out that Obama has two daughters, and Smith has two daughters, and so both understand in a personal way what the Chinese daughters must be suffering. Smith wrote President Obama, asking him to meet with the families of imprisoned dissidents. But after six months, the only response he got from the White House was the president didn’t have time.
Smith suggested that he make time by skipping a hole or two of golf.
Smith was joined at the news conference by three of his colleagues: Congressmen Frank Wolf (R-Va.), Robert Pittenger (R-N.C.) and Steve Stockman (R-Texas). Also speaking was the Chinese blind lawyer and civil rights activist Chen Guangcheng.
Chen said through a translator, “The freedom for China is really in the long-term interest of America.”
‘What else can I do?’
