Statement of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi on the Release of Chinese Dissident Wei Jingsheng
The release of Wei Jingsheng, China's foremost pro-democracy activist, must be met with joy about his personal safety, but concern about the state of freedom in China. I commend the Clinton Administration for joining the international effort to free Wei.
Indeed, the release of Wei Jingsheng, while noteworthy, does not mean that human rights in China have improved. Wei's release, in fact, fits into the pattern of human rights abuses identified by the State Department's Annual Country Report on Human Rights, when it noted that in 1996, "All public dissent against the party and government was effectively silenced by intimidation, exile (emphasis added), the imposition of prison terms, administrative detention, or house arrest." Thousands of prisoners of conscience remain in China's prisons because they dared to express their thoughts, their beliefs, or their prayers. We cannot ignore their plight.
Some news reports have raised questions about possible deals that have been made between the Chinese government and the Administration to secure Wei's release. As pleased as I am to see Wei free in the United States, he is not free in China. I hope that the Administration has not used his freedom to bargain away the multilateral effort to promote China's human rights through the U.N. Human Rights Commission or the remaining sanctions from the Tiananmen Square massacre. Such a deal would violate the meaning of Wei Jingsheng's struggle, while endangering thousands of others who fight for human rights in China.
Wei Jingsheng has been referred to as "China's conscience." I look forward to the day when such a conscience, with its spirit of democracy and respect for basic human rights, is embraced in China and is not forced to exist in exile.
