the focus of the hearing has been about your safety and your wife and children so please -- [speaking chinese] >> translator: with a particular emphasis on your cause, fighting as you did so bravely to defend women from forced abortion.

>> [speaking chinese] >> translator: and to rally congressional support and hopefully executive-branch support and hopefully worldwide support for door extended family as well as your friends. >> [speaking chinese] >> translator: if i could ask you very briefly -- >> has the united states government our embassy been able to in any way make contact with your extended family and friends who are at grave risk and suffering beatings crux

>> [speaking chinese] i'm not free career on the specifics, but i do know the u.s. embassy has been communicating with me everyday. >> your wife and children, how well are they doing on this enormous burden clacks

>> [speaking chinese] mcminn they're doing fine especially my children, my wife and i that this is such a wonderful place we can play outside, and he said you can tell from what they told my wife and i held terrible back to our home town. >> [speaking chinese]

>> translator: because my wife and children have been under such a long time of difficulty with of the nutrition and lubber and pressure -- low blood pressure and when i saw them under the circumstances i felt very saddened. >> [speaking chinese]

the panel witnesses to suggest to hire his own lawyers not to accept the government appointed lawyers for his family members. >> i am wondering whether there is any lawyer that has been accepted to be. we have heard there are 13 at least one has been beaten and one has had his license revoked and i am wondering specifically. i wonder he has offered, and i am wondering how he is doing.

we haven't had much news of him. >> [speaking chinese] >> [speaking chinese] i do know that many lawyers are waiting and wanting to go and i feel they will be able to go and they are planning to go.

listening to your voice right now there are large members of the people and c-span as broadcasting this throughout america. but would you like to tell the american public? >> [speaking chinese] [speaking chinese]

i want to extend my gratitude and thankfulness to all of those who cared and loved my family and myself in our situation and especially to the american people who show their care about the equality and justice and i am very grateful to all of you.

>> [speaking chinese] [speaking chinese]

[speaking chinese] we are proud of you as a hero of america and many meetings are very encouraged by your creator's act, i just do what my conscience asks me to do and when facing this against women and children so this is what i should do. >> [speaking chinese]

he also said that he said that what i have done is just my conscience and conviction i cannot be silent when i see and face these kinds of evils. >> [speaking chinese]

>> you are the first to stand up for this 30 years policy on behalf of this chinese babies that are forcefully aborted and killed so we praise you and thank you and appreciate you. [speaking chinese] thank you so much. we will continue. this is the third hearing. the first one was last november

when we thought you had disappeared. this is the third hearing and i can assure u.s. both the chairman of the china commission and the human rights committee of the house of representatives we will never cease in our advocacy for you and you're extended family and friends and the important human rights cause that u.s. gross of women for the crime of forced abortion and sterilization so thank you so much. >> [speaking chinese]

[speaking chinese] [speaking chinese] >> i want to let you know i've been praying for you and you and

your courage has inspired all of our women and we have been praying for you every day this evil policy will be abolished soon [speaking chinese] i have a final word i want to emphasize. what had happened to my family,

to my extended family members or a total violation including the chinese relevance all about family planning system so what they have done is just totally in violation of the chinese role so they should be held accountable by the chinese own wall, so that's what i want to emphasize. thank you. >> thank you. we are close to completing this hearing and i want to thank our distinguished witnesses and ask them if they might have some

final comments they would like to make. i do and i say this with all due respect to the president of the united states i am concerned when the government when president obama was asked about human rights he said no comment and the human-rights, quote it comes up we are in the process of began changing reappraisal of human rights in china and perhaps elsewhere in the world but no so loosely in china where wittingly or unwittingly we have been able in this terrible crime of forced abortion and sterilization to occur will we look and act as if it wasn't happening. he stands in solidarity with the women of china as do all i and

so many members of congress as this panel so if you would like to make any statements because i think we have heard it all just a moment ago if anyone would like to make a final statement before we conclude the hearing. >> i would like to --. as one of the victims like the past three years think you for your persistence may god bless you and all the work you are doing and we do believe this year the policy will come to an end to encourage the american leaders including president obama, psychiatry clinton and other leaders to join us, the

people to bring about an end to this perfect crime against humanity. thank you. >> i want to thank our distinguished witnesses. we will continue pursuing the case until it is resolved successfully and the focus that he has brought on the policy will increase in terms of focus, scrutiny and god willing it will end. the hearing is adjourned.

>> [inaudible conversations] more than ten days since the

secretary left. i expected to use this conversation with of the chinese government it's gotten to the point you're processing paperwork -- >> let me start by saying all of the processing on the u.s. side has been completed. we are ready when he and his government already. we have been for more than a week now in terms of his visa for studies. he's continuing to work with his government with information that those conversations, contacted continuance we've been in regular contact with him to were three times a day every day. >> when you say all the processing is complete -- >> him, his wife and his children. >> the second he gets a document from the chinese he can get out?

>> we will be prepared to do what we need to do on the u.s. embassy site as soon as he is ready reading has become over the last 200 years the ultimate space act of the ultimate space country because it makes it possible for the many and to teach themselves what is at few. the president can quote mark twain and the postman can understand the reference because he is, too said the demagoguery

although still possible recall years a lot more stultz and cleverness because of careful reading of books and newspapers and material on the internet they are revealed to ordinary people like us. it wasn't for nothing that the nazis made bonfires a book. senator barbara boxer chairs the committee working on legislation dealing with of the nation's roads, bridges and mass transit.

today she says she's optimistic the house and senate can come to an agreement on the bill. her news conference this afternoon was about 15 minutes. >> hi everybody. i want to try to complete this before i have to go down for the next vote. at the opening of the surface transportation bill conference on may 8th i said i would give regular updates so here i am to talk about the progress. i'm not going to be addressing specific negotiations between the conferees but i can tell you we have moved past the organization and we've had about 20 hours today staff to staff

and we are now working on the substance of the bill. the staff has been meeting every day all the issues. we broke down into groups centered around the committee's you would have the senator working on the pay for us and senator rockefeller transportation safety on the highways, bridges. you would have the banking committee dealing with transnet and then the other issues we've broken down there are other issues restore act and xl and payment in lieu of taxes and various items in the act by myself and senator baucus and that it gives you a sense of the

way we've broken it down. vice chairman mike and i have been in touch by phone and we have meetings on thursday and all i will be briefing members this week. the process has been inclusive and i expect that to lead to a good result every conferee to the most senior at this point through the staffing and november i'm also doing one-on-one discussions in my office having coffee doing meetings with individual members that have issues they want to talk about so i am optimistic they will reach agreement on this bill, and again we are starting from a very bipartisan senate bill which passed 74-22. it has many proposals to house the support including ansi will

know a leveraging mechanism we use the will create new jobs. we also have new program consolidations and giving states more flexibility. a lot of reforms, no earmarks' so these are things the house wants to see happen now as well. the conference was up and running in record time because the bill was so important to the workers and businesses in our economy that's when the transportation extension expires in and we know they are for jobs and businesses in our country. there's another reason i am optimistic about this and i want to the about for you. two days ago the commerce wrote an op-ed in politico the road a

piece that speaks to every member that talks about how the transit systems and needs of the submissive upgrades and a talk about this disarray of the infrastructure they say that without a successful highway conference congress would have to cut the highway transit and safety programs by 60 per cent according to the analysis by the association of the transportation officials so it couldn't be stronger and i would strongly suggest we might take a look at this on the 15th of may, so they are very clear and call and talk about how the vigilante authorities won't work so that's

the reason i'm optimistic because obviously we have the best majority of democrats in favor of the senate bill and a tremendous support of republicans, support of republicans in the senate and we have to persuade the house republicans and chamber of commerce has been supportive of house republicans in every way you can think of. in addition, today called off the press life or ten minutes ago is a historic letter about using i believe we have copies it's a communication to the conference on the authorization of the surf to the chris surface transportation. it's almost unheard of some of the groups would be on the same letter and if you hear the message you'll see why i'm optimistic we will get a conference report.

first, the message john behalf of our organizations we were gone at 21 by passing the report to get a bill to the president to the transportation program expires on june 30th this is the historic moment because the american economy is at risk and the nation is behind on our infrastructure needs the nation's economy is at a critical stage and this bill can be a factor entering the strength in the world economy and they say a few more things and conclude this legislation must be passed before the june 40th deadline to create jobs and keep america on the cutting edge of transportation infrastructure development. the american association of state highway transportation officials the national asphalt pavement association the

american trucking association i had a meeting in my office they are strongly behind the bill the society of civil engineers and association of the manufacturers, the automobile association, the general contractors of america, the national makarov association the american road and transportation builders association, the transportation department the international union for america, the chamber of commerce, the national association of manufacturers, the american public transportation association, american highway, the bridge tunnel association i

would say to you i'm working on a parallel strategy one is an outside strategy. everyone anticipates and walks through the bill everyone gets their questions answered. everyone gets to put their ideas on the table and the al-sayyid strategy is to continue to encourage these incredibly powerful and important organizations to weigh in on the side of the bill so i am happy to take what ever questions you may have. 62 to the estimate it will be included. how it all comes out is what we are great to be talking about. i support every part of the

restore act in the gulf states it has an ocean trust and a piece that deals with the landing conservation fund that is important to the country. i heard a woman's voice over here. -- [inaudible] my door is open to everybody but i'm having individual meetings with those that have asked for those and have reached out for me and a couple of those refreshments point interest because of the reasons one is the fact we do have this important question that's active in every one of the states and everyone of our states so we all have a lot on the line. if you look at -- i said this

numerous times so forgive me if it's boring to you i always think of this as super bowl stadiums full of people and there are unemployed construction workers and that image in my mind drives them forward and i am hoping it's driving them forward, too because everyone of us gets thousands and thousands of jobs from this bill and thousands of businesses will be saved and kept coming in the businesses so let me say every member on the committee has my deep respect because the leadership chose them and they are working together and everyone i have an open door to all of them. i met particular -- i am heading

that working group along with max baucus to get that done. >> it has tremendous appeal and to restore act has tremendous appeal. i do believe that and i think we will help the engine to get this to the line. >> [inaudible] we haven't gotten to the areas of disagreement and we will and we will let you know the democrats live with those that have keystone in that we didn't get 60 votes, so we have to figure out a way to get to that

hurdle figure out but we haven't gotten down to that. what we are doing now is walking through the bill and getting the various of agreement and that is what we are doing. >> [inaudible] i'm in a conference representing the senate and white said it from the start this. we have to find a sweet spot so we can get 60 votes because of somebody doesn't like it as you know the filibuster's we have to get the votes on the bill so there isn't quite the keystone in the bill? >> i'm not saying anything about keystone or pilt and they're

working on of these issues. we've been in negotiation for a week and it's really been getting to it so when we resolve these issues believe me i will be here explaining them to you. i will be here every week. have there been any members that say that keystone -- >> no one has lead to the wind and the stand if you listen to the opening statement people say why did you call such a big conference to hear from everybody i have a reason. i want to hear what they say and what i thought was most encouraging to me is i didn't hear anybody a draw the line in the sand and say if i don't get my way on this i'm out of here. i didn't hear that from anybody, and i am happy about that because i think it gives a chance to work together to see if you can't work together we are not quick to do it. we have to meet each other in

the center. we cannot stay in our corner. how did we ever get a building in half and boxer a bill that was agreed to buy bachus and fitter and sanders and sessions? this isn't easy but you've got to listen to each other and work together and that is what i plan to do in this conference. >> [inaudible] >> i talked to the chairmen yesterday and we agreed we need to find the funding and to a longer bill and i am very optimistic on the funding side because i think senator baucus and the congressman are working in good faith on that. we need time to figure of a long-term solution to how we

solve transportation. we have to come up with that. obviously we need to sit back and look at how we are going to do that. especially with cars doing better and better in fuel economy and we know we have to find another mechanism. >> anyone else besides trimming mica -- >> everybody is included for the briefing and yes, i have several meetings set up for this week. i don't think it is necessary to say with whom but i have several meetings and i will continue as the days go by. okay. thank you very much. appreciate it.

the george w. bush institute held in the event that held a celebration of human freedom in washington today to read it includes a video conference interview with activists and nobel peace prize winner the eighth. begins with the executive director james glassman. [applause] >> good morning president and mrs. bush, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to a celebration of human freedom. volume jim glassman the founding executive director of the

churchill you bush institute. the bush institute is part of the george w. bush presidential center now in the final stages of construction on the campus of southern methodist university in dallas. it's a great building designed by robert stern tweed platinum specifications to the highest environmental standards. we hope to see you at the dedication less than a year from now. the bush institute itself has been operating for more than two years. we've mounted ten programs and six areas of engagement, economic growth, education reform, global health, the women's initiative, the military service initiative and human freedom. our mission in human freedom is to extend liberty to oppress the nations around the world. advancing freedom is the goal in fact in each of our areas of

engagement. in africa for example we are leading a fight against women's cancer with the other dozen partners including the u.s. the department. no woman can be truly free to make choices that will improve the lives of members of her family as she suffers from preventable and curable cervical cancer. no young person in america is free to pursue his dreams that the education system feels him. so we are out to improve america's school principals and middle schools and the u.s. economy fails to grow robustly americans will lack the freedom and opportunity the desert and desire so we are aiming at a target of 4% economic growth. in the area of human freedom itself, the centerpiece of the work is called the freedom collection living archive that documents the global struggle for democracy and human freedom. the freedom collection features

video interviews and compelling writings and artifacts that tell the stories of dissidents and freedom advocates. i'd like to acknowledge the architect of the freedom collection, joseph rees, lindsey lead who's the director of the freedom collection a and the president of the push foundation. i'd also like to thank april and kristen for organizing this event. on march 28 in dallas the president and mrs. bush launched www.freedomcollectionorg for online portal to the collection. to date we've interviewed approximately 60 leading freedom advocates from around the world including nobel laureates, a senior statesman and women, cyber dissidents, religious leaders and others we will do hundreds of interviews and these

are the non-violent troops of liberty. portions are available on the web site. www.freedomcollection.org features sections on particular countries to help provide background at context for the interviews and also short films on featured themes, prisoners of conscience, women as human rights defenders, messages from dissidents and others. several of the remarkable individuals already featured on the www.freedomcollection.org are here today. please stand as i call your name omar of syria. rodrigo of venezuela. rob fu of china. marcel of venezuela. normando of cuba.

wag of china. ahmed of egypt. mosef of iran, dwan of vietnam chiri of burma. thank you. [applause] our hope is a freedom will remind dissidents that you are part of the large network of freedom loving people with deep historical roots. you are not alone. we also want to inspire americans and others in freedom to support today's dissidence. to help build a network and reach the audience is digitally and social media will play an

essential role. today we are pleased to recognize facebook as a social media partner on the freedom collection. through facebook we are extending the reach of the collection and the bush center efforts to promote liberty by documenting and sharing but global struggle for freedom. having a strong presence on facebook -- [inaudible] conversations and foster, a great debate and understanding. we are pleased the president of u.s. policy for facebook is in the audience with us. speaking of technology, happy to see that the great free - a cat aung san suu kyi will be joining us over teleconference leader in the program. rainy season in burma permitting. i should add the rainy season in washington permitting. now i would like to play one of the short films included in the freedom collection.

>> [background noise]

[background noise] this is due to the rainy season in burma. [laughter] ♪

freedom has great historical momentum but it is not and in personal force it deutsch of defense is to the choices encouraged of individuals. the freedom revolution begins in a few minds and hearts and the men and women at risk everything for the sake of a universal ideal they reject this year, devotee and despair and they've set sacrifices for the future they may not live to see and they are capable on suspected preakness. during the meetings in the oval office of was eager to hear their stories and now the bush institute is collecting the

stories and interviews conducted around the world we've asked men and women who inspired others to describe what inspired them and ignited the fuse of their outrage and resistance why did they accept a difficult calling of a dissident's life? kenneth o. marks paynter decades of activism. >> it was already in my blood. whenever i see something happen in front of me whether it happened to me or someone else i cannot take it so when i was studying chemistry in my final year the university, i came to a group of students who are simply demanding for the true release of a student, a fellow student who was shot and killed by the police this was an injustice and i cannot take so the was the

first time i decided by would do something about it. islamic dissidents are motivated by a passion for truth and refusal to participate in the lives that brought the tyrannical governments. the mark was a writer and activist in syria. >> many people said this is selfish because the consequences can be borne by your family and but i also said the consequences of the silence have been borne by me and all of you also, so not rocking the those of consequences that the consequences of not rocking the boat cannot be pitcher maddock death you see when people take to the streets it may not be the arrests but hope. >> a boxing coach in cuba.

>> [speaking in native tongue] democratic activists speak of self-respect the feeling they could no longer participate in degrading system undermining their dignity and the dignity of their country. the great freedom fighter made this point clearly.

>> [speaking in native tongue] the house of most dissidents leads to a desolate places where hope comes hard. many find comfort in a power

greater than any government. the pastor of china recalls his dark night of the soul as a student activist. >> when the tanks were ordered to crush many of the citizens including students all over students leaders dreams were broken it was during that time i came to question faith and accepted christ as my savior and lord because i lost hope in myself and on the political system and i was despaired and disappointed thinking how can i

make my dream come true, how can i change the society by changing the government. >> we have seen again and again that courage and vision can be more powerful in all the guns and lies of an oppressive government. >> we have seen how the elimination of a single conscience can be the turning point in the history of the nation. it's our privilege and duty to recognize and help courageous advocates of freedom around the world. our message to them is clear when you stand for liberty we will stand with you. [applause]

>> high and the civilian dissidents. in september of 2005i was forced to [inaudible] my wife and our son and daughter to read together with the help of our friends here and in syria we with the middle east partnership initiative had a foundation dedicated to support the democracy activists and syria and across the middle east. we work hard at developing the leadership skills of young men and women were trying to put together activism networks dedicated to raise awareness of the democracy and civil disobedience to hold the government accountable to the people through hard work finally began to pay off when people across syria and inspired by the development in egypt rose up against the corruption and the

oppression of the regime the movement was peacefully and inclusive. the question was held high. there is and kurds come muslims and christians, the sunnis all demanded a transition to the space government. in response, he was just a common fund. toole cover and keep the troops supported heavy artillery to the demonstrators and to assassinate in a little over year 15,000 people had been killed. 80,000 are languishing in jail and more than 250,000 have become refugees. the international community has done little to help the people, but it is still our hope that world leaders would be compelled by their conscience and the national self-interest to act to end the tragedy and bring syria freedom. the stories of dissidents highlighted in the freedom

selection can help motivate international policy makers to do the right thing. the collection also helped people break the barrier and the wall did descend on the rule. the collection shows that from advocates are not alone. others went before and their stories teach where success lies. it's not easy while the price of activism and sometimes the death of the human body the price of silence is always the death of the human spirit and that is a far greater price to pay. in syria and around the world the excretions from president george w. bush during his administration president bush met with more than 180 million activists in defending journalists and family members from 35 countries he initiative programs that inspire her and in four and a train thousands of advocates across the middle east

and north africa. many of them now in the leadership positions and upon leaving office he founded presidential center dedicated to improve the human conditions around the world with an emphasis on the freedom in the nation's like syria. essey says in his speech on 2005 it's the expansion of freedom and of the world. ladies and gentlemen, please strine me in welcoming the of former president of the united states, george w. bush. ..

i want to thank all of you for attending the washington launch of the freedom collection. i actually found my freedom by leaving washington. [laughter] but it is good on occasion to be back in to see old friends. i want to thank those who work for the bush foundation in dallas, mark lindell is the president. i think jimmy glassman from the founding director, and all of those who work for the bush institute. thank you for your leadership of the orange revolution. members of congress who have joined us, we appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule.

the diplomatic corps, thank you for being here. and members of the mighty bush administration, thank you for showing up. these are extraordinary times in the history of freedom. in the arab spring, we have seen the broadest challenge to authoritarian rule since this collapse of soviet communism. change has occurred and where most people thought was impossible. oppression has been discredited forever. you we have also seen instability, uncertainty, and the revenge of brutal wars. there are power struggles of a new order is not that to engine equipped to handle. freedom is a powerful force, but it does not advance on wheels of historical unction historical inevitability. it is history that proves this

point. the american revolution of 1776 produced george washington, who invited the democratic habits of a new nation. the french revolution of 1789 eventually produced napoleon, who set out to conquer europe. the outcome on the function of a freedom revolution is determined by human choices and the creation of durable democratic traditions. some look at the risks inherent in democratic change, particularly in the middle east and north africa and find a dangers to great. america should be content with supporting the leaders they know in the name of stability. but in the long run, this foreign-policy approach is not realistic. it is not realistic, and the so-called stability enhances our stability. and is it within the power of

america to preserve the old order, which is inherently unstable. the present government's distrust the choice and power, choking off the best source of national prosperity and success. the wording of power leads to cronyism, corruption, inefficiency, and resentment. this is the crisis of tyranny. it fights the very attributes that make the nation's great, creativity, initiative and responsibility. dictators can maintain power for a time by force, and by feeding resentment towards enemies, internal or external, real or imagined. but eventually in scarcity and mediocrity, their failure becomes evident. in every nation, a few eyes open for it. it is dissonance that we see the shabby reality of oppression and refuse to live in it any longer

with lies and he really nation. they show defiance encouraged and stubbornness. but above all, they have a genius for hope. politics is not the art of the possible. it is the art of imagining be impossible. and then making it happen. from harvard to mandela, dissidents has practiced the art of the impossible. america does not get to choose if the freedom revolution should begin or end in the middle east or elsewhere. it only gets to choose what side of the sun. the tactics of promoting freedom will vary case-by-case, but america's message should ring clear and strong. we stand for freedom. and for the institutions and habits that make freedom work for everyone. the day when a dictator calls or yields to democratic movement, is a glorious day.

the years of transition that follow can be difficult. people forget that this was true in central europe where democratic institutions and attitudes did not spring up overnight. from time to time, there has been corruption, backsliding and communist rule. there have been threats to independent media and civil society. a central economic reform has sometimes proved painful and unpopular. it takes courage to ignite a freedom revolution. it also takes courage to secure a freedom revolution for future generations through structural reform. both types of bravery deserve our strong support. this is now a challenge and parts of north africa and the middle east. these nations must deal with questions of tremendous complexity. what effect will the geordie will have on the rights of women

and religious minorities? problems once kept submerged must now be resolved by politics and consensus. political institutions and traditions are often weak, and some remain unreconciled to freedom. we know the problems. but we have also seen a source of hope. the people of north africa and the middle east now realize that their leaders are not invincible. they can't be held accountable. citizens of the region have developed habits of dissent and expectations about economic performance. future rulers who ignore those expectations, which i turning into oppression and blame shifting, they find and

accountability of their own. oppression depends on uninformed and inactive citizens. and in much of the greater middle east, the era of the passive citizen is over. as americans, our goal should be to help turn the end of tyranny into durable civic structures. strong constitutions, political parties committed to pluralism. free elections. the rule of law and property rights. local economies drawn into open world markets. healthy civic institutions, protections for the rights of minorities and women. this work will require patience and creativity and acted american leadership. it will involve the strengthening of civil society with a particular emphasis on the role of women. it will require a consistent offense of religious liberty. it will mean the encouragement

of development and education and health, of trade and foreign investment, of people to people contacts. there are no guarantees and there will certainly be setbacks, but if america does not support the defense of democratic institutions and values, who will? in promoting freedom, our methods must be flexible. change comes at different paces in different places. liberty often arrives not in leaps but in steps. that flexibility does not mean ambiguity. the same principles must apply to all countries. as a country embraces freedom, it finds economic and social progress. but only when a government treats its people with dignity is the nation for filling its greatness. when a government violates the right to the citizens, it dishonors an entire nation.

one way to encourage freedom is to highlight and honor those who make it the defining cause of their lives. ron and i had the privilege of meeting many dissidents in the white house. they really inspired us. and we did our best to assure them that they were not alone. but the hopes and prayers of a great nation were with them. it is also one of the primary goals of the bush institute. we are gathering the stories and artifacts of democratic reformers, not just to celebrate the past, but to educate the next generation. we want a young activists in venezuela to hear bob fu talk about his experiences in despair. the dream collection is a continually updated project, designed to share the inspiration and lessons of great reformers and dissidents.

our goal is to provide both moral support and practical knowledge. thomas jefferson wrote about the contagion of liberty with the freedom collection, we aim to spread it. there is nothing easy about the pursuit of freedom. in america, we know something about this. we face challenges for our independence, protecting minorities, building a national army, defining a relationship between the central government and reasonable authorities. and at times, they have nearly torn as a part. it took many decades of struggle to live up to our founding promise, but we never ceased believing in the power of those ideals, and we should not today. for all the difficulties, the advance of freedom remains the most powerful, hopeful trend of our time. in 1900, not one country in the world that the modern standards of democracy, including our own.

in 1950, there were 22. today, according to freedom house, there are now more than 110 electoral democracies. no advance of freedom is inevitable, in any aspect. and any game can be lost. there is a reason for the momentum across the countries. human beings were not designed for servitude. they were created for better things. and the human soul is forever restless until it rests in freedom. thank you. [applause] [applause] thank you, president bush.

good morning to you all. my name is bob fu. most people here know me as bob. i am the founder of china aid association based in midland, texas. in 1989, i was part of the democracy moment in tiananmen square. though the movement was crushed, the hearts for freedom have continued. later i became a house church pastor and would eventually build a church and a secret bible school. in 1996, my wife and i escaped to hong kong, and in 1997, we were admitted to the united states of america as refugees,

just days before hong kong was handed over to china. banned unofficial churches in china have 60 to 80 meetings on trend followers, who are at great risk, and are trying to exercise their chinese constitutional guaranteed religious freedom. those in prison for their release are typically denied access to religious materials, including the bible. one group of prisoners transcribed each book of the bible by hand into notebooks and circulated them within the prison. i am presenting one of those notebooks to the president and mrs. bush for the inclusion in the freedom collection. at china aid association, we

promote religious freedom and the rule of law in china. we believe that religious freedom is the first freedom which is the foundation for all other human rights. my organization monitors and exposes the abuses of religious freedom. we also assist the abuse spiritually and legally in the defense of liberty. we work with leaders and individuals like the blind self-taught lawyer, chen guangcheng, and we hope to see them -- him and his family in the united states very soon. there must be something in the dusty air of midland, texas, that inspires individuals to stand up for what is right.

the community they are graciously welcomed my family and me and has taken up our cause. it is perhaps no surprise that laura bush, a native of midland, texas, shared that community's commitment of human dignity and freedom. mrs. bush frequently said that freedom is universal. that god is the source of our freedom. and let every man, woman, and child, regardless of country or creed, is endowed with fundamental human rights. whether speaking out against the oppression of women in afghanistan and campaigning for

the efforts to bring democracy to burma, mrs. bush demonstrates her convictions and beliefs with actions. it is my pleasure and honor to introduce my fellow friend, mrs. laura bush. [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] >> thank you so much. thank you so much, pastor bob fu. thank you all. he did present to the freedom collection the book of revelations written in chinese characters by hand. and written by prisoners in china -- christian prisoners who are in prison because they wanted to practice her sanity.

it was passed around in prison so that people would have a chance to read the books of the bible. thank you very much. thank you for your information to all of us. and thank you for being a part of our freedom collection and thank you for your friendship. and thank you to everybody who has joined us today. george and i have met with dozens of dissidents, as he told you before and you saw in the video, from around the world. brave men and women from places like afghanistan, iran, north korea, burma and cuba, who risk everything so that their children might live in freedom. they inspire us, and we want people around the world to hear their story through the freedom collection. many of the voices included in the freedom collection are historical accounts of freedom's triumph over tyranny. others remind us that the quest for liberty goes on. more than half of the world's population lives in countries where basic human rights are

restricted or denied. in many of these nations, men and women stand side-by-side, demanding their rights and represented government. these freedom advocates sacrifice security and may enter violence and intimidation so that those in neglected corners of their society, might know the promise of liberty. george and i are especially grateful to the dissidents and human rights activists who have joined us today. youth organized networks and lawyers and journalists, bloggers and students, homemakers and human rights activists, together, you fought to end political corruption and ensure government transparency. you have lobbied governments and international organizations to speak out against oppression and brutality. you have leveraged traditional media and social media, giving

your people a megaphone, so that all this may hear your call for justice and freedom. because of your efforts, some of you have endured interrogation, harassment, imprisonment, were exiled. we want you to know that we stand with you. though today some of you may choose am an entity to avoid greater oppression by unjust leaders, we see you for who you are. the future leaders of your free country. more than two decades ago, chen guangfu let her people to victory in 1990s burma election. yet, she spent most of the next 20 years under house arrest, as the ruling military regime thought to suffocate her influence on the people of burma.

during aung san suu kyi. >> they told of the rights and abuses that have been waged in burma. in november, 2010, aung san suu kyi was granted her freedom. like many around the world, president bush and i celebrated her release. and we followed recent events in burma, her political party one all but one of the races in the election held this spring. just two weeks ago, the nobel peace prize winner was sworn in. as she took her moment with the governing body, her moment was

bittersweet, an overdue honor and a clear victory for the men and women of burma. her example shows people everywhere that political isolation and prison cannot silence the call for liberty. although concerns about burma's transition to democracy remain, we know from our own history that democracy is not perfected overnight. today we are grateful to have aung san suu kyi join us via skype to give us your perspective on the transition underway in burma. aung san suu kyi, i am so very glad to see you today, and i look forward to seeing you in person one day. welcome today to this conference on freedom. [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause]

thank you so much for your donation to the freedom collection. we are happy to have these mementos from you to commemorate your work in burma. and you might be happy to know that just in a few minutes, we will be receiving other writings and papers from a man who loves you very much, and who didn't get to live to see you become a member of parliament in burma. i look forward to hearing from you now end up learning more about your experience later with a conversation. today i want to present to everyone the member of parliament in burma, aung san suu kyi. [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause]

would you like to make a few remarks? >> is great to be able to contact you. i am not sure whether you can hear me. it is a great pleasure. [inaudible] >> madame aung san suu kyi, i hope the same. and let me begin with some good news. i know do note you have your passport back for the first time in 24 years, and you are headed to oslo norway to accept your nobel peace prize and also the uk. the whole world is going to be listening to what you have to say, so what is your message to the world going to be? >> well, first of all,

[inaudible] i'm not sure i like it. >> okay. [laughter] >> [inaudible] i hope the changes will be of the positive kind. i hope that helps me to see the world and the old country again in a new light. >> let me ask a few questions about current events in burma. one of the encouraging things that happened last year, was the government's promise to release all prisoners of conscience. several hundred have been released. but i understand that more remain in prison, sometimes unfairly charged with nonpolitical crimes or how will this situation be resolved, and

what can the world do to encourage a resolution? >> when the prisoners were released in january, the mission to pardon was sponsored by the national league of democracy. when it happened, there were 271 prisoners on the list but have not yet been released. we have been in touch with the whole ministry about this, and we would like to discuss it with them. we would like to know why there are still 271 who have not been released. it can -- there can be no political prisoners in burma if we are working for freedom.

>> under the challenges for burma, peace and reconciliation will be made in the ethnic regions in conflict. cease-fires are only a first step. what should the peace process look like, how can the promise of freedom be realized for all of burma's ethnic groups? >> we have to recognize the aspiration of ethnic nationalities. and i think they have to be definitely committed to a political settlement. a cease-fire is not enough. a cease fire is just the beginning. there is no substitute for political settlement. it is not a matter to bring economic development to the ethnic nationality region. they have to be in a political assessment. all political nationalities are agreed on this. it is a difficult sentiment.

[inaudible] >> here is a question that i can't resist from a newspaper columnist. reports are swirling that the government will make significant changes in some leadership positions and some of those rumors mentioned you. would you consider a government position? >> we hear all kinds of rumors. but many are not true. [inaudible] some of those leaders may be replaced. until then, we remain hopeful. >> here is a question that comes from facebook, which is a partner with the freedom collection. it is from a reader.

how do you look at the syrian uprising calling for freedom. how can the world hope to bring freedom to the syrian people and put an end to their ongoing suffering? >> if there was it an easy answer, i think that syria would be at peace right now. i do believe that we should all help people who are suffering for freedom from anywhere in the world, whether it is in syria or burma or anywhere else. [inaudible] i think it is violence that makes violence. those who practice rounds are led by violence. that is ultimately [inaudible] , and i feel fortunate that we have to maintain our nonviolent

stance. in spite of many military impressions of the military regime. i would like to say to the people of syria, we are with you in your quest for freedom and your path for freedom. [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] >> let me ask you a few questions in regards to democratic change. many successful in candidates and the recent election were women. what role did the empowerment of women play in burma's democratic progress, and how can women's political participation be enhanced? >> i don't think it is just in burma, but everywhere in the world, the very fact that we are

sensible makes democracy much better when there are more of us involved in it. i am a big believer in the power of women. [inaudible] i hope i'm not offending you. women tend to be less selfish than men. it is a big bar to progress anywhere in the world. i do think that our own brand of unselfishness has helped to raise the barriers that the world faces is an unhappy place. >> over the years, the united states and other democratic countries have it imposed think sanctions on the burmese government to press for change. now that there seems to be some progress, at what pace should

those sanctions be lifted? how does the u.s. provide rewards for progress without losing leverage for further change? >> senator mccain is thinking of a suspension of the sanctions rather than lifting the sanctions. this is a possible subject. [inaudible] we will try to help, but it does is not changed, then we will have to think of other ways of making sure that the aspirations of the people of burma for democracy is respected. i am not against the suspension of sanctions, as long as the people believe this is the right

thing to do at the moment. i do advocate with caution though, i sometimes feel that things that people are too optimistic about things in burma. [inaudible] we can never look at it as a reversible. the ministry committed itself to democracy totally. [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] >> some in the united states are critical of the whole idea of sanctions as a tool to promote democracy. they argue that a policy of economic engagement and development assistance might have left the burmese regime less isolated and the democratic progress might have come sooner. what is your view of this criticism of sanctions that sometimes emerges in america?

>> you must remember that when the first motions were favored by the national assembly we elected in 2010, is sanctions have not been effective, politically, at least, and not -- it's not economically, they were for the motion early on. i believe sanctions have been effective in persuading the government to change. >> i have a follow up with one question there. have there been times when you wish that the united states and other democratic countries had been more forceful or effective th the policies -- in their policies towards burma. is there anything we could've done differently that might have

brought the burmese government to the negotiating table more quickly. >> actually, i am very satisfied. the united states has been a very good friend, and i believe that congress has done everything he probably could to help recall the democracy in burma. we have to do some of the work ourselves. we should not depend on the international community for democracy. i am very appreciative for all of the united states and what they have done, and i only hope they will go on doing whatever needs to be done. >> here is one more facebook question. this is a general question, what is your vision for the country, and it raises the question is a newly elected legislature were, what are your priorities?

it gives you a chance to make a political speech. >> i am not keen on making political speeches. the reason why we decided to conduct elections was to make sure that the voice of the people would be heard from within the legislature, and that we would be able to bring about changes -- the necessary change of laws that could protect our freedom and remove the constraints of preventing us from enjoying our human rights to the fullest. this is a quick, we think that the latest generation could be sanctioned to be the democratic nation. >> and what would be the immediate measures, the legal measures that are necessary to make that happen? are there constitutional changes? what are the measures that are necessary? >> well, one of the most

necessary measures and amendments to the constitution, but i don't think it is one of the first things we will be able to do. i am sure you know, it would require more than 75% of the national assembly to vote for an amendment to the constitution. since 35 of the national assembly are unelected members of the military, it means that we would have the support of the military to change the constitution, to make amendments to the constitution. so this is not one of the first things we can do, but this is the most important thing that we will try to do. >> before we end, let me ask you to step back and reflect a little bit. there were times over the last 20 years when many observers believe that your efforts would not succeed. that burma would be ruled by an autocratic regime for the for suitable future. did you ever see it that way, and how were you able to persevere in the darkest times?

>> i think people who work very hard never lose hope. i often find that those who hope -- the more you believe, then you have reason for hope. because my party and colleagues worked so very hard, never lost hope. i was always confident that we would prevail in the end. >> and so what is your message to the human rights defenders and advocates in countries around the world and those that are here in the audience today. what is your advice to them? >> very simple. you will get there in the end. go on and don't lose hope, because there are many people who are with you in mind and spirit. >> thank you so much, for joining us today, for your

example of courage. >> thank you. [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] good morning. i am amanda schnetzer. the payment collection includes important documents, most of them very important for fighting for freedom in his or her countries. in march, we probably accepted for safekeeping in the freedom collection, the pet presidential medal of freedom president bush was awarded in 2007 to keep his

freedom. doctor bisset has not agreed to enter cuba. today we honor a man that will help inspire freedom for generations to come. i invite to the podium normando hernandez stomach a journalist and a former prisoner of conscience and the member of cuba's group of 75. [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] [speaking in native tongue] >> president and mrs. bush, thank you for your commitment to prisoners of cuba.

[speaking in native tongue] >> translator: i was imprisoned at the cuban government inside of cuba. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: today i can testify from personal experience to the importance of not being forgotten. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: dictators seek to silence their critics. they want us to be forgotten. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: for that reason, i want to speak to date about the president. the president suffered from daring to speak the truth to his oppressors. he believed that words could change the world.

[speaking in native tongue] >> translator: is a journalist and writer, i, too, believe that words can change the world during the black spring of 2003, was one of 75 people in prison by the cuban state. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: my crime was to write about the true conditions in my country. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: one of the pieces of evidence used against me was that i had a copy of the 1977 book the power of the powers. [speaking in native tongue]

>> translator: the president wrote that a single writer in the country, if they can change from within their are some links of that chain that bind us all. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: his colleagues brought down a dictatorship by the power of words and ideas. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: his commitment to human rights became one of the hallmarks of his presidency. as he showed in the interview he did for the bush institute's freedom collection, he understood the importance of solidarity, the importance of not being forgotten. [speaking in native tongue]

>> translator: he held a special place in his heart for my homeland. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: in 2003, he wrote to [inaudible name]. the main branch interest in my interesting kumar, is that all the remaining totalitarian regimes, the one in cuba is closest to my own experience [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: is a writer and a person of conscience, and a cuban and a freeman, i honor the

leadership and legacy of this man. may his words continue to inspire us. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: thank you very much. >> i am now pleased to introduce the director of the library to make the presentation. [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] >> mr. president, mrs. bush, excellencies, it is my distinct pleasure to be here today. it was you, mr. president, that suggested that he establish an institution inspired by the example of american presidential candidates, and here we are. let me offer on this special

occasion, [inaudible name], for your freedom collection. first, you have the original carbon copies, from czechoslovakia in 1977. one declaration, which is the official that is condemned [inaudible] without allowing the czech population to rebut this context contains. this was written by doctor [inaudible name] in may of 1997, in which he tries to correct the

official, heavily distorted of the circumstances under which he was released from custody, where he had been held as one of the first czechoslovakian spokespersons. the documents clearly demonstrate the importance of the free information for all, and also, how the totalitarian government tried to suppress it. [inaudible] of the 1970s make us a distant place of the past in our current situation. at the same time, however, there is one thing that remains unchanged. it is the elementary idea of the free and open minded open-minded and determined people, creative and further expanded thanks to unconstrained and unconstrained communications. it is here that the journey from slavery to freedom always begins. the next item is an addition of letters to olga from 1983 from

the time he himself was still in jail, settling for your sentence for the subversion of the republic. this text today still has the most important integration of czech philosophy. it is in my view, clear proof that joseph is not just an academic recipient, but a life not only with the capacity to think what highly abstract concepts, but a person of personal courage and the indestructible power of the human spirit. third, we are pleased to offer the original letter written in december 2004,. it is not just an act of solidarity by eight european

dissident with his cuban friends. it is also his strong appeal to the international community. peace cannot be reached despite appeasing dictators. but by bold and creative voices, which should remain realistic, but at the same time, standing firm behind human rights defenders. to help them to emerge out from their isolation and to recognize their struggles by giving them clear and loud recognition. last, i presented a collection of texts and speeches of [inaudible name], concerning nato. which he himself put together in preparation for it the summit in the fall of 2002. it was, if i may say so, with the world of great politics. it is also graced by his signature in the first speech of

the small medium. the west still has a key role to play in the world today in the post european age in the beginning of the 21st century. we who are here, whether big or small, should stand united in our times, and under most circumstances, forget about were resigned to our fundamental principles and values. it is indeed a great honor for me to present these gifts on behalf of the library. if these writers were here with me today, the testimony of their lives, devoted to the cost of freedom. please accept them for using her collection. my present to you today here is not only a sign of the excellent state of czech u.s. relationships, but of the message i will bring home from

here that we are now friends and allies, with the united states standing beside us and ready to cooperate with us in our task to preserve the legacy for the future generations. thank you. [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause]

>> thank you for coming. see you later. [laughter] [laughter] [applause] [applause] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> next on c-span 2, a house hearing looks into the case of chinese political activist chen guangcheng. the senate committee holds a hearing on older workers come in the british parliament investigates the relationship between government and the media. former prime minister tony blairlawyer testifies.

>> right now you are a powerful majority leader. don't take the vice presidency. johnson says, power is the power goes, meaning i can make power in any situation. his whole life i said, nothing in his life previously makes that seem like he is -- because that is exactly what he has done all his life. >> on sunday night, robert carroll on the passage of power. his multi- volume biography of lyndon johnson. sunday night on "q&a." >> today is a house subcommittee held a hearing on human rights abuses in china in the case of chen guangcheng, a chinese human rights activist seeking entrance into the united states. he is currently in a beijing

hospital awaiting documents allowing him to leave the country. mr. chen speaks of his hearing by speakerphone. this is two hours. >> meeting will come to order. i want to thank all of you for joining us for this hearing to examine the status of chinese human rights defender, chen guangcheng, and that of his family and others who have been targeted by chinese officials in connection with this case. this hearing will also focus on chen's costs. chen guangcheng is among the greatest defenders of women's rights in the world. chen descended thousands of women from the egregious systematic exploitation and abuse of women in human history. pervasive forced abortions and

involuntary sterilization as part of china's one child per couple policy. and has suffered as a result of his defense, cruel torture, degrading treatment, unjust incarceration, and multiple beatings. the sheer magnitude of this exploitation of women has been largely overlooked and trivialized by many, and even enabled. the united nations population fund has for over 30 years supported, defended and whitewashed the crimes against women and children that chen struggle to expose. that is why presidents reagan and president bush defunded the u.n. population fund and then indefensible reversal, the obama administration has presided $165 million to the organization. mr. chen, as we know, was

blinded by a severe fever as an infant. and is a self-taught lawyer. he garnered international attention in 2005 when he organized a class action lawsuit against local officials who are forcing women to undergo abortions and sterilization to comply with china's one child per couple policy. there were as many as 100 30,000 involuntary abortions and sterilization was performed in one county in a single year. in response to his heroic effort to defend women and men from forced sterilization and women from forced abortions, mr. chen was forced to spend 51 months in prison on trumped up charges, and subjected to house arrest. with beatings that continued. in response to his incredible escape, on april 22, and events that follow, i chaired an emergency hearing about mr. chen with the congressional executive

commission on china in the same room on may 3. during that hearing, which took place just days after mr. chen let the u.s. embassy in beijing, mr. chen spoke to us from his hospital bed in beijing over mr. bob fu's cell phone. mr. chen indicated that he wanted to come to the united states for some time of rest, as he put it. noting that he had not had pressed for the past 10 years. he asked for a face-to-face meeting with secretary of state hillary clinton, who was in beijing at the time. regrettably, that did not happen. he also expressed fear for the life of his family members and said that he was most concerned about their safety, especially that of his mother and his brother. he was extremely concerned about their welfare, as well as their whereabouts. in that context, mr. chen noted that security officers had installed seven video cameras

and even an electric fence around his house in guangzhou province, saying that they wanted to see what else chen guangcheng would do. as soon as the authorities learned of his escape, they refused to allow his daughter to attend school. for these reasons and he was justifiably worried about the villagers and others who were helping him and what they were being subjected to, including severe, life-threatening retribution. reports that we have received since our corroborating mr. chen's fears. following his escape from house arrest, chinese officials starting breaking into the homes of his family in the same village and running of those who had assisted him for interrogations. when local officials broke into the home of mr. chen's brother, and mr. chen's nephew, chen

kegui tried to defend himself with a kitchen knife. he is now in a detention center. i'm extremely concerned for his welfare, as well as other family members. the day after the emergency hearing on may 4, the chinese ministry of foreign affairs posted on their website the statement that, and i quote, a chinese citizen, mr. chen may apply like other chinese citizens, according to the laws and mama procedures of the relevant departments. the u.s. department of state also issued a press release announcement, the chinese government stated today that mr. chen guangcheng has the same right to travel abroad as any other citizen of china. mr. chen has been offered a fellowship at a university where he will be accompanied by his wife and children. the chinese government has indicated that they will extend his application for appropriate

travel documents. the united states government expects that the tennis government will expeditiously process is application for the documents. now, 11 days later, ee sste hosl room with his wife and two arrest. although mr. chen is under the impression that his applications for a passport was made last sunday, when he was visited by a chinese official, and under chinese law, blind persons are supposed to be able to apply whirly for travel documents, he has not been notified of any further action on the application. ..

>> here in the united states in october of 2009 and testified twice before the human rights commission. an amazingly heroic man. i chairedded the other hearing. one of the recommendations was that president obama should speak with the president about bringing a number of political prisoners, including chen guangcheng, who was imprisoned at the time. now he's included on the list on whose behalf the united states advocates for. chinese nationals are not the

only ones prohibited. the club reported in early may that officials threatened to revoke the visas of foreign journalists who went through the hospital without permission. we know here that many journalists demonstrated with amazing courage and laudable perseverance in publicizing mr. chen's plight. largely due to their promotion of mr. chen's case that reached this stage of a possible travel to the united states. known not to forget mr. chen and his family and extended family and others who are risking their security and their lives on his behalf. this story, unfortunately, is far from over. before i turn to the panelists of distinguished witnesses to discuss the current events, i would make comments by my fellow colleagues, some en route here today, as part of the record.

without objection. i would ask the witnesses to come to the witness table, and i would introduce them to the sub committee. pastor bob foo later became a house church pastor and founder along with his wife. in 1996, authorities arrested and imprisoned them for their work. after their release, they escaped to the united states in 2002 and founded china aid association. they monitor and freedom reports in china, a forum to discuss among experts on religion, law, and human rights in china. he's interviewed by media outlets around the world and testified at u.s. congressional hearings, including the one on chen guangcheng, the china mission, and there was, again, his cell phone and translation and contacts made that very important connection to chen

guangcheng on may 3rd. we'll hear from one who served two jail sentences for more than 18 years for pro-democracy work. he was forced into exile in 1999 but continued to fight for freedom in china. in 1998, he was the head of the chinese democracy coalition, an organization for many groups. he's president of the foundation and the au democracy alliance. he's written numerous articles and regularly speaks about human rights and democracy in china including broadcasts radio free asia. i first met him when he was released briefly in 1994 in january of 1994. he was such a highly prized human rights advocate that china thought if they released one, they would procure olympics

2000. when that didn't happen, he was rearrested, brutally beaten and tortured until his release when he was close to death. 24 is a truly remarkable man. when i met him in china, he said when americans and westerners coddle and treat in a kowtowish way the chinese government, they beat us more in the chinese -- you are tough and transparent, mean what you say and say what you mean, they beat us less. i'll never forget that in a hotel when we had dinner together. a great man, and that was before his re-arrest. we'll hear from john, founder of a coalition against sexual

slavery in china and remitted attorneys, refugees in numerous cases and testified before the european and british parliament, white house, and congress. serves as the expert on china's one child policy for the chinese association and human ri which s the present ceo, and has several ground breaking reports from inside of china about the suffering of the one child per couple policy. we'll hear from ms. ling, the founder of all girls allowed, an organization committed to restorying dignity to girls and mothers and reveals the gross injustice of china's one child policy. she also established the foundation serving as one of its board members. foundation that supports the most inspirational humanitarian efforts through grant

opportunities. a key student herself in the 1989 movement, for the most wanted by the government, and amazingly, a very heroic character. she was named "glamour" woman of the year and nominated twice for the peace price and saved a number of little girls who would have been subjected to sexual selected abortions in china, but are now living today because of her intervention and organization. we'll hear from -- [inaudible] born in 1958. because of the cultural revolution, he was not allowed to finish school. her and her husband were married soon after the one child policy was implemented. she was forced by the family planning commission to undergo five, five forced abortions. she came to the u.s. in 1999 and

lives with her husband in new england. she has one son and lives in the united states. her dream is to return to school and to finish her education. i now yield. >> thank you, mr. chairman, for putting together this really important hearing and for your continued work in championing human rights everywhere. i join you in concern for the outstanding issues in the case of chen guangcheng as well as ongoing human rights issues in china. the case of mr. chen not only highlights these abuses, but the need to evaluate the current status of u.s.-china relations. while still unfolding, mr. chen's case appears to mark a water shed moment for u.s.-china relations. besides the many serious remaining concerns, i believe it's important to stress the

significance of the u.s. reaching two deals on this sensitive crisis with the chinese as well as engaging in the annual strategic and economic dialogue as planned. these talks underscored the vast array of national and economic security issues in which the u.s. and china must continue, must continue to work towards greater understanding. with regard to north korea, iran, south china sea, intellectual property rights protections, and currency manipulation just to name a few. i believe for efforts to improve cooperation officially and enhance public diplomacy allows us to better address areas of mutual interest and those of disagreement including the myriad of security challenges and the cases of life abuses like the one mr. chen endured and those revealed in the course of his brave work. beyond bilateral engagement to address the issues, the u.s. must continue to pursue

engagement through multilateral forums including the u.n. to affect positive change in china. the u.n. population fund in china was among the first organization to raise mr. chen's rights and abusive practices with the chinese government officials. i look forward to hearing more about the status of mr. chen and ways the u.s. and international community can ensure the safety of his family and his supporters. china facing a generational leadership change later this year, coupled with major society, economic, and humanitarian issues as a result of its one child policy, i also hope we consider the deal of mr. chen reflects on the internal political situation in china and appropriate u.s. actions. in closing, i once again want to thank the chairman for calling this important hearing and the witnesses for being here today to share their stories.

thank you. >> thank you. would you proceed? >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for your leadership. thank you for the honorable congressman for your continued support on behalf of the chinese family. while we're still waiting for a real progress report about chen and his close family members, any plan or about the issuing of a passport from the chinese government, today, i want to focus on the plight of his extended family members and his supporters, and i especially i'm deeply concerned about chen's nephew, and i want to really give you a report after talking

with at least two of his lawyers and another legal representative in the past few days. here's a chronology for what had happened to him. of course, he's been under criminal detention since april 30th, and on may the 9th he was formally arrested for intentional homicide. this is what they called the homicide happened. after his escape last month, the local official who has been directing the persecution of chen, led a group of people in a raid on the home of chen's brother that began at about 11:30 p.m. on april 26th, and continued until dawn. without showing any ids, they broke down the door and dumped over the walls of his home and

then seriously beat him and then his wife. their son, thought bandits had come to rob them, so he was, himself, after he walk out of his bedroom, he was violencely attacked for at least -- violently attacked for at least three hours, and according to the eyewitnesses and his own report, he was bleeding on his face, on his head, and out of that circumstances, he was purely out of self-defense, and witnessing how his parents were brutally beaten up, so he injured several of the attackers with a kitchen knife.

then early morning on april 27th, he, himself, in a conversation reported by a reporter and for 50 minutes he was talking how he was violencely -- violently attacked. he said he was weeping. he called the chinese police on the telephone, equivalent to 9-1-1, wanting to surrender himself, but after waiting for a few hours, he was afraid of his life, so he walks away to another neighboring -- actually at the nearby province, a county's name, and there he was claimed to surrender to the neighbor province, and at least from my conversation with one of his lawyers, the attorney from

the capitol city of the province, april 29th that in a conversation he had with the attorney he said, you know, i'm waiting, and i was waiting to go to that detention center to surrender himself. then april 30th, obviously, he was under criminal detention, and later on, he was charged with intentional homicide. almost all of the lawyers who were waiting to handle his case have last their freedom of movement or lawyer's license being held by the authorities, and some of them had been simply kidnapped, and i talked with dr. tom bill, a professor of law

at the chinese university of political science last night, and he said he just tried to go to beijing where that is his home on april 12th and only found himself kicked out on the april 13th. that's the latest, and attorney is losing his freedom movement, so he's not allowedded to travel to either beijing at all. another attorney, an attorney chen wu chen only after the same day when he announced the attorney, his license was denounced, being held by the chinese government. he's not allowed to represent

mr. chen's case. based on the experience of mr. chen guangcheng's trial or pretrial in 2005, we cannot have any confidence that mr. chen guangcheng will receive any fair trial, and let me just talk about a few other cases of those supporters of mr. chen who experienced the tremendous per cushion in the past week or so -- persecution in the past week or so for simply being associated with mr. chen or raising awareness. one of the couple -- his name -- from beijing, and just because he tried to visit mr. chen, and he and his wife, who is pregnant with a two months pregnancy, was

being harassed and forced to be with the security officers since may the 10th, and then because that harassment and the threat, on may 13th, mr. lou's wife had a miscarriage. their two month old baby is gone. of course, the other individuals testified before you, mr. chairman, was beaten and was also removed from beijing as well. there's another individual whose name -- a member of beijing, ngo

who has been raising awareness for mr. chen, but he, on may the 6th, this month, he has been ender criminal detention. right now, he's being held at the district detention center right now. another activist who has been a constant visitor or trying to visit mr. chen in the past couple years, and her passport recently was even declared invalid, so she has no way to travel to overseas. other lawyers, most of them who are not able to have any freedom of movement. i'm very, very concerned that the chinese, at least the government, especially the

authorities will make -- based on these charge, and make a fake trial and expeditiously and could hand him a severe sentence, and if convicted, he could be sentenced to death. where is the way out? despite the fact that the united states and china have reached an apparent agreement, they are committed to chen guangcheng's freedom and the security and chen guangcheng remains under house arrest in the hospital, and i talked with him pretty much twice a day until last night and this morning, we lost contact. all visitors are barred including the representatives that are not allowed to visit

him, and some of the chias these supporters and friends who swrus tried to visit him were barred or beat p. all of this shows the implementation of the agreement and the realization of the commitments are far more important and the agreement and the commitments themselves. i hope that congress will go more in urging the administration to ensure the civil rights of chen guangcheng and his family members are protected, and chen was allowed to enter the u.s. embassy and a member of the obama administration including the assistant secretary and the state department legal adviser

and gary locke all made great active efforts, and, of course, sack fiesed a lot -- sacrificed a lot of sleep during the negotiation time, and although some aspects of the events that followed, especially were not handled properly by the administration. we are, nonetheless, pleased to see that high level of american and chinese officials promised to help chen and his family come to the united states so they can rest and have other studies in the u.s. institution. this shows that our country recognize that it is responsible, you know, for the outcome of the fate of chen. we hope that the members of congress can provide all the tools and that the administration needs to back on

their commitment and follow through and we are certainly looking forward to that day when chen and his wife and two children will touch the soil in the united states of america very soon, hopefully. >> thank you so very much for your testimony and insights. i now yield to chang, a political prisoner for 18 years, the father of the democracy world movement. >> [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: in january 1994, i met with your

representative chris smith in beijing for three hours, and he was the concerned of the situation of the american policies about the chinese human rights so he advised the secretary of state to meet with me in beijing in that spring. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: since there is always a very important negotiation going out, and that the negotiation has not only impacted the human rights of beijing, china, but also the facts of the u.s.-china relationship. [speaking in native tongue]

>> translator: disappointed there was not too many people who has full knowledge of this history, and i think it's very important to reflect fulling thes of any negotiation and because it will make a good assessment for what's going on as the president now, and so therefore, i give you a fraction of the history there, and because it's a kind of a long, so i will have my assistant read out of my statement to you. thank you. in september 1993, i was released a half year ahead of schedule with conditions restricting my personal freedom. such a release is called a controlled release by law. the supervision would not end until march 29, 1994, the end of

my 15-year sentence. after being released from prison, i had the following work. help collect donations for individuals and organizations subject to political prosecution. two, purchase bank stock shares as preparation for facility money transfers. three, claim to be independent of workers union for workers. four, plan to set up a nongovernmental organization to be released for exportation of the government. five, assisted in asking 1 billion chinese for stock in state owned enterprises and improving with the facts after making huge apartments that government has been mutilating the stock market to exploiting mass investors.

i met with representative chris smith in january 1994, and we had the talk for three hours in beijing. i give him advice, and we exchange ideas regarding how to push for human rights and democracy in china. on february 27th, 1994, the following the meeting with chris smith, i met with the u.s. assistant secretary of state privately in a restaurant. he asked me if i was willing to meet warren christopher, the u.s. secretary of state, to discuss human rights issues in china where christopher was to visit china in the following month. to impact the debates in the u.s. congress and decoupling rights on trade issues and potential risks of the meeting. i thought i had opinions to have

some effect, and i would be willing to take such a risks. such a nation that my opinions have been passed down to president clinton by senator kerry and already had effects and set up of a radio free asia. he hoped my views with the help of the secretary of state christopher. we discussed and agreed on some details of the meeting with christopher during his visit. in the morning about two or three days later, a police who was in charge, come to my home and said would you like to talk to me. later, they brought me to a resort hotel saying that i should rest here and wait for their supreme. i asked who would i meet and what to discuss, but there were

no answers. on the next day, the official come who claim to be a senior official remitting the highest authority in the chinese government. observing the way he casually dismissed a police officer to have a private talk with me, i could tell. based on the fact that he had leave half our after the talk and come back with responses, i would assume there were officials are higher rankings nearby who monitor our conversation and made the decisions. at the very beginning of the talk, this official say it was not negotiation because they needed my help. he say that he knew that i had an appoint want to meet the u.s. secretary of state and also know my opinions. not changing your opinions, but we are not allowed to do so. we could not change opinions, and we are now allowed to do so, but we wish you would not meet

the u.s. secretary of state. i think that that's impossible because i had agreed to meet, i could not break the promise. they could offer something in exchange. we knew what you want to do, he says. if only you don't miss with the u.s. secretary of state, we will agree to what you want. i think i did not believe things could be so simple. why so it is fully important for me to meet or not with the u.s. secretary of state? why would you agree to let me do the same right that you prohibit us from doing just because of this? he said, you might not know how important that the u.s. senior trade is to us, taking away those false figures, seven people were from the foreign trade, and the seven people standing for that come from the u.s. trade, but because of the u.s. markets, profit was higher. you might think we, the

communism government, would collapse without american profit, which is true. i would want to do the same if i were you. the chinese people will suffer and the chinese company will go bankrupt. since you love the people so much, we have guessed that you would agree to our offers. i think not really. i believe that the collapse of the communism government and establishment of a democratic system would be more beneficial to the chinese people. it would be the lesser of the two evils, and chinese would be better compensated in the future. he said that you have described the issue too simple. you were once in our circle, and you should know our politics. you really think it would trade sanctions? i say, why not? china and the united states have

dictated trade, if any, would be short lived. the businesses of countries would not allow them to continue to the degree that i would need. that is resulting in the collapse of the communism government. i say that in that case you have no need to negotiate with me, and you also know that the rising state in prison that give up the principles. he say we know that. you're better than your comrades and that you can think about that carefully. you hold a responsibility for even shorter term sanctions and that the highest authority would be forced to step down because of that. that's why some wanted to make a front on you and why we had to protect you from getting into trouble. he also said that you might laugh at me, but i have to tell you that it was the truth. you are now at the focal point

of senior u.s. relationships. if you're in trouble, was it real or false? the highest authority was a vast ship, and only after he stepped down could someone take this position. and when you reach their goals, they would cooperate with the u.s. government to solve the trade issues, but you would lose your chance to reach your own goals. you should know better in this deal. i said, i still do not believe in your promise. i will need assurance that stepping down that he promises everything and the person replaces him might want to compromise with us as well. he says, we would agree with the services that you want to do. would you think about it again? i have something to do, and we will come back in a half hour. he gave me a piece of paper with list of offers on it. the first thing was to release

political prisoners including a list of 35 names. the next three were also what i really want to do. that is establish own business and purchase bank shares with the help of receiving transfer of the nation. after more than an hour, the official come back and ask how i thought about it. i said, what you agree that means nothing, but workers union, your price approval of my ministry of civil affairs and your price approval of ministry and culture and purchase of bank shares require approval from the people's bank. those were not in the authority of the judicial branch, therefore, all what you have said sounds like a lie. he says, i repeat again that i am presenting the highest

authority to negotiate with you. these are within our scope of power. i will help you complete all the procedures. i still could not happily believe what he just said. he said how about this? we will have one more offer that you will be able to see. in addition to release the political prisoners, providing that you do not betray your promise, we will not arrest any of your people by which he means all activities. detains a number of who are not on the list. what about them? detain the reasons, but not got into the legal procedures yet. if you give me one day, i will get all of them released. we can decide tomorrow whether you will accept our offer. tomorrow, you make a phone call

to verify if we have the ability to keep our promise. the next day, i called several friends verifying those detained were indeed released without either conditions nor explanations. i was still inclined not to accept their offer. this official sensed anxiety and said you must know that we are already offered a great deal of risk and if you still discreet, we have to arrest you which would just be played into the hands of the other side, and all the offers to you would be blown away. then he added, the americans are not as reliable as you might think, and they could ultimately reach a compromise with a new leader, and political prisoners would be rolled up as usual, and you would not be able to complete anything that you want to do.

you should think about what is at stake. let me give you a worst case scenario. even if you -- even if we pretended in the future you got the benefit of having a political prisoners released, the other side might not even give you this benefit. at the time, i felt the credibility was pretty high, so i accepted their offers and made the detailed map for me to leave beijing to seek medical treatment, and i politely declined to meet secretary of state christopher. i said i definitely would not get the offer in the meeting with the secretary of the state. if the u.s. were insisting on the human rights issues in china, they would not have canceled the annual review of the state of the nation's status.

including the provision immediately after he left beijing, i couldn't go back to the city and do what i wish to accomplish and field the remaining offers. on march 29, 1994, they notify me two things. first, i have a complete the prison sentence is not under their control, and all my civil rights were restored. second, also secretary of state christopher has went to china, and the situation changed somehow, and they hoped i would spend some time relax after one or two months. i reject the second request and up cysted ongoing -- insisted on going back to beijing. i thought by doing so, i could verify if they have the ability to fulfill their promise. two days later, i entered the highway to beijing. the entire highway was closed

with just a car carrying my friends., me, and four police cars surrounding us. when arrived at the exit, blocked by more than 100 police officers including agents of the safety bureau, officials of the state and security bureau, and prosecutors office. as police officer who i was familiar with and who had to be in charge of me for many days told us the situation was a publy kateed, and they did not know what was going on either and asked me not to make this difficult. they were going back to negotiations. later, police who i did not recognize shoot me the subpoena. they took me, the businessman who was going to transfer stock shares of over -- to a company

in the country. i slept until the afternoon and then i heard a policeman, and i heard a strong voice say that we got orders that no man was allowed to leave this man alone. the policeman i knew say that we got instructions from our supreme that we must meet with him alone. you had no authority to listen to our conversation, and your supreme agreed to this. they made phone calls, and the police officer i knew took me to a private room outside the restaurant and told me that after departure of the secretary of state christopher that the reasons the party hid it, and the other side that the americans did not believe and insist on the dictator ship by syria of the communism party and did not think that the should abide by terms of agreement with

me. otherwise, it would be loss of the spirit and principle of the communist party. they are dealing with this confidence, and they ask me to be more patient. i think i did not know their internal affairs and the party had time limits. i formally informed the police guarding me that according to the law of criminal procedures, a subpoena for interrogation could not last longer than three consecutive days unless they got an arrest warrant and would leave by my own this evening. they say you just wait. we'll go immediately to the prosecutor's office to get an arrest warrant. at the evening, i asked and got to the arrest warrant, and they said not yet. the the prosecutor office would not issue arrest warrant but they already had sur valance

certificate issued by the public sift bureau which did not need approval from the prosecutor's office. i say residents under surveillance means that i was to stay in my own house and there would be no restriction for my personal freedom. i can can want -- cannot leave your surveil lapse. what will i do? they laughed at me and said i should not try to use legal loopholes. it was not by my own understanding. they were the creative procedure procedure -- create a precedent regarding me as residents under surveillance, and because it did not get into the legal procedure, they didn't need to notify my family members. i would not have any rights provided by the law. that's legal detention against me, and it lasted for 18 months

without newspapers, without tv, without any contact with the outside world. some of what i learned later, at least by the summer of 1995, the promise of releasing political prisoners and no arrests of my people had indeed lasted for a year. i think it's worse because the trade sanctions would not be lifted smoothly, and the american people still cared about the human rights situation in china, otherwise, for me, would not be able to get a compromise between trade and the theory of the communism party. from this procedure, we have several features concerning negotiation with the chinese of beijing. once, there's only restrained by their interests. this is because fundment tally they do not recognize common knowledge and reason, only their great ideals. 24 is the same as -- this is the same as all evil

cults, and therefore by insisting a stay in china, he made a wrong judgment due to lack of common knowledge, and the new government did not let him learn such common knowledge, and that's trouble. two. the chinese government is not whole, but consistent of various interest groups. the struggle waiting of those affections are often become bargaining chips as negotiations. promises made by one sanction also become targets to be attacked by other sections and compliance of agreements are tackling china. the government by -- believe in promises without any ainsurance made them speak of political judgment. three, taken hostage afoot and

then make negotiations in the traditional way by the chinese communists in their ideology of maximum benefit regardless of means against -- not their ideals, and at best, their official theory. the hands of the chinese police, and they made that yet another stake of political judgment and the world pay extra price for it. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: sorry and thank you for letting me use the extra time. >> thank you for that very detailed report and how the chinese government and how if we

are not committed all, and if you will, on human rights, they take the measure of our resolve or the lack thereof and respond accordingly. you talked about the leadership and especially it's not monolithic, through are are people inside the government who might want to do the right thing, but if we're now folding or not extending our very serious resolve to all players, chen, his wife, and two children, and the others, we unwittingly perhaps believe, nevertheless, give up what we might otherwise might obtain. >> thank you, mr. chairman. honorable members of the subcommittee, ladies and gentlemen, i'm grateful for this opportunity to address activity here in the very sensitive time of negotiations on behalf of chen -- chen guangcheng, his family, and

supporters. one supporter is known as pearl, and the other is john, one of his collie leaders of the legal team. pearl, as many of you know, played a key role in organizing support for chen guangcheng for years. last time i testified, which was on may 3rd, she had been detained for almost a week, and i voiced the concern she might be tortured, that the chi these party might be pressuring her to disclose other members of her network, but we raised the issue of her case strongly in that hearing, and the very next day, she was released. so i skypeed -- skyped with her twice, and last was on sunday, and she asked me

to read a statement to the committee thanking everyone for the way her case was raised with the ability which she believes is what resulted in the fact she was not tortured in that detention, and as congressman smith said, that this kind of accommodation and trying to basically exercise quiet diplomacy is ineffective, but it's rather when you have transparent powerful add advocacy that people are protected. pearl said i want to thank everyone who fights for our freedom, activists, congressman, congresswomen, as well as the u.s. government, state department, secretary clinton, and the united states. i hope i will visit this great country one day, but now i just want to stay with my friends. in china. where i want all my friends to be safe. that's courageous on her part.

she was not tortured in the most recent detention, she's suffered significant violence. specifically on january 10th of 2011 she drove to a village where a plain clothed guards smashed her car outside of a home. on may 30th, 2011, she went to the case, and plain clothed guards kidnapped beat her and struck her face 30 to 40 times. she was subjected to a painful position for four hours while being driven in a car and then dumped on a road. on june 6th, 2011, she went to the county again for chen's case, and locals kidnapped her, robbed her, plain clothed guards drove her for four hours and

kicked her into a field, stuffed her socks into her hot, tied her up, and touched her breasts. pearl wants to remain in china for the protection of her friends, and her courage and commitment is to be commended and admired. chen guangcheng has taken up several sensitive legal matters and has long been a member of the legal team, and he suffered violence on a number of occasions. most recently, john simply tried to visit chen guangcheng, and he was beaten so severely that it appears he has lost hearing in one of his ears, and after he was severely beaten, and it became clear that chen's nephew was being charged with intentional homicide, which carries a death sentence, john stood up for him and said that

the charge of homicide with intent has been trumped up, and it should be wounding with intent. this is, again, this is srb he had just been beaten, and he's immediately standing up public pi for chen's nephew. i just can't fathom the courage these people have. they are reaching agreements with firms that he will not try to meet with chen again or meet with foreign media again. this is not the first time chen has suffered violence. on novak djokovic 10th, 2009, john and i both sat on a panel at a hearing before the human rights commission called by congressman smith, and we both testified on the one child policy. john testified concerning the cases that he was assistant on,

the one for which chen was detained, and they released the chen report, and on chen's birthday, november10, 2011, and on this hearing, but he was talking about the cases where a woman was forced abortion up to the night of the pregnancy, and people were sleeping in fields to avoid family planning police, and forced sterilizations were taking place. suicide, all sorts of horrible things he reported on. his testimony and my testimony were similar in the sense of the gravity of the cases we were exposing, but that's where the similarity ended. i was able to go home safely to my family. at the end of the hearing, congressman smith invited the people testifying up to his

office, and at the end of the meeting, he said, look, i'm worried, if anything happens to me, watch out for my wife and child. that statement just struck my heart of the courage these people have, people who live in china, to come to the united states, testify, risking not only their own safety, but that of their families to expose the truth of what is going on there, not simply so that we will know what is happening, but so that we'll take effective action to try to help free the people of china from these horrific human rights abuses. several days later, john did return to china, his fears materialized. he was beaten. dragged away by four cars, in front of his daughter who was screaming, his wife beaten, and so then i got a call from congressman smith, immediately flew back to washington to speak at a press conference for him to

be released. despite the violence, john has persisted in his bravery. in february of 2011, chen guangcheng and his wife released through the china aid association a video showing the horrific conditions of their house arrest, and for that, they were severely beaten and left without medical attention. then soon after that, a group of chen's lawyers got together to try to talk about how they might help him. understand also the that arab spring and rev revolutions are backdrops to the circumstances as well, but lawyers were detained. john was detained for 60 days, and he endured beatings,

shackles, blindfolds, and no sunlight in the 60 days, and, according to media reports, he was banged in the head so severely that it caused significant memory loss, and apparently what they did is use water bottles to beat him in the head, and he was -- he had so much memory loss he couldn't remember passwords or how the purposeture was arranged in his bedroom when he got out. i believe the persecution, detention, and torture of human rights lawyers appears to be a deliberate defamation of the human rights bar, and as an attorney myself, i'm concerned about china and the rule of law. how can china say they care about the rule of law or there even is a rule of law when people trying to uphold the rule of law are themselves detained an tortured and have licenses

revoked? although they appear safe for the moment, who knows whether the chinese communist party will retaliate against them if and when chen is able to come to the united states. women's rights of the frontier called upon the united states and department of state to raise awareness of the supporters in their own right. thank you. >> thank you very much for the testimony. would you present your testimony to the subcommittee? >> thank you, chairman smith, and your 13-plus years of fight to defend victims in china and uphold the human rights conditions in china. thank you for the opportunity for me to share the cause that they have upheld. i heard more about the escape as the media fire storm surrounded him last week and talked about details to the journey of beijing, and you learn about

twists and turns in the is saga that followed. and u.s. officials and the timing of the arrival at the embassy. after he left, he down played concerns about his family's safety. several days ago, an american official casually told the new new york new times that the relationship is over, and maybe they referred to the days, but anyway, seeking regime protections for chen and his family have hardly blown up the relationship and more to the point, it graves me to hear that chen referred as a single guy. he's one man. it is true. he is a symbol, a hero, in the eyes of the women, chin, and poor in china. why? because he defends them when it was costly. when no one else in china

would. he lived the words of the profit isiah who said learn to do right, seek justice, defend the pressed, take up the cause and plead the case of the widow. also missing from last week's news story, the call that defined chen guangcheng's work and led to his imprisonment. it explains why he's a hero to so many in china today. i want to highlight this cause. it is one that we share with chen that is allowed. violence against women who knew this, chinese authorities jailed him in 2006 and filed a class action lawsuit and had the woman who had to undergo forced abortions and sterilizations because of the policy. i'd like to share some of the

stories and images that will show you what is happening in china right now even as i speak. i should warn you these stories are disturbing. they will give you a personal look at genocide and systematic e elimination of girls in china, and where men out number women by 40 million. they show the brutality of forced abortion and why chinese women are so apressed that a woman takes her life every three seconds in china. the first story illustrates how severely that the one child policy can affect a single family. this is -- you can see, the powerpoint on the screen, who lives. she's the second daughter of two parents who violated the one