Pelosi Calls For Release of Chinese Political Prisoners: “They Are Not Forgotten”

Washington, D.C. - Yesterday, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi delivered remarks on the House Floor in support of a bipartisan resolution calling on the President to prioritize the release of Jimmy Lai and other jailed human rights activists and religious prisoners detained by the government of the People's Republic of China.

In her remarks, Pelosi condemned Beijing's repression of democracy advocates, Uyghurs and religious minorities while warning that America "loses all moral authority" if commercial interests silence advocacy for human rights.

Watch Pelosi's Floor remarks here.(link is external)

Read the transcript of Speaker Emerita Pelosi's Floor remarks below:

Speaker Emerita Pelosi. Thank you, Madam Speaker. I thank the gentleman, Congressman Olszewski from Maryland, "Johnny O," as we call him, for his leadership and his beautiful statement on what we are challenged with right now and how this legislation addresses that.

I always want to praise Mr. Smith for his leadership on human rights throughout the world. What is it, Chris? We've been working on these things for 30 years? He's not paying attention-but 30 years with Frank Wolf, going and visiting people in prison and trying to make sure people knew.

Because, you know, they say that these autocrats, the President of China for one, the most horrible form of torture that they can put on a prisoner is to tell them nobody even remembers them or cares about them or even knows why they are in prison.

That's why I thank you both for bringing this legislation to the Floor, so that we, on the Floor of the House of Representatives, can make sure that they know they are not forgotten.

I rise today in strong support of this resolution, calling on the President to prioritize the release of these courageous individuals who have been unjustly detained by the government of the People's Republic of China simply for exercising their fundamental human rights.

Jimmy Lai sits in prison because he dared to defend democracy and free press in Hong Kong. And Mr. Smith talked about Jimmy, and his son Sebastian, his daughter Claire-now they have a grandbaby in the family, and Jimmy has not been able to see the baby while they torture him in prison there.

And then Dr. Gulshan Abbas has disappeared because of Beijing's repression of Uyghurs. She's there because of what her sister has testified to us, Mr. Smith mentioned, and that is engaging in transnational human rights suppression.

In addition to that, Christian pastors and their families are persecuted simply for worshiping freely. Pastor Jin Mingri, we've heard about him. Pastor Gao Quanfu and Pang Yu and Abbas-I talked about Dr. Gulshan Abbas.

This has always been bipartisan and bicameral-House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans always coming together on these pieces of legislation. I want to call special attention to what our Speaker Johnson did a few months ago.

He was invited to address the House of Commons in this, our [semiquincentennial] year of our country, and I asked him if he would mention Jimmy Lai in his speech. And he did, and he told me it got a good response. So we thank the Speaker for making that appeal to the House of Commons.

Here, this resolution makes clear that human rights cannot be separate from America's engagement with China. The release of these individuals must remain a priority at the highest level of diplomacy.

While the President is on his visit there, he is bringing with him a long list of business leaders. I have to say: if we do not speak out for human rights in China because of commercial interest, we lose all moral authority to speak out for human rights anywhere in the world.

With this resolution, the House reaffirms that America will continue to stand for freedom, human rights and the principle that no person should be imprisoned simply for what they believe.

So let's make this, as always, a strong bipartisan vote. I thank the Chairman, Mr. Smith. I thank Johnny O. I urge a strong bipartisan vote in support of this resolution.

I yield my time to the distinguished gentleman from Maryland.