Senators Press Obama to Tackle Chinese Human Rights During Xi Jinping Summit
President Barack Obama should pressure Chinese President Xi Jinping to improve his country’s record on human rights abuses during Jinping’s upcoming visit to Washington in September, said a bipartisan group of 10 Senators in a recent letter to Obama. The…
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two heads of state will likely discuss trade and a range of economic issues, but human rights also “deserve a full and robust exchange of views,” said the lawmakers, which include Armed Services Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., Foreign Relations ranking member Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas. Jinping’s heavy-handed approach to quashing political dissent and preventing terrorism, as well as the failure to protect freedom of religion, illustrates the country’s dismal approach to human rights, said the senators. “We recognize that managing the U.S.-China relationship is an enormous and complex task,” said the letter (here). “We firmly believe that a full and frank discussion of our concerns regarding human rights and civil society in China would serve to strengthen our relationship.”