U.S. Lawmakers Urge Obama to Ensure Safety of Chinese Lawyer

Lawmakers urged United States President, Barack Obama to ensure the safety of a Chinese rights lawyer, Jiang Tianyong on Monday at a news conference in Washington, D.C. Jiang Tianyong tried to meet with Obama but was arrested by Chinese officials on November 19th, just hours after Obama left China.

Earlier this month, Jiang Tianyong was in the United States testifying at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission about human rights abuses committed by the Chinese regime.

Republican Representative, Chris Smith was the chairperson of that hearing. Hes urging Obama to personally call Chinese Communist Party leader Hu Jintao to ensure the safety of Jiang Tianyong.

[Chris Smith, U.S. Congressman]: (1st footage, 1st bite)
The dictatorship has made a decision to put him in prison. That is why I want president Obama to call Hu Jintao.

Jiang said he was taken away by plainclothes police while taking his daughter to school.

[Jiang Tianyong, Human Rights Lawyer]:
He grabbed my belt and, lifted me up and pushed me into the car. The whole time he was cursing how about if I kill you. I was protecting my daughter with my left hand, and holding her school bag with my right hand. My daughter was just crying.

Republican Representative Frank Wolf said the United States government should act immediately to protect Jiang and his family.

[Frank Wolf, U.S. Congressman]:
The three things: the President to call, Valerie Jarrett or Rahm Emanuel should get on a plane and go over, and thirdly, the ambassador has to drive now there to stand with the wife, to stand with them and be there, because that would be almost a guarantee.

Jiang Tianyong was released 14 hours after the arrest. Now Jiang and his family are under heavy police surveillance.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• NTD
• NTDTV
• Lawmaker
• United States
• Barack Obama
• China
• Human rights
• Lawyers
• Washington
• Human Rights Commission
• Chinese Regime
• Human rights abuse
• Hu Jintao

[videochemist]

"damn. i was going to sell Jiang Tianyong's internal organs and buy a new mercedes!! why must all these stupid people use their backwards morality to impose human rights on us?!"