cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/59533236
A hearing held by the East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on September 16, explored China's coercion beyond its borders and the continued human rights crisis in North Korea, while lawmakers raised concerns about Trump administration cuts to programs intended to advance human rights interests. The hearing, titled "Lives, Not Leverage: The Long Arm of China and North Korea's Repression," put a personal face on the stakes: Sylvia Zin, whose husband remains wrongfully detained in China, made a direct plea to President Trump to secure his release during the [...] Xi Jinping summit.
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The hearing examined two intersecting issues, China's coercive tactics targeting dissidents and diaspora communities outside its borders and North Korea's human rights abuses.
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Myanmar-born U.S. citizen and UC Berkeley doctoral student Min Zin was detained in Yunnan on June 3 after traveling to China for an academic conference at the invitation of the Chinese government. Chinese authorities have said he is suspected of espionage and activities endangering national security. Secretary of State Marco Rubio subsequently designated Min Zin as wrongfully detained, making his release a priority for the U.S. government. China disputes the U.S. characterization and says its judicial authorities are handling the case according to Chinese law.
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Deborah Choi, a human rights activist who escaped North Korea in 2004, recounted being trafficked and sexually abused after fleeing to China. Peter Mattis, president of the Jamestown Foundation, called for targeted measures including sanctions against state-owned enterprises and disclosure of CCP leaders' foreign assets. Victor Cha, president and Korea Chair of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, testified about China's forced repatriation of North Korean refugees and cooperation between China and North Korea that facilitates repression.
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But the hearing's most personal moment came when Sylvia Zin, wife of the detained scholar, testified directly. She cited Trump's record of securing the release of wrongfully detained Americans and urged him to raise her husband's case with Xi. Zin described concerns about her husband enduring repeated interrogations, isolation and harsh detention conditions since his detention in June.
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The hearing came as lawmakers and human rights advocates questioned the Trump administration's approach to human rights in Asia ... For [U.S.] lawmakers including Bera and Kim, who have worked on legislation addressing Uyghur human rights and Chinese harassment of diaspora communities, the hearing represented an effort to keep human rights and wrongful detention on the agenda before Xi's visit.
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