Washington D.C., Jan 19, 2011 / 00:56 am
As the White House welcomes President Hu Jintao of China this week, critics are decrying China for its record of human rights abuses and urging the Obama administration to “vigorously” address the issues during the Chinese president's visit.
Protests, press conferences and even an arrest have taken place in the build up to Jintao's visit in Washington, D.C., which began on Jan 18.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) cited China's one-child policy, forced abortions and sterilizations, the arrest and torture of political dissidents and the current imprisonment of recent Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo as major human rights abuses committed against the Chinese people by the communist government.
In remarks to a press conference held in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 18, Rep. Smith stated that President Hu “gave the world unmistakable proof of his government’s moral puniness and fear” when he wouldn’t let Liu Xiaobo – “a proponent of gradual democratic reform” – out of his prison cell to receive the prize at the ceremony in Oslo, Norway.