Issue Position: Foreign Policy, Trade, and Defense- China

Issue Position

The Chinese government has a record of persecuting and imprisoning individuals who openly criticize the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The U.S. State Department estimates that China's government is holding at least 260,000 people, including pro-democracy activists and members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement, in ideological "reeducation" camps. Additionally, China has been repeatedly criticized for: tightening control of its media and restriction of free expression, discriminating against people with HIV/AIDS, failing to allow individuals to form independent trade unions and bargain collectively, seeking to eliminate support for Tibetan independence, and increasing the number of forced, and sometimes violent, evictions that took place as part of China's preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games.

I believe that the United States should continue to engage China in an ongoing dialogue. America's interests should not be limited to economic concerns, and should broadly reflect our democratic values of free speech, freedom of religion, the right to privacy, and the right to organize.

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