Amazing. A very eloquent statement from former speaker of the house, Newt Gingrich:
there is no place for abuse in what must be considered the family of man. There is no place for torture and arbitrary detention. There is no place for forced confessions.
Stunning. He continued:
the roots of American rule of law go back more than 700 years, to the signing of the Magna Carta. The foundation of American values, therefore, is not a passing priority or a temporary trend.
Wow. He.did.not.mince.his.words. What are the right wing torture apologists going to say now?
Here's the full statement:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OCTOBER 30, 1997
SPEAKER'S STATEMENT ON VISIT OF PRESIDENT JIANG
Washington, D.C. -- House Speaker Newt Gingrich released the following statement today following his meeting with Chinese President Jiang Zemin. "I was pleased to have the opportunity to meet with President Jiang in the United States and to take part in a candid and direct dialogue about U.S.-Chinese relations. "On every issue of concern to our two nations -- from the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to the integration of Hong Kong, the status of Taiwan, and the growing inter- dependence of our two economies -- we spoke forcefully, honestly, and without reserve. "Most importantly, Republican leaders made explicitly clear our unwavering commitment to human rights and individual liberty. I believe it was vitally important that we used this opportunity to address the basic lack of freedom -- speech, liberty, assembly, the press -- in China. Had we not done so, we would not only have betrayed our own tradition, we also would have failed to meet our obligations as a friend of China. "As I said in China this spring, there is no place for abuse in what must be considered the family of man. There is no place for torture and arbitrary detention. There is no place for forced confessions. There is no place for intolerance of dissent." "While we walked through the Rotunda. I explained to President Jiang how the roots of American rule of law go back more than 700 years, to the signing of the Magna Carta.
The foundation of American values, therefore, is not a passing priority or a temporary trend. We believe in religious liberty and personal freedom because the people who settled our country left the lands of their birth, accepting great danger and uncertainty, to secure those basic rights. "I reminded our Chinese guests that you cannot have economic freedom without political freedom, and you cannot have political freedom without religious freedom. You cannot have a system that is half totalitarian and half free. It will not survive. "I -- and the rest of the Republican leadership -- will continue to take whatever action we, can to help move China down the path of freedom, democracy, and liberty. As Americans, as political leaders, as free individuals, it is our obligation to do what we can to extend these basic human rights and religious liberties to the rest of the world."
-- House Speaker Newt Gingrich
