Pelosi, Bipartisan Delegation Remarks at Press Conference on China

Pelosi, Bipartisan Delegation Remarks at Press Conference on China

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C.- Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Chairman Edward Markey, Congressman James Sensenbrenner, Congressman Earl Blumenauer, and Congressman Jay Inslee held a press conference this afternoon to discuss their recent visit to China. Below are their remarks:

On Purpose of the Visit to China:

â€Å"As I mentioned, the focus was on climate change and what we can do between our two countries to help reach some agreement that will help serve us all well in a multilateral decision that will be made at Copenhagen. As you would expect, the issue of human rights was an important part of our discussion with the President, the Premier, and the Chairmen of the National People's Congress - the issue of human rights in China and Tibet.”

On Expressing Her Concerns on Human Rights in China and Tibet:

â€Å"As you probably know, 18 years ago, I unfurled a banner in Tiananmen Square in memory of those who were so brave and courageous. That's what I could do then as a Member of Congress representing my own views and those of my constituents. Now, as Speaker of the House, I could sit across from the President of China and express to him the concern in Congress in bipartisan basis of the concern for human rights in China and Tibet.”

Speaker Pelosi. Good afternoon.

We returned over the weekend from a trip to China that was really momentous for us. A week ago, under the auspices of the Select Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security, we went to China for the purpose of focusing on climate change and energy. We went there at the invitation of the Chinese government, of the Chairman of the National People's Congress.

Again, in advance, we had an agenda that focused on climate change but an agenda that we had with the government of China would also include human rights.

When we arrived in China - of course the issue of North Korea emerged as the larger issue in terms of a possible nuclear test and short-range missiles testing and so that became an important issue on our agenda as well.

Let me also say that on our way to China, we visited Alaska and in our own country, we saw the impact of climate change and the global warming crisis. We saw that if the polar ice cap is melting, the thermal control of the planet is affected. We saw leaders of villages whose villages were eroding and some melting into the sea. We heard about the damage to the flora and the fauna of Alaska, and of course, the serious impact of the melting of permafrost and what that means in terms of methane gas. Just all to say that it is urgent that we address the issue of the global climate crisis.

We arrived in China equipped with legislation that had passed the Congress on the Thursday night before we left. Mr. Markey and Mr. Waxman had worked on that legislation - it was not part of the timing of the trip - but it was timely that it passed then because it equipped us with the assurance to the Chinese that action will be taken by the Congress of the United States on this subject.

The members of the delegation led by the Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Markey, a Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and co-author of the legislation. We were very pleased that Mr. Sensenbrenner, the ranking Republican on the Select Committee, was a leader of this delegation as well, Mr. Sensenbrenner as you know of Wisconsin; Mr. Blumenauer of Oregon, Mr. Sustainability in the Congress of the United States was on the trip, and Mr. Jay Inslee, the man who wrote the book on the Apollo Project on climate change, also was an important part of our delegation. For much of the trip, Congresswoman Jackie Speier of California, a member of the Select Committee, was part of our delegation as well.

As I mentioned, the focus was on climate change and what we can do between our two countries to help reach some agreement that will help serve us all well in a multilateral decision that will be made at Copenhagen.

As you would expect, the issue of human rights was an important part of our discussion with the President, the Premier, and the Chairmen of the National People's Congress - the issue of human rights in China and Tibet. Mr. Sensenbrenner has been a champion on those issues and perhaps, he will address those issues as well. And those were in traditional human rights as they have been fought for over the years, and now, this week, we observe the 20th Anniversary of Tiananmen Square.

In my speeches and in our conversations with all the groups that we met with - it was an issue that was raised. In Shanghai, as we arrived in China, we arrived in Shanghai and the first meeting was with Bishop Jin. Bishop Jin is the Catholic Bishop of Shanghai and he reported to us, on what he saw as progress for the Catholics in Shanghai - many underground Catholics who do not share that view - but as we know, China is a country of contradictions and complexities. We delivered a letter to the Chinese government - I think there are some copies available, I don't know if you have it - for the release of prisoners of conscience in accordance with the principles of the Chinese Constitution.

In Hong Kong, we met with democracy leaders and human rights and labor right activists and again, this was not something that was new in my discussions in China. As you probably know, 18 years ago, I unfurled a banner in Tiananmen Square in memory of those who were so brave and courageous. That's what I could do then as a Member of Congress representing my own views and those of my constituents. Now, as Speaker of the House, I could sit across from the President of China and express to him the concern in Congress in bipartisan basis of the concern for human rights in China and Tibet.

Getting back to the climate change, we see this as an environmental justice issue as well and this could be a real game changer in our discussions about openness in China. Because when it comes to issues as fundamental as the air that people breathe and the water that they drink - in all countries of the world, people want accountability from their government.

And so, it's about openness, it's about transparency, it's about following the rule of law, it's about, again, accountability to the people. And when we're talking about an issue like climate change and all the technology involved, it's also about a respect for intellectual property rights, which Mr. Sensenbrenner, as former Chair of the Judiciary Committee and former Chair of the Science Committee is probably one of the most informed people in Congress and in the country on the subject and he will speak to that.

So again, on the issue of North Korea, we were going to be talking about it somewhat on our trip as a priority to ask China to help bring North Korea back to the Six-Party Talks. In light of the test that happened when we were there, it became even more urgent for them to assign their good offices to do just that, to get these Six-Party Talks moving again. It is not in interests of the United States or China or any country in the region to have the Korean Peninsula being nuclearized and the Chinese know that. We know that. But apparently the North Koreans are not fully aware of that and that's why these discussions must continue.

With that, I'm pleased to yield to the distinguished Chair of the Select Committee and, again, to salute his leadership in passing the Waxman-Markey bill in time for us to go to China to do this. Our timing was related to having enough time to get our work done before Copenhagen. As it turns out, we could go armed with the legislation from the subcommittee that Mr. Markey took the lead on.

Chairman Markey. Thank you, Madam Speaker, very much.

First, I think it's important to note that the Chinese government received the Speaker in the same fashion that they would receive a head of state. Each group that we met with - whether it be the embassy officials, or private sector individuals, all made the same point, that they had no memory of anyone ever being received in China that was not a President of the United States. And that was reflected in the meetings in which we had.

The Speaker did a masterful job of explaining to the leaders of the Chinese government that environmental justice requires the United States and China to take the lead in reducing greenhouse gases. As a result of the meetings that we had, it was very clear, right up to President Hu, Premier Wen - that they were each aware of the passage of the Waxman-Markey legislation, under the leadership of Speaker Pelosi. And they were discussing climate change and energy issues with us in that context that there was now significant movement in the United States Congress on these issues. They were each familiar with that legislation.

And so, I was very encouraged. I was encouraged because of movement that was being made in a significant way in China on energy intensity, energy efficiency, fuel economy standards. But at the same time, realistic - realistic that reaching an agreement in Copenhagen will require very concerted efforts by the United States Congress and by the Obama Administration. But at the end of the day, that formula of encouragement, tempered by realism, I think, is the way in which we approach these issues.

Without question, the Chinese government was paying very close attention to everything which the Speaker was saying to them about this issue. It is very clear that they are now in the process of evaluation their position and I think that this visit led by the Speaker has played an invaluable role in helping to shape the way in which the rest of this year is going to unfold.

Congressman Sensenbrenner. Thank you very much, Madam Speaker.

I guess my role as the sole Republican on this trip was to provide the reality check amongst the American delegation. And while I do not support Waxman-Markey, and made that quite plain, one thing that there is bipartisan insistence upon is that the Chinese enforce the intellectual property rights of those who invent and develop new technologies of the reduction of greenhouse gases.

I'm a very strong believer that the way we solve this problem on a world-wide basis is not through bureaucratic accounting techniques but through the development of new technologies that will allow the economy to flourish while reducing that amount of greenhouses gases that are emitted. The only way those technologies will be developed is by people putting money at risk to develop them and then having the protection to recoup that investment through patents and copyrights and trademarks and other types of IPR.

China has had a pretty lousy record of enforcing other people's intellectual property rights and part of an agreement that is made on a bilateral basis has got to be a very strong insistence that intellectual property rights be respected and enforced.

The other thing I'd like to mention is on the issue of human rights. There is no partisan disagreement on human rights either. And in each one of the meetings when the Speaker brought the issue of human rights up, I was very quick in saying that Republicans in Congress agree on the issue of human rights, particularly in terms of Tibet and in terms of freedom of religious expression, which is guaranteed under the Chinese Constitution, but it is not enforced.

So I appreciate the opportunity to go to China. I can say that we did have access to the highest levels there and the highest levels did get the message. Thank you.

Congressman Blumenauer. I've trained for and completed 34 marathons in my running career, but I've never encountered quite the activity as being part of the Speaker's historic trip to China dealing with a test to everybody's stamina. I was taking a nap on the last day when she led yet another group up to visit the glacier in Alaska and I'm waiting for the video of her leading what was left of the team in the last mile, along the trail, in her high heels. It was truly - it will go down in CODEL history, I think.

But I was impressed with what the delegation was able to accomplish. I, too, have never seen anything like this in my previous trips to China in terms of the degree of regard, the intensity of the attention, and frankly the strength of the delegation with the Speaker's leadership, Mr. Markey - focusing in on the details of the legislation and what was behind it - Mr. Sensenbrenner adding important texture and emphasis on the intellectual property and the human rights and giving them a sense of the complexity of legislative process in our Congress.

I was impressed with the progress that China has in fact made environmentally. This is a country that is large, complex, vast, and you can find examples of anything there. But they are clearly committed to dealing with their energy problems and it is a matter of their national security, their economic security and the help of the Chinese people.

I am absolutely convinced that there is a way for us to reach mutual accord on things that are in our beneficial interest. The marvels that we witnessed in Shanghai and elsewhere made it clear that the Chinese development capacity rivals that to be found anywhere in the world. And with an authoritarian government, they can follow through and do things. And they simply, and I think there's a growing recognition, that they can't afford to follow the path that Western countries have taken with there economic development, and indeed that China is following in the developed Eastern part of the country.

I had hoped that there would be ways that we can work together so that they leapfrog past that pattern of development to find ways that are more sustainable to deal with air and water quality. If they are able to do that there is actually the potential of lifting millions of Chinese out of rural poverty faster, without devastating the planet.

It was truly an experience of a lifetime. There are areas of concern articulated by Mr. Sensenbrenner, but on balance, I think there are elements that we can work together and I look forward to being able to build on that in the six months leading up to Copenhagen.

Congressman Inslee. I first want to note what we did not find in China. We did not find a single person who said that we should ignore, that the Chinese should ignore, global warming. And that's interesting because we still have folks like that in this country. Now we didn't meet all 1.3 billion Chinese, but we met every single official that I could think of and they all agreed that we needed to act aggressively on global warming.

What we did find in China is a country that has the capacity to be both an environmental partner and an economic competitor, and they have the capacity to be an environmental partner for two reasons. One, they have already acted, and I'm going to say this, it might be a little controversial but it is true, they have already acted in a more aggressive standpoint than the United States on global warming. Until we pass the Waxman-Markey bill at least. They have already enacted a goal for a 20 percent reduction in energy intensity. They have already adopted, essentially a renewable energy portfolio standard of 15 percent. Until last week they had a higher mileage standard for cars than we had. Now this is good news for America, they've already got to the 50-yard line on this issue. But when we pass the Waxman-Markey bill we will be removing an excuse for China to go the next 50 yards, which is to take the next big steps in dealing with energy.

Now what we heard repeatedly from the Chinese leadership is an urge not to press them further because they were quote â€Å"a developing nation.” Now this, although we understand there is tremendous poverty in China, it still is difficult for us to see them as a quote developing nation on the same level as Uganda or Zambia. When we see the skyline of Shanghai it looks different than those truly developing nations. And the one smile we got out of Chinese leadership was when I said, â€Å"China is a developing nation just as much as Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets is a developing basketball player.” And they smiled, they understood the point.

So we are going to be appropriately assertive in our discussions after we in fact get in the game, which we will get in the game when the Waxman-Markey bill passes, then we will be economic competitors.

And one thing I want to note, one of the most interesting things we saw, in Hong Kong, we went to a science park and we saw the future of energy being developed by nominally American companies but using Chinese researchers and manufacturers. And that was the CREE Company developing LED lighting, which uses something like 20 percent of the energy of these lights. And DuPont is manufacturing a photovoltaic cell that you can simply put on windows, and every window in the country and generate electricity with zero CO2. They are an economic competitor, we need to get in the game and we're going to with the Waxman-Markey bill.

Speaker Pelosi. Thank you very much Mr. Inslee. Thank you my colleagues.

Well from what you can hear, we heard, whether it was the vision of the President of China or the details spelled out by Chinese business, whether it was state owned or private sector or the NGOs or some of them are governmental not NGOs, we met with over thirty NGOs that are NGNGOs, and everything in between whether it was the American Chamber of Commerce, or whether it was a joint US-China Energy Forum, everything in between, the students in Hong Kong, Han Dongfang who is a leader of initiatives to help Chinese workers, across the board we did see movement.

We did see that the Chinese government knows that they have to do something. It may not be exactly what the United States does in terms of climate change, but it is clear that we have to have some kind of bipartisan agreement on how we negotiate with the other countries who will be participating in Copenhagen.

It was, really I would say it was an historic trip, because what we saw was the highest leadership of the Chinese government recognizing the importance of the Congress of the United States in all of this debate. With that, we would be pleased to take any questions you have.

Question: I wonder if you would give the other eight committees that have been given jurisdiction on the Waxman-Markey bill -- are they going to set a deadline for them to pass the bill? And do you intend to bring it up...

Speaker Pelosi. Well, we don't have a deadline, but everybody knows that we want to have legislation moving because, again, we want to be ready for Copenhagen. The two main committees are the Ways and Means Committee, and the Ag Committee.

And I met today with Mr. Rangel and Chairman Peterson as well and I'm optimistic that we'll be able to move forward in a timely fashion. Mr. Markey, did you want to say anything at this time?

Chairman Markey. No.

Question: Do you think that Congress should stop funding the United Nations Population Fund, given that it supports China's family- planning programs, including forced sterilization and abortion?

Speaker Pelosi. No, I don't, I don't think we should stop funding the UN Population Fund. My knowledge of the fund is that it does not support abortion in China. And I think it's very, very, important that we support the UN Population Fund, and have voted that way, and have been part of it on the Appropriations Committee over and over again. On that, on a…

Question: The U.S. Senate, right before the recess, passed an amendment that would override FOIA regulations with regard to the so-called torture pictures. Senator Lieberman said to me today that he had the support of the White House in that regard. That is going to, obviously, come up in the conference on supplemental. What is your position on that?

Well if that's what the President supports, then that's what we will support it. If it isn't…Senator Leiberman, you say he's putting it on the supplemental?

Question: Yes.

Speaker Pelosi. To the supplemental. I haven't heard that there's any controversy associated with that.

Question: Do you support the restriction on FOIA?

Speaker Pelosi. Well, I will support the supplemental, let's see if it's in the supplemental.

I'd be pleased to answer any of these other questions, but can we stay with the China trip for now because my colleagues may have to go. Yes ma'am.

Question: Do you support any kind of tariff on energy-intensive goods if China doesn't come along with some kind of mandatory program? And if you do, do you think that there's a risk of having some kind of trade war?

Speaker Pelosi. Let's be more optimistic. Let's talk about how we can find our areas of agreement, as we go forward on how we reduce emissions, on how we recognize the threat to our planet that climate change poses.

I told you about, I told you about when we went to Alaska and saw what was happening there. I mean, we had been to Greenland saw it there, but seeing it in our country and the impact that it had directly on people there was very energizing as we went to China. China doesn't border the Arctic, but the glaciers are melting in the Himalayas, the Gobi desert is expanding, they have sand storms in Beijing from the Gobi desert, the sea level is rising affecting the maritime areas of China, so they have every reason to be as motivated as anyone, and as we are, about this.

Six hundred thousand people die each year from air pollution. So let's be more optimistic about where we think this will go, and I think we made it very clear that in our Congress there are people extremely knowledgeable on this subject, from the committees of jurisdiction and the select committee, and that when we have this conversation it will be very direct and very candid. Mr. Markey did you want to speak to that?

Chairman Markey. I agree with the Speaker. We are optimistic about the provisions which were built into the legislation of the Doyle-Inslee outline which will provide for free distribution, allocation, of the pollution credits for a significant time, which will give both industries the overtime to make their cap which has been put in place inside the legislation.

The Way and Means Committee now will have the ability to construct a standby tariff, but not to be imposed until years from now at the point at which the allocation system is being phased out. And that's not, in most instances, until 2025.

And so, and that will be within the discretion of the President, even in the legislature. So, we're very optimistic as the Speaker said, that the recommendations inside the Waxman-Markey legislation will work, but the Ways and Means Committee, as part of its deliberation on the legislation, will have to have formulate something which will be given to the President to be exercised in his discretion, but not for at least about 15 years.

Question: So for your trip to China, this historic trip, what's the most impressive achievement you have seen that you didn't know before your trip to China?

Speaker Pelosi. We complimented the Chinese government on what they had done to lift so many people out of poverty. We saw what happened in just a generation in terms of the development of Shanghai and other places. The high speed rail, I think, was very impressive between Beijing and Tianjin, and the Mag Lev train, in a short distance in Shanghai.

So the development - there major changes since I was last to China in the late 90s - I would say that visually that was very impressive. To hear Bishop Jin talk about the fact that Catholics can worship who are aligned with Rome was interesting, but not universal, not all Catholics who are aligned with Rome can, but nonetheless I found that interesting. Bishop Jin in fact said something similar to what you said, he said we can communicate, we can read about things, we can hear about them, we can see them on TV, but until you come to the place and see right there and can have the conversation its not possible to know what progress is being made.

What was interesting to me I would say, the most, would be the reception that we received from the Chinese government. One year ago, you remember that I was the most hated person in China for my comments when I visited His Holiness the Dali Lama in India. I said at that time and I say it today, unless we talk about human rights and Tibet we abdicate all authority to talk about human rights any place in the world. Still, they sent a delegation to us to invite us to China to discuss these issues and we discussed, as we said, any conversation with members of Congress will include a discussion of human rights.

So, from the standpoint of what we saw the development was staggering, and shall we say, the consideration of energy in that development was impressive. From the standpoint of conversation being advanced so that we have some better understanding on each side of how seriously we take this issue, well that was very impressive as well.

Question: Madam Speaker, on your trip, in terms of the economy, the China-U.S. relationship amongst each other is described as a competitor but also as partners as well. So during your trip, did you discuss the fact that China has hinted at buying less purchases of U.S. Treasury notes or, like as mentioned before, the tariff taxing Chinese imports which you stated your views on that?

Speaker Pelosi. The last person I spoke to before the plane took off was Secretary Geithner. He wanted to make sure I conveyed to the Chinese the commitment that we have in the house to pay-go, and I did convey that to the President, that it is now a mantra of the Democrats in the Congress, and is certainly an issue that is bipartisan, that we must reduce the deficit. And so that was the point that I made with him. That when we go forward with whatever we're going forward with, we have to know how it is paid for or what offsets there are, or what it substitutes for.

But the point that I was making was the commitment to deficit reduction; that it was part of the President's budget and it's part of how we go forward, and there was very little appetite in the Congress for increasing the deficit.

Question: Are you concerned that because of our debtor relationship with China and also our dependence upon them for cooperating in reducing greenhouse gas emissions that the Chinese government will be less willing to entertain demand on human rights coming from the United States?

Speaker Pelosi. No I don't think so, I think we made that quite clear; didn't we, Mr. Sensenbrenner?

Congressman Sensenbrenner. They were two separate and distinct issues and there was no effort on the Chinese to link them.

Question: After your meetings today, do you anticipate a quick resolution of their concerns and a quick House floor action on the energy bill?

Speaker Pelosi. Well, I don't know what quick means. I think that they will - I'm optimistic that we will be able to move forward in a timely fashion so that our legislation will pass the house and send a clear message for Copenhagen. But I'm not putting any clear deadline on it, we will vote on it when we are ready and they will pass it out of their committees when they are ready, but, I think progress is being made on all of those scores.

Question: [Inaudible. ]

Speaker Pelosi. Well, I think I'll leave it up to the Chairman to talk about what their plans and how they go forward on having their own discussions and marking up the bill.

Question: What do you think of the President's selection of McHugh, a Republican, to be the Army secretary, particularly, it seems like the President has reached out to Republicans specifically on security issues such as Mr. Gates and Mr. LaHood and others?

Speaker Pelosi. It's very exciting. It's very exciting, and any of you who saw Mr. McHugh's statement you know how committed he is to the defense of our country, and his role as Ranking member on the Armed Services Committee, as well as his family's tradition of service to our national security. He was very enthusiastic about being Secretary of the Army, I think the President has made an excellent choice; he's a respected Member of Congress on both sides of the aisle, with a strong commitment to protecting the American people, which is our first responsibility.

If I just may, I want to tell you some other events that are happening today. There'll be a resolution on the floor commemorating the 20th anniversary of Tiananmen, so we will have that debate. Tomorrow, I'll meet in the Speaker's office with Chinese human rights leaders who are in town this week for what will happen on Thursday, we will have a rally on the West Front, a rally on coming together on the West Front of the Capitol commemorating the anniversary. And on Thursday also, we will have a press event to showcase a photo exhibit in the Rayburn Foyer sponsored by the Laogai Foundation and the National Endowment for Democracy. Harry Wu will be a part of that press conference.

Oh we're calling it a rally, that doesn't sound like an appropriate word to me, in any event, at the event that will be on the West Front of the Capitol. Each year, we have had an observance of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, we will again this year the 20th anniversary. We look forward to welcoming those who come for that purpose, and I hope to see some of you along the way. Thank you all very much.