BOISE, Idaho – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today announced a Twitter campaign entitled #CCPrisoners. During the 27 days of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Senator Risch will be highlighting 27 individuals who have been unjustly kidnapped, detained, or killed by the CCP, whether that be for their religion, beliefs, or ethnicity. The tweets will be posted on his official committee account, @SenateForeign, daily at 7am EST.
To kick off the campaign, Senator Risch released the following video:
To watch on YouTube, click here .
“Hello, I’m United States Senator Jim Risch, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“As the Winter Olympics begin today in Beijing, I want to congratulate all of our U.S. athletes on the remarkable skill and hard work it has taken to reach this point in your athletic careers. I look forward to cheering you on and celebrating your accomplishments over the next several weeks.
“However, this year’s Olympics are being hosted in a high-risk and politically dangerous environment. We must remember that behind the beauty we see on TV, Beijing is home to a government with harsh and repressive goals.
“China is a totalitarian state. The Chinese government, ruled by the Chinese Communist Party, undermines basic human rights, like freedoms of expression, religion, assembly, speech, and individual privacy.
“During the 27 days of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, I will be highlighting 27 individuals who have been unjustly kidnapped, detained, or killed by the Chinese Communist Party.
“Their stories are a reminder that the protection and promotion of human rights are foundational to an enduring democracy, and they highlight the strength of the Chinese people attempting to resist Chinese Communist Party rule. We must always push back against those who wish to erase them.”
The video can be watched on YouTube here or downloaded via Google Drive here .
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