As the opening of the border between China and North Korea is imminent, concerns about the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors in China are also growing. In front of the Chinese embassy in the United States, U.S. congressmen and civic groups held a rally to stop the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors to North Korea. urged. Reporter Kim Young-kwon covered the story. (Video coverage/editing: Lee Sang-hoon)
On the 23rd, the American Citizens’ Coalition Against the Forced Repatriation of 2,600 North Korean Defectors, recently formed by American civil society organizations and North Korean defectors, held a rally in front of the Chinese Embassy in Washington.
They emphasized the need to prevent the repatriation of about 2,600 North Korean defectors known to be impending forced repatriation as the North Korea-China border, which had been closed for a long time due to the corona pandemic, recently showed signs of opening.
Representative Chris Smith, co-chairman of the ‘Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission’, a bipartisan body in the US Congress as a Republican, and the ‘Congressional and Executive China Committee’ attended the rally and urged the Chinese government to stop the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors to North Korea.
Representative Chris Smith / Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the U.S. Congress
“We appeal to the Chinese embassy and, by extension, to President Xi Jinping to abide by international law. You have agreed to international law (United Nations Refugee Convention and Protocols), so please abide by it. I hope you show that you are a leader who will not give up when the North Korean regime tells you to ‘send all North Korean defectors back’.”
Chairman Smith also pointed out that as a country that has ratified the UN Refugee Convention and Protocol, China must fulfill its obligations, and that North Korean defectors face horrific human rights violations when they are returned to North Korea.
After the event, Rep. Smith told VOA that he had attended several human rights protests in front of the Chinese embassy, but this was the first North Korean defector-related rally, emphasizing that the US government should respond strongly to this issue.
Representative Chris Smith / Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the U.S. Congress
“America needs to be much stronger. As a country, we will make a statement (forcible repatriation), but we have influence. We have a trade policy. I think the State Department and the President should come out much more firmly and respectfully, but decisively, with President Xi Jinping.”
The organizers of the event emphasized that now is the right time to stop the repatriation of North Korean defectors to North Korea as China is conscious of international public opinion ahead of the Hangzhou Asian Games, which will open on the 23rd of next month.
Pastor Lee In-jin / Representative of Washington Unification Plaza Prayer Group
“All of you who are in prison right now are not guilty of anything. You can’t eat just because you were born in North Korea, and because of the dangers of survival and human rights issues, you have no choice but to seek freedom. That’s why we, all American citizens, will come out here without stopping until you come out safely.”
Justin Seo, a North Korean refugee who settled in the United States in 2009 after experiencing difficulties in China after escaping North Korea, also attended the rally, urging China to choose good over evil.
Justin Suh / North Korean refugees settling in the United States
“Why are you still doing inhuman things? You said you were civilized. A civilized country should not have done that. You can choose between good and evil. But you chose the evil one. That’s worse than a serial killer.”
Protesters marched in front of the Chinese embassy after the event, chanting to rescue North Korean refugees. They stressed that they will continue to raise their voices until China stops the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors.
This is VOA News Kim Young-kwon.
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2023-08-23 23:46:54
