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Congressional-Executive Commission on China

United States agency monitoring human rights in China

Summary

United States agency monitoring human rights in China

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) is an independent agency of the U.S. government which monitors human rights and rule of law developments in the People's Republic of China. The commission was given the mandate by the U.S. Congress to monitor and report on human rights issues with a particular focus on compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Its reporting covers developments in freedom of expression, the right to peaceful assembly, religious freedom, freedom of movement, freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention or torture, and the right to a fair trial, among others. The commission publishes an annual report to the President of the United States and Congress, typically in the fall of each year. It also maintains a database of prisoners of conscience, holds regular roundtables and hearings, and issues letters to other institutions concerning human rights matters.

Creation

The creation of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (along with the United States-China Economic and Security Review Committee) was a concession to political forces sceptical of China to obtain further support for permanent normal trade relations with China upon its accession to the World Trade Organization.

The commission was created in October 2000 under Title III of H.R. 4444, which authorizes normal trade relations with China, and establishes a framework for relations between the two countries.

Work

Annual report

The CECC publishes an annual report on human rights and rule of law developments in China, usually in the fall of each year, and covers issues such as freedom of expression, worker rights, religious freedom, ethnic minority rights, population planning, the status of women, climate change and the environment, treatment of North Korean refugees, civil society, access to justice, and democratic governance. The reports draw on a variety of sources, including information from human rights groups, media reports, government, and Chinese Communist Party documents.

Prisoner database

As part of its mandate from Congress, the CECC maintains a partial database of religious and political prisoners believed to be detained in China. As of June 30, 2022, the database contained 10,645 names, of which 2,506 were believed to be detained at that time, while the remainder were released, deceased, or escaped. The database was created with the assistance of the Dui Hua Foundation and Tibet Information Network.

Staff

The commission consists of a staff of researchers and analysts and is overseen by as many as nine members each from the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, as well as senior executive branch officials. The chair of the commission rotates between the majority parties from the House and Senate. The commission is currently chaired by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ).

On December 23, 2022, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced that Todd Stein, CECC deputy staff director, would be one of two individuals sanctioned by China with effect from the same day. The order specified that this was in retaliation to the United States having sanctioned two Chinese officials earlier that month over human rights issues in Tibet. In an emailed comment to The Associated Press, Stein said the sanction order against him did not matter in light of the "thousands of prisoners of conscience jailed by Chinese authorities."

Commissioners

MajorityMinoritySenate membersHouse membersExecutive branch

;Commissioners, 118th Congress

MajorityMinoritySenate membersHouse membersExecutive branch

;Commissioners, 117th Congress

MajorityMinoritySenate membersHouse membersExecutive branch

;Commissioners, 116th Congress

MajorityMinoritySenate membersHouse membersExecutive Branch

;Commissioners, 115th Congress

MajorityMinoritySenate membersHouse membersExecutive Branch

;Commissioners, 114th Congress

MajorityMinoritySenate membersHouse membersExecutive Branch

;Commissioners, 113th Congress

MajorityMinoritySenate membersHouse membersExecutive Branch

;Commissioners, 112th Congress

MajorityMinoritySenate membersHouse membersExecutive Branch

;Commissioners, 111th Congress

MajorityMinoritySenate membersHouse membersExecutive Branch

;Commissioners, 110th Congress

MajorityMinoritySenate membersHouse membersExecutive Branch

;Commissioners, 109th Congress

MajorityMinoritySenate membersHouse membersExecutive Branch

;Commissioners, 108th Congress

MajorityMinoritySenate membersHouse membersExecutive Branch

;Commissioners, 107th Congress

MajorityMinoritySenate membersHouse membersExecutive Branch

Historical leadership

StartEndChairCo-chairRanking MemberVice Ranking Member
20012003Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)Rep. Doug Bereuter (R-NE)Rep. Sandy Levin (D-MI)Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE)
20032005Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA)Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE)Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
20052007Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE)Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA)Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)
20072009Rep. Sandy Levin (D-MI)Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND)Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE)Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)
20092011Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND)Rep. Sandy Levin (D-MI)Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE)
20112013Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN)
20132015Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN)Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
20152017Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN)
20172019Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
20192021Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)
20212023Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)
20232025Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)
2025presentSen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK)Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)

References

References

  1. [http://www.cecc.gov/pages/general/HR4444_Title3.pdf H.R. 4444, TITLE III--CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA] {{webarchive. link. (2011-09-12)
  2. "Congressional-Executive Commission on China".
  3. (August 23, 2019). "Xinjiang: Chairs Ask Whether World Bank Funding Possible "Crimes Against Humanity"".
  4. Lampton, David M.. (2024). "Living U.S.-China Relations: From Cold War to Cold War". [[Rowman & Littlefield]].
  5. "About".
  6. Congressional Executive-Commission on China, [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_house_committee_prints&docid=f:61507.pdf 2010 Annual Report], 15 October 2010.
  7. Congressional-Executive Commission on China, ''[https://www.cecc.gov/sites/chinacommission.house.gov/files/2022_CECC_Report.pdf 2022 Annual Report]'', 2022, p. 44.
  8. Congressional-Executive Commission on China, [http://cecc.gov/pages/victims/index.php CECC political prisoner database] {{webarchive. link. (2011-11-14 , accessed 11-13-11.)
  9. Yew, Lun Tian. (2022-12-23). "China sanctions two Americans over Tibet rights controversy". [[Reuters]].
  10. "China sanctions 2 US citizens over action on Tibet". Associated Press.
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

american-entities-subject-to-chinese-government-sanctions independent-agencies-of-the-united-states-government human-rights-organizations-based-in-the-united-states human-rights-in-china united-states-national-commissions foreign-relations-agencies-of-the-united-states china–united-states-relations
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