U.S. Lawmaker Stands Up for Blind Forced Abortion Opponent Chen Guangcheng by Wearing Sunglasses – Congressman Chris Smith with Reggie Littlejohn, president of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers and Advisory Board member of the Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting (CUSIB)
The Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting Advisory Board member Reggie Littlejohn testified in Congress as president of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers, an NGO which works to end forced abortion and human trafficking in China. She and Congressman Chris Smith posed in front of a large image of Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng to support calls to the Chinese government for his release from house arrest as part of the Women’s Rights Without Frontiers’ Sunglasses Campaign. Chen Guangchen is blind and in poor health. CUSIB Advisory Board member Harry Wu, founder of the Laogai Research Foundation, also testified in a hearing which was focused on the plight of imprisoned Chinese Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo.
After the hearing, Congressman Smith attended a reception on Capitol Hill to mark the 70th anniversary of Voice of America broadcasts to China. The reception was hosted by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher who had introduced an amendment to save VOA radio and television programs from being cut by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), a federal agency which manages VOA. In a special video message, the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, congratulated the Voice of America (VOA) on the 70th anniversary of VOA broadcasting to China. The Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting members worked to save VOA Chinese radio and TV programs from being cut by the BBG. Other CUSIB members attending the Capitol Hill reception included: Marie Ciliberti, John Lenczowski, Karl Altau, Timothy Shamble, Ted Lipien and Gary Marco.