Body
This last Monday, the Congressional-Executive Committee on China (CECC) held a timely hearing on Chinese repatriation of North Korean refugees. We have taken on this topic several times on this blog (most recently here and here). In recent weeks, discussion over the issue has reached a fever pitch including events organized by Korean celebrities and US supported appeals by South Korea to the UN Human Rights Council.
The hearing lasted nearly two hours and the panel included Suzanne Sholte, Songhwa Han, Jinhye Jo, T. Kumar, Greg Scarlatoiu, and Michael Horowitz. Songhwa Han and Jinhye Jo are both former North Korean refugees detained in China. Both were repatriated and detained in North Korea. The comments by Suzanne Sholte are striking, but the personal stories by Han and Jo are absolutely haunting. Please take some time to watch their testimonies and check out the websites for the North Korea Freedom Coalition and the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea for additional information.