China Angry That Ted Cruz and the U.S. Senate Want to Rename an American Street
Sen. Ted Cruz angered Communist Chinese politicians with a bill that would rename a Washington, D.C. street where the Chinese Embassy is located after a jailed democracy activist.
The Senate bill, which was sponsored by the presidential candidate, would change the address of the Chinese Embassy from 3505 International Place to 1 Liu Xiaobo Plaza. The legislation unanimously went through the Senate Feb. 12, and only drew a sharp rebuke from the Chinese government Tuesday.
Xiaobo was incarcerated in 2009 and is serving 11 years behind Chinese bars for publishing an anti-Communist manifesto. The Chinese democracy activist was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010. In response to the bill, which has yet to be voted on in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Chinese Foreign Ministry called it a “political farce.”
Many 2016 presidential candidates have been particularly interested in how to handle Chinese currency manipulation and how Chinese policymakers will retaliate against the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal, from which the country was excluded.
Department of State Deputy Spokesman Mark C. Toner told reporters Tuesday that “it was his understanding” President Barack Obama would veto a bill proposing to rename the street. The president feels that renaming the street would not do much for human rights in China, according to Toner.
Copyright 2016 The Daily Caller News Foundation
