Taeyoungho, Families of Forced Repatriation Victims Hold 'China Containment' at the UN

Taeyoungho Holds Press Conference on the 31st to Announce Campaign
Victims of Forced Repatriation Hold 'Family Photos'
"Must Stop China's Atrocities... Urging International Community's Attention"

Rep. Taeyongho of the People Power Party is launching a campaign in the United States to prevent the Chinese government’s forced repatriation of North Korean defectors. Families of victims of forced repatriation will also meet with UN officials and members of the U.S. Congress to request cooperation in stopping the forced repatriations.

On the 31st, Rep. Taeyongho held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office and announced that, together with the Emergency Countermeasures Committee against Forced Repatriation of North Korean Defectors (hereafter, the Emergency Committee), he plans to visit New York and Washington DC next month to conduct a campaign to halt forced repatriations. The Emergency Committee is chaired by Lee Hanbyul, director of the North Korean Human Rights Promotion Center (non-standing member of the National Human Rights Commission), and is composed of families of defectors who suffered forced repatriation and representatives of North Korean human rights organizations. On the same day, the Emergency Committee also held up photos showing the faces of families who were forcibly repatriated to draw attention to the issue and urge action to stop forced repatriations.

Tae Young-ho, a member of the People Power Party, held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 31st, condemning the Chinese government's forced repatriation of North Korean defectors. [Image source=Yonhap News]

First, on the 6th of next month, Rep. Taeyongho and the Emergency Committee will hold a seminar at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, demanding that the North Korean human rights resolution include the issue of forced repatriation of defectors and clearly specify the responsibility of the Chinese government. Currently, a draft resolution is being prepared under the leadership of the European Union (EU), and once it passes the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly, which handles human rights issues, it is expected to be submitted to the plenary session for adoption by the end of the year.

In particular, protests opposing the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors are also expected to take place in front of the Chinese and North Korean missions to the United Nations.

On the 8th of the same month, meetings will be held in Washington DC with Julie Turner, the U.S. State Department’s Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights, and members of the U.S. Congress to discuss measures to resolve the issue of China’s forced repatriation of North Korean defectors. Earlier this month, while staying in the U.S. for the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee’s audit, Rep. Taeyongho met with U.S. State Department officials and secured a promise to place the “forced repatriation issue” on the agenda of U.S.-China bilateral talks.

Pointing to photos held by the families of victims, Rep. Taeyongho emphasized, “These clearly show that precious family members were forcibly repatriated, imprisoned in political prison camps, or executed.” He added, “The recent large-scale forced repatriation of over 600 defectors and the approximately 1,000 still imprisoned in Chinese jails demand that we no longer remain bystanders,” urging attention to the matter.

On the 31st, Tae Young-ho, a member of the People Power Party, and the Emergency Response Committee composed of families of forced repatriation victims held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office, condemning the Chinese government's forced repatriation of North Korean defectors.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Director Lee Hanbyul said, “My older brother defected to China’s Changbai County in January 2009 seeking help from family but was arrested by border soldiers. Despite my mother and younger sister pleading that he could die if repatriated because they are in South Korea, China included these pleas in the interrogation records and handed them over to North Korean authorities.” He then introduced the heartrending stories of victim families who lost sons, wives, and other relatives to forced repatriation, one by one, at the press conference.

Director Lee appealed, “Our victim families earnestly petition the international community, including the United Nations, to stop the Chinese government’s forced repatriation of North Korean defectors. Even now, countless defectors in China face the threat of forced return, living in fear and despair.” He reiterated, “With the conviction that human rights abuses by North Korea and China must never be repeated, we earnestly request help from the Republic of Korea and the international community.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.