2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)
Robert Menendez (/mɛˈnɛndɛz/; born January 1, 1954) is an American politician serving as the senior United States Senator from New Jersey, a seat he has held since 2006.[1] A member of the Democratic Party, he was first appointed to the U.S. Senate by Governor Jon Corzine, and later served as Chair of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations from 2013 to 2015. In 2015, Menendez was indicted on 18 counts of corruption.
In 1974, at the age of 20, he was first elected to the Union City School District's Board of Education. He received degrees from Saint Peter's University and Rutgers Law School. In 1986, he won the election for Mayor of Union City. In 1988, while continuing to serve as mayor, he was elected to represent the state's 33rd district in the General Assembly of New Jersey and, within three years, moved to the New Jersey State Senate, upon winning the March 1991 special election for the 33rd Senate district. The next year he won a seat in the House of Representatives and represented New Jersey's 13th congressional district for six two-year terms, from 1993 to 2006. In January 2006, he was appointed to fill the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Jon Corzine (who had been elected 54th Governor of New Jersey), and was elected to a full six-year term in November; he was reelected in 2012 and 2018.
He stepped down as Ranking Member of the Foreign Relations Committee in April 2015 upon being indicted on federal corruption charges. In February 2018, after his federal trial was declared a mistrial and those charges had been dropped, he returned to the position. In April 2018, Menendez was "severely admonished" by the United States Senate Select Committee on Ethics.
In 1974, at the age of 20, he was first elected to the Union City School District's Board of Education. He received degrees from Saint Peter's University and Rutgers Law School. In 1986, he won the election for Mayor of Union City. In 1988, while continuing to serve as mayor, he was elected to represent the state's 33rd district in the General Assembly of New Jersey and, within three years, moved to the New Jersey State Senate, upon winning the March 1991 special election for the 33rd Senate district. The next year he won a seat in the House of Representatives and represented New Jersey's 13th congressional district for six two-year terms, from 1993 to 2006. In January 2006, he was appointed to fill the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Jon Corzine (who had been elected 54th Governor of New Jersey), and was elected to a full six-year term in November; he was reelected in 2012 and 2018.
He stepped down as Ranking Member of the Foreign Relations Committee in April 2015 upon being indicted on federal corruption charges. In February 2018, after his federal trial was declared a mistrial and those charges had been dropped, he returned to the position. In April 2018, Menendez was "severely admonished" by the United States Senate Select Committee on Ethics.
With China's treatment of Muslim Uighurs determined to be genocide, Biden administration under pressure to act
Jan. 27 - Newly confirmed Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not hesitate to express his agreement with a determination made on the last day of the Trump administration that China's treatment of its Uighur and Muslim minority populations is genocide.
"My judgment remains that genocide is committed against the Uighurs, and that hasn't changed," Blinken said Wednesday in his first remarks as secretary from the State Department podium.
The genocide determination presented a massive parting shot at China's Communist Party (CCP) leaders; the U.S. is the first country to make the designation.
Hours earlier, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, President Biden's nominee to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, described the actions against the Uighurs as "horrific," but she suggested that the Trump State Department may not have followed all the procedures necessary in formally designating the CCP as carrying out genocide. more details
Jan. 27 - Newly confirmed Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not hesitate to express his agreement with a determination made on the last day of the Trump administration that China's treatment of its Uighur and Muslim minority populations is genocide.
"My judgment remains that genocide is committed against the Uighurs, and that hasn't changed," Blinken said Wednesday in his first remarks as secretary from the State Department podium.
The genocide determination presented a massive parting shot at China's Communist Party (CCP) leaders; the U.S. is the first country to make the designation.
Hours earlier, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, President Biden's nominee to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, described the actions against the Uighurs as "horrific," but she suggested that the Trump State Department may not have followed all the procedures necessary in formally designating the CCP as carrying out genocide. more details
Menendez Opening Statement at Linda Thomas-Greenfield Confirmation Hearing
Jan 27, 2021
Jan 27, 2021
Menendez Opening Remarks at Nomination Hearing for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
Jan. 27, WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), incoming Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered the following opening statement at this morning’s hearing on the nomination of Linda Thomas-Greenfield to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations...
..."Russia and China have not been content to simply protect Bashar al-Assad from accountability for his crimes against the Syrian people. Russia has threatened a veto on UN Syrian assistance to reduce the border crossings through which assistance can reach rebel-held Syria to only one. This has made it even harder to obtain desperately-needed food, shelter and medical assistance for innocent civilians. I strongly urge you to do everything possible to keep this vital lifeline open upon your confirmation.
I am also concerned by the way China has sought to increase its role at the United Nations and in other international organizations, not because China does not deserve an appropriate role commensurate with its presence on the world stage, but because of its attempts to pervert and distort the core values that make the UN’s work so important.
China’s efforts to insert ‘Xi Jinping thought’ into UN resolutions has undermined the UN’s commitment to human rights. This is the same leader responsible for what the State Department has determined to be acts of genocide committed against 1.8 million Uyghur men, women and children in internment facilities.
When China has asserted leadership – and taken on leadership roles – in UN bodies, these organizations have ceased to uphold the values and interests of the broader international community. Bit by bit, step by step, they are instead made to reflect China’s unilateral priorities, often at the expense of human rights. And for all the bluster and tough-guy rhetoric, the record of the Trump administration to counter Beijing’s efforts has been one of abject failure"... more related details
Jan. 27, WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), incoming Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered the following opening statement at this morning’s hearing on the nomination of Linda Thomas-Greenfield to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations...
..."Russia and China have not been content to simply protect Bashar al-Assad from accountability for his crimes against the Syrian people. Russia has threatened a veto on UN Syrian assistance to reduce the border crossings through which assistance can reach rebel-held Syria to only one. This has made it even harder to obtain desperately-needed food, shelter and medical assistance for innocent civilians. I strongly urge you to do everything possible to keep this vital lifeline open upon your confirmation.
I am also concerned by the way China has sought to increase its role at the United Nations and in other international organizations, not because China does not deserve an appropriate role commensurate with its presence on the world stage, but because of its attempts to pervert and distort the core values that make the UN’s work so important.
China’s efforts to insert ‘Xi Jinping thought’ into UN resolutions has undermined the UN’s commitment to human rights. This is the same leader responsible for what the State Department has determined to be acts of genocide committed against 1.8 million Uyghur men, women and children in internment facilities.
When China has asserted leadership – and taken on leadership roles – in UN bodies, these organizations have ceased to uphold the values and interests of the broader international community. Bit by bit, step by step, they are instead made to reflect China’s unilateral priorities, often at the expense of human rights. And for all the bluster and tough-guy rhetoric, the record of the Trump administration to counter Beijing’s efforts has been one of abject failure"... more related details
