CQ has a great piece on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s long-time leadership on human rights in China and Tibet. It covers her decades-long efforts to shine a spotlight on China’s human rights record, as well as her efforts to honor those who have fallen in the pursuit of democracy and freedom in China.  I’m not sure that I even knew about this courageous act.

In fact, the Pelosi exchange with China is part of a pattern that stretches back to her early days in Congress. In 1991, she and two House colleagues slipped out of their Beijing hotel and went to Tiananmen. They unfurled a banner reading, “To those who died for democracy in China,” but they were quickly surrounded by security forces. Pelosi ran from the scene of the incident, which China denounced as a “premeditated farce.”

I can think of no other elected member of the federal government that I could see going to Tiananmen Square to take a non-violent direct action on behalf of human rights in China. Forget elected officials, I know few activists who are willing to take such a risk.

Pelosi’s outspoken leadership on behalf of the people of Tibet and China is a credit to our country. I know she will continue to act for what she believes is right and she has demonstrated that her moral compass is as true as they come. Thank you for your leadership, Speaker Pelosi.