NEW YORK—Local New York officials have announced legislation that would remove millions of dollars of New York State funds that are invested in countries with horrible human rights records, like China and the Sudan. The officials discussed their plans on April 13 during the New York City leg of the Human Rights Torch Relay, which is raising awareness about human rights abuses in China ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
"I'm going to introduce a piece of legislation that will call for the state pension funds to be divested from any country that has serious human rights abuses," said New York State Senator Eric Adams, who presided over the Human Rights Torch lighting ceremony.
"There is nothing that we can do about the atrocities of slavery, there is nothing we can do about abuses before our time. But we cannot ignore abuses that take place during our time," said Sen. Adams. "So shame on us if the future shows that the abuses that are taking place in China happened while we are standing by and pretending that they don't exist."
The New York State pension fund has over $150 billion, with funds invested in companies throughout the country and all across the world.
"Some of these companies unfortunately do business in places like China who systematically violate the human rights of others," said State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries to rally participants at Union Square after the five Human Rights Torches arrived. "We're here today not because we are anti-business, we're here today because we're anti-injustice."
The Chinese Communist regime is known for persecuting Tibetans, Falun Gong, Christians, and many other religious, ethnic, and political groups. The regime has also been condemned for supporting brutal governments in the Sudan and Burma.
"The pension funds of people who work for the government throughout the country have millions of dollars invested in Chinese companies, including companies that do business in and support the government of the Sudan, which is committing genocide today as we speak in Darfur," said Councilman David Yassky, who is running for city comptroller—a position that requires supervising the accounting and financial reporting of City funds.
Also speaking at Union Square, Yassky said, "When the flame is paraded through the streets of Beijing, we have an obligation to do just what you are doing here today, stand up to speak out, to make it clear what our ideals and our values are and that the government of China today is totally opposed to the ideals that we believe in and the values we stand for."
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