[imText1]Washington D.C. — A candlelight vigil was held in Washington D.C. last night to protest China’s policy of repatriating North Korean refugees.
The vigil, which was organized by North Korea Freedom Coalition, was timed to coincide with a state dinner for Chinese President Hu Jintao, who arrived in the city for his summit with President Barack Obama earlier in the day.
Alongside a prayer session for those already repatriated to North Korea by the Chinese government, the event also featured a performance of an old Korean song, a reading of the names of those known to have been repatriated, and a candlelit journey from Lafayette Park down to the White House, where a quiet ceremony was held featuring a white coffin to represent all those who have died as a result of the Chinese policy.
“We have respect for the Chinese government,” Miss Kim of Washington, D.C. told The Daily NK in an interview given at the event, “but what we really want is for them to stop repatriating North Korean refugees.”
“This is an issue that is very simple; it will not hurt the Chinese economy or government as far as we can understand to just not send people to their deaths,” she added.
Miss Kim also called for the international media to focus on other things besides the North Korean nuclear issue, asserting that “as much as we talk about nuclear issues in the media, we’re not getting enough on human rights, not getting enough on the human aspect of what is going on over there.”
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