U.S. Representative Ed Royce

Currently, I serve as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. America has considerable strategic and economic interests in this region. I am active both in Congress and at home on many issues of importance to the U.S., including trade, security, economics and human rights. I have fought to lower trade barriers for California goods and services throughout Asia, protested religious persecution in Vietnam, called attention to the plight of North Korean refugees, and worked to expand U.S. international broadcasting towards repressive governments in the region.

In 1999, I was appointed by the Speaker of the House to chair the U.S.-Republic of Korean Interparliamentary Exchange. The Exchange provides Members of Congress and their counterparts in the Korean National Assembly a forum to discuss issues central to the U.S.-South Korean relationship including security, trade, and politics. The Exchange alternates between the U.S. and South Korea each year.

I have worked hard to promote international broadcasting into countries whose government's limit free speech or strictly control the news and information that their people receive. I am the author of the Radio Free Asia Act of 1997, which significantly boosted broadcasting activities to China, North Korea, and other Asian countries with repressive governments. I am also working to expand international radio broadcasts into North Korea to counter the communist North Korean government. A fundamental prerequisite for the development of a representative government is the free flow of information. All people deserve to know the truth about what is going on in and outside their country.

In July 2004 the House again passed legislation that I co-authored to bring attention to the abysmal human rights record of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, a country notorious for its poor human rights record. In an effort to promote religious freedom and democracy in Vietnam, the bill prohibits non-humanitarian U.S. aid from being provided to Vietnam unless the Vietnamese government begins freeing political prisoners and respecting the rights of ethnic minorities. It also supports Radio Free Asia's efforts to overcome jamming efforts by the Vietnamese government, and works against the Vietnamese government's recent crack down on Internet usage. As co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, I am working to strengthening ties between the U.S. and India.

In the 112th Congress, I introduced the Vietnam Human Rights Sanctions Act, legislation that imposes sanctions on Vietnamese government officials who are complicit in human rights abuses committed against the people of Vietnam. The bill targets government agents, police officers, and others who commit egregious human rights abuses against peaceful dissidents with travel restrictions and financial sanctions. Additionally, I have publicly urged President Obama to make human rights a priority in his meetings with Vietnam’s President Sang. In 2013, I co-hosted a meeting of nearly 800 Vietnamese American community leaders from across the country to discuss key issues, including the increase in human rights violations being committed in Vietnam. This “Meetup” was part of an ongoing series of discussions conducted by House Republican Conference designed to welcome different constituencies to Capitol Hill to engage in open dialogues with Members of Congress. 

My hometown city of Fullerton contains the largest population of Korean-Americans in Orange County and I was honored to welcome residents of the 39th district to our recent Korean American Meetup. Click here to watch a great video of highlights from this important event. 

In the 113th Congress, I sponsored H.R. 1151 to urge the Secretary of State to facilitate the inclusion of Taiwan into the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Taiwan, home to one of the world’s busiest airports, has previously been excluded from membership to the ICAO.  Access to the ICAO, which aims to develop methods for safety and efficiency in international aviation, will be crucial to creating and maintaining safe aviation practices in Taiwan’s airport, which processes a large volume of cargo and passengers from all over the world, including the U.S. This legislation has passed the House of Representatives.