[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2058 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2058

            Establishing United States policy toward China.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 19, 1995

 Mr. Bereuter introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committees 
 on Ways and Means and Banking and Financial Services, for a period to 
      be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
            Establishing United States policy toward China.
    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``China Policy Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The People's Republic of China comprises one-fifth of 
        the world's population, or 1,200,000,000 people, and its 
        policies have a profound effect on the world economy and global 
        security.
            (2) The People's Republic of China is a permanent member of 
        the United Nations Security Council and plays an important role 
        in regional organizations such as the Asia-Pacific Economic 
        Cooperation Forum and the ASEAN Regional Forum.
            (3) The People's Republic of China is a nuclear power with 
        the largest standing army in the world, and has been rapidly 
        modernizing and expanding its military capabilities.
            (4) The People's Republic of China is currently undergoing 
        a change of leadership which will have dramatic implications 
        for the political and economic future of the Chinese people and 
        for China's relations with the United States.
            (5) China's estimated $600,000,000,000 economy has enjoyed 
        unparalleled growth in recent years.
            (6) Despite increased economic linkages between the United 
        States and China, bilateral relations have deteriorated 
        significantly because of fundamental policy differences over a 
        variety of important issues.
            (7) The People's Republic of China has violated 
        international standards regarding the nonproliferation of 
        weapons of mass destruction.
            (8) The Government of the People's Republic of China, a 
        member of the United Nations Security Council, is obligated to 
        respect and uphold the United Nations Charter and Universal 
        Declaration of Human Rights.
            (9) According to the State Department Country Report on 
        Human Rights Practices for 1994, there continue to be 
        ``widespread and well-documented human rights abuses in China, 
        in violation of internationally accepted norms...(including) 
        arbitrary and lengthy incommunicado detention, torture, and 
        mistreatment of prisoners.... The regime continued severe 
        restrictions on freedom of speech, press, assembly and 
        association, and tightened control on the exercise of these 
        rights during 1994. Serious human rights abuses persisted in 
        Tibet and other areas populated by ethnic minorities.''.
            (10) The Government of the People's Republic of China 
        continues to detain political prisoners and continues to 
        violate internationally recognized standards of human rights by 
        arbitrary arrests and detention of persons for the nonviolent 
        expression of their political and religious beliefs.
            (11) The Government of the People's Republic of China does 
        not ensure the humane treatment of prisoners and does not allow 
        humanitarian and human rights organizations access to prisons.
            (12) The Government of the People's Republic of China 
        continues to harass and restrict the activities of accredited 
        journalists and to restrict broadcasts by the Voice of America.
            (13) In the weeks leading to the 6th anniversary of the 
        June 1989 massacre, a series of petitions were sent to the 
        Chinese Government calling for greater tolerance, democracy, 
        rule of law, and an accounting for the 1989 victims and the 
        Chinese Government responded by detaining dozens of prominent 
        intellectuals and activists.
            (14) The unjustified and arbitrary arrest, imprisonment, 
        and initiation of criminal proceedings against Harry Wu, a 
        citizen of the United States, has greatly exacerbated the 
        deterioration in relations between the United States and the 
        People's Republic of China, and all charges against him should 
        be dismissed.
            (15) China has failed to release political prisoners with 
        serious medical problems, such as Bao Tong, and on June 25, 
        1995, revoked ``medical parole'' for Chen-Ziming reimprisoning 
        him at Beijing No. 2 Prison, and Chinese authorities continue 
        to hold Wei Jingsheng incommunicado at an unknown location 
        since his arrest on April 1, 1994.
            (16) The Government of the People's Republic of China 
        continues to engage in discriminatory and unfair trade 
        practices, including the exportation of products produced by 
        prison labor, the use of import quotas and other quantitative 
        restrictions on selected products, the unilateral increasing of 
        tariff rates and the imposition of taxes as surcharges on 
        tariffs, the barring of the importation of certain items, the 
        use of licensing and testing requirements to limit imports, and 
        the transshipment of textiles and other items through the 
        falsification of country of origin documentation.
            (17) The Government of the People's Republic of China 
        continues to employ the policy and practice of controlling all 
        trade unions and continues to suppress and harass members of 
        the independent labor union movement.
            (18) The United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 states 
        that Congress wishes to see the provisions of the joint 
        declaration implemented, and declares that ``the human rights 
        of the people of Hong Kong are of great importance to the U.S. 
        Human Rights also serve as a basis for Hong Kong's continued 
        prosperity,''. This together with the rule of law and a free 
        press are essential for a successful transition in 1997.
            (19) The United States currently has numerous sanctions on 
        the People's Republic of China with respect to government-to-
        government assistance, arms sales, and other commercial 
        transactions.
            (20) It is in the interest of the United States to foster 
        China's continued engagement in the broadest range of 
        international fora and increased respect for human rights, 
        democratic institutions, and the rule of law in China.

SEC. 3. UNITED STATES DIPLOMATIC INITIATIVES.

    (a) United States Objectives.--The Congress calls upon the 
President to undertake intensified diplomatic initiatives to persuade 
the Government of the People's Republic of China to--
            (1) immediately and unconditionally release Harry Wu from 
        detention;
            (2) adhere to prevailing international standards regarding 
        the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction by, among 
        other things, immediately halting the export of ballistic 
        missile technology and the provision of other weapons of mass 
        destruction assistance, in violation of international 
        standards, to Iran, Pakistan, and other countries of concern;
            (3) respect the internationally-recognized human rights of 
        its citizens by, among other things--
                    (A) permitting freedom of speech, freedom of press, 
                freedom of assembly, freedom of association, and 
                freedom of religion;
                    (B) ending arbitrary detention, torture, forced 
                labor, and other mistreatment of prisoners;
                    (C) releasing all political prisoners, and 
                dismantling the Chinese system of jailing political 
                prisoners (the gulag) and the Chinese forced labor 
                system (the Laogai);
                    (D) ending coercive birth control practices; and
                    (E) respecting the legitimate rights of the people 
                of Tibet, ethnic minorities, and ending the crackdown 
                on religious practices;
            (4) curtail excessive modernization and expansion of 
        China's military capabilities, and adopt defense transparency 
        measures that will reassure China's neighbors;
            (5) end provocative military actions in the South China Sea 
        and elsewhere that threaten China's neighbors, and work with 
        them to resolve disputes in a peaceful manner;
            (6) adhere to a rules-based international trade regime in 
        which existing trade agreements are fully implemented and 
        enforced, and equivalent and reciprocal market access is 
        provided for United States goods and services in China;
            (7) comply with the prohibition on all forced labor exports 
        to the United States; and
            (8) reduce tensions with Taiwan by means of dialogue and 
        other confidence building measures.
    (b) Venues for Diplomatic Initiatives.--The diplomatic initiatives 
taken in accordance with subsection (a) should include actions by the 
United States--
            (1) in the conduct of bilateral relations with China;
            (2) in the United Nations and other international 
        organizations;
            (3) in the World Bank and other international financial 
        institutions;
            (4) in the World Trade Organization and other international 
        trade fora; and
            (5) in the conduct of bilateral relations with other 
        countries in order to encourage them to support and join with 
        the United States in taking the foregoing actions.

SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    The President shall report to the Congress within 30 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, and no less frequently than every 6 
months thereafter, on--
            (1) the actions taken by the United States in accordance 
        with section 3 during the preceding 6-month period;
            (2) the actions taken with respect to China during the 
        preceding 6-month period by--
                    (A) the United Nations and other international 
                organizations;
                    (B) the World Bank and other international 
                financial institutions; and
                    (C) the World Trade Organization and other 
                international trade fora; and
            (3) the progress achieved with respect to each of the 
        United States objectives identified in section 3(a).
Such reports may be submitted in classified and unclassified form.

SEC. 5. COMMENDATION OF DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT.

    The Congress commends the brave men and women who have expressed 
their concerns to the Government of the People's Republic of China in 
the form of petitions and commends the democracy movement as a whole 
for its commitment to the promotion of political, economic, and 
religious freedom.

SEC. 6. RADIO FREE ASIA.

    (a) Plan for Radio Free Asia.--Section 309(c) of the United States 
International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6208(c)) is amended 
to read as follows:
    ``(c) Submission of Plan.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
enactment of the China Policy Act of 1995, the Director of the United 
States Information Agency shall submit to the Congress a detailed plan 
for the establishment and operation of Radio Free Asia in accordance 
with this section. Such plan shall include the following:
            ``(1) A description of the manner in which Radio Free Asia 
        would meet the funding limitations provided in subsection 
        (d)(4).
            ``(2) A description of the numbers and qualifications of 
        employees it proposes to hire.
            ``(3) How it proposes to meet the technical requirements 
        for carrying out its responsibilities under this section.''.
    (b) Initiation of Broadcasting to China.--Not later than 90 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, Radio Free Asia shall commence 
broadcasting to China. Such broadcasting may be undertaken initially by 
means of contracts with or grants to existing broadcasting 
organizations and facilities.
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