[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1634 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1634

To set forth certain principles that should be adhered to by any United 
  States national conducting an industrial cooperation project in the 
                  People's Republic of China or Tibet.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 15, 1997

   Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. Wolf) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To set forth certain principles that should be adhered to by any United 
  States national conducting an industrial cooperation project in the 
                  People's Republic of China or Tibet.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. PURPOSE.

    It is the purpose of this Act to create principles governing the 
conduct of industrial cooperation projects of United States nationals 
in the People's Republic of China and Tibet.

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES.

    It is the sense of the Congress that any United States national 
conducting an industrial cooperation project in the People's Republic 
of China or Tibet should adhere to the following principles, which 
shall be known as the ``Harry Wu Principles'':
            (1) Suspend the use of any goods, wares, articles, or 
        merchandise that the United States national has reason to 
        believe were mined, produced, or manufactured, in whole or in 
        part, by convict labor or forced labor; and refuse to use 
        forced labor in the industrial cooperation project.
            (2) Seek to ensure that political or religious views, sex, 
        ethnic or national background, involvement in political 
        activities or nonviolent demonstrations, or association with 
        suspected or known dissidents will not prohibit hiring, lead to 
        harassment, demotion, or dismissal, or in any way affect the 
        status or terms of employment in the industrial cooperation 
        project. The United States national should not discriminate in 
        terms or conditions of employment in the industrial cooperation 
        project against persons with past records of arrests or 
        internal exile for nonviolent protest or membership in 
        unofficial organizations committed to nonviolence.
            (3) Ensure that methods of production used in the 
        industrial cooperation project do not pose an unnecessary 
        physical danger to workers and neighboring populations and 
        property and that the industrial cooperation project does not 
        unnecessarily risk harm to the surrounding environment; and 
        consult with community leaders regarding environmental 
        protection with respect to the industrial cooperation project.
            (4) Strive to use business enterprises that are not 
        controlled by the People's Republic of China or its authorized 
        agents and departments as potential partners in the industrial 
        cooperation project.
            (5) Prohibit any military presence on the premises of the 
        industrial cooperation project.
            (6) Undertake to promote freedom of association and 
        assembly among the employees of the United States national. The 
        United States national should protest any infringement by the 
        Government of the People's Republic of China of these freedoms 
        to the appropriate authorities of that government and to the 
        International Labor Organization, which has an office in 
        Beijing.
            (7) Use every possible channel of communication with the 
        Government of the People's Republic of China to urge that 
        government to disclose publicly a complete list of all those 
        individuals arrested since March 1989, to end incommunicado 
        detention and torture, and to provide international observers 
        access to all places of detention in the People's Republic of 
        China and Tibet and to trials of prisoners arrested in 
        connection with the pro-democracy events of April through June 
        of 1989 and the pro-democracy demonstrations which have taken 
        place in Tibet since 1987.
            (8) Discourage or undertake to prevent compulsory political 
        indoctrination programs from taking place on the premises of 
        the operations of the industrial cooperation project.
            (9) Promote freedom of expression, including the freedom to 
        seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, 
        regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, 
        in the form of art, or through any media. To this end, the 
        United States national should raise with appropriate 
        authorities of the Government of the People's Republic of China 
        concerns about restrictions on importation of foreign 
        publications.
            (10) Undertake to prevent harassment of workers who, 
        consistent with the United Nations World Population Plan of 
        Action, decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of 
        their children; and prohibit compulsory population control 
        activities on the premises of the industrial cooperation 
        project.

SEC. 3. PROMOTION OF PRINCIPLES BY OTHER NATIONS.

    The Secretary of State shall forward a copy of the principles set 
forth in section 2 to the member nations of the Organization for 
Economic Cooperation and Development and encourage them to promote 
principles similar to these principles.

SEC. 4. REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT.

    (a) In General.--Each United States national conducting an 
industrial cooperation project in the People's Republic of China or 
Tibet shall register with the Secretary of State and indicate whether 
the United States national agrees to implement the principles set forth 
in section 2. No fee shall be required for registration under this 
subsection.
    (b) Effective Date.--The registration requirement of subsection (a) 
shall take effect 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act--
            (1) the term ``industrial cooperation project'' refers to a 
        for-profit activity the business operations of which employ 
        more than 25 individuals or have assets greater than $25,000; 
        and
            (2) the term ``United States national'' means--
                    (A) a citizen or national of the United States or a 
                permanent resident of the United States; and
                    (B) a corporation, partnership, or other business 
                association organized under the laws of the United 
                States, any State or territory thereof, the District of 
                Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the 
                Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
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