[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2358 Engrossed in House (EH)]


  1st Session

                               H. R. 2358

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 To provide for improved monitoring of human rights violations in the 
                      People's Republic of China.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2358

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
 To provide for improved monitoring of human rights violations in the 
                      People's Republic of China.

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

                                TITLE I

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be cited as the ``Political Freedom in China Act of 
1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Congress concurs in the following conclusions of 
        the United States State Department on human rights in the 
        People's Republic of China in 1996:
                    (A) The People's Republic of China is ``an 
                authoritarian state'' in which ``citizens lack the 
                freedom to peacefully express opposition to the party-
                led political system and the right to change their 
                national leaders or form of government''.
                    (B) The Government of the People's Republic of 
                China has ``continued to commit widespread and well-
                documented human rights abuses, in violation of 
                internationally accepted norms, stemming from the 
                authorities' intolerance of dissent, fear of unrest, 
                and the absence or inadequacy of laws protecting basic 
                freedoms''.
                    (C) ``[a]buses include torture and mistreatment of 
                prisoners, forced confessions, and arbitrary and 
                incommunicado detention''.
                    (D) ``[p]rison conditions remained harsh [and] 
                [t]he Government continued severe restrictions on 
                freedom of speech, the press, assembly, association, 
                religion, privacy, and worker rights''.
                    (E) ``[a]lthough the Government denies that it 
                holds political prisoners, the number of persons 
                detained or serving sentences for `counterrevolutionary 
                crimes' or `crimes against the state', or for peaceful 
                political or religious activities are believed to 
                number in the thousands''.
                    (F) ``[n]onapproved religious groups, including 
                Protestant and Catholic groups * * * experienced 
                intensified repression''.
                    (G) ``[s]erious human rights abuses persist in 
                minority areas, including Tibet, Xinjiang, and Inner 
                Mongolia[, and] [c]ontrols on religion and on other 
                fundamental freedoms in these areas have also 
                intensified''.
                    (H) ``[o]verall in 1996, the authorities stepped up 
                efforts to cut off expressions of protest or criticism. 
                All public dissent against the party and government was 
                effectively silenced by intimidation, exile, the 
                imposition of prison terms, administrative detention, 
                or house arrest. No dissidents were known to be active 
                at year's end.''.
            (2) In addition to the State Department, credible 
        independent human rights organizations have documented an 
        increase in repression in China during 1995, and effective 
        destruction of the dissident movement through the arrest and 
        sentencing of the few remaining pro-democracy and human rights 
        activists not already in prison or exile.
            (3) Among those were Wang Dan, a student leader of the 1989 
        pro-democracy protests, sentenced on October 30, 1996, to 11 
        years in prison on charges of conspiring to subvert the 
        government; Li Hai, sentenced to 9 years in prison on December 
        18, 1996, for gathering information on the victims of the 1989 
        crackdown, which according to the court's verdict constituted 
        ``state secrets''; Liu Nianchun, an independent labor 
        organizer, sentenced to 3 years of ``re-education through 
        labor'' on July 4, 1996, due to his activities in connection 
        with a petition campaign calling for human rights reforms; and 
        Ngodrup Phuntsog, a Tibetan national, who was arrested in Tibet 
        in 1987 immediately after he returned from a 2-year trip to 
        India, where the Tibetan government in exile is located, and 
        following a secret trial was convicted by the Government of the 
        People's Republic of China of espionage on behalf of the 
        ``Ministry of Security of the Dalai clique''.
            (4) Many political prisoners are suffering from poor 
        conditions and ill-treatment leading to serious medical and 
        health problems, including--
                    (A) Wei Jingsheng, sentenced to 14 years in prison 
                on December 13, 1996, for conspiring to subvert the 
                government and for ``communication with hostile foreign 
                organizations and individuals, amassing funds in 
                preparation for overthrowing the government and 
                publishing anti-government articles abroad,'' is 
                currently held in Jile No. 1 Prison (formerly the Nanpu 
                New Life Salt Farm) in Hebei province, where he 
                reportedly suffers from severe high blood pressure and 
                a heart condition, worsened by poor conditions of 
                confinement;
                    (B) Gao Yu, a journalist sentenced to 6 years in 
                prison in November 1994 and honored by UNESCO in May 
                1997, has a heart condition; and
                    (C) Chen Longde, a leading human rights advocate 
                now serving a 3-year reeducation through labor sentence 
                imposed without trial in August 1995, has reportedly 
                been subject to repeated beatings and electric shocks 
                at a labor camp for refusing to confess his guilt.
            (5) The People's Republic of China, as a member of the 
        United Nations, is expected to abide by the provisions of the 
        Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
            (6) The People's Republic of China is a party to numerous 
        international human rights conventions, including the 
        Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or 
        Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

SEC. 3. CONDUCT OF FOREIGN RELATIONS.

    (a) Release of Prisoners.--The Secretary of State, in all official 
meetings with the Government of the People's Republic of China, should 
request the immediate and unconditional release of Ngodrup Phuntsog and 
other prisoners of conscience in Tibet, as well as in the People's 
Republic of China.
    (b) Access to Prisons.--The Secretary of State should seek access 
for international humanitarian organizations to Drapchi prison and 
other prisons in Tibet, as well as in the People's Republic of China, 
to ensure that prisoners are not being mistreated and are receiving 
necessary medical treatment.
    (c) Dialogue on Future of Tibet.--The Secretary of State, in all 
official meetings with the Government of the People's Republic of 
China, should call on that country to begin serious discussions with 
the Dalai Lama or his representatives, without preconditions, on the 
future of Tibet.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL AT 
              DIPLOMATIC POSTS TO MONITOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE PEOPLE'S 
              REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to support personnel to 
monitor political repression in the People's Republic of China in the 
United States Embassies in Beijing and Kathmandu, as well as the 
American consulates in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, Chengdu, and Hong 
Kong, $2,200,000 for fiscal year 1998 and $2,200,000 for fiscal year 
1999.

SEC. 5. DEMOCRACY BUILDING IN CHINA.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations for NED.--In addition to such 
sums as are otherwise authorized to be appropriated for the ``National 
Endowment for Democracy'' for fiscal years 1998 and 1999, there are 
authorized to be appropriated for the ``National Endowment for 
Democracy'' $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1998 and $5,000,000 for fiscal 
year 1999, which shall be available to promote democracy, civil 
society, and the development of the rule of law in China.
    (b) East Asia-Pacific Regional Democracy Fund.--The Secretary of 
State shall use funds available in the East Asia-Pacific Regional 
Democracy Fund to provide grants to nongovernmental organizations to 
promote democracy, civil society, and the development of the rule of 
law in China.

SEC. 6. HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHINA.

    (a) Reports.--Not later than March 30, 1998, and each subsequent 
year thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 
International Relations Committee of the House of Representatives and 
the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate an annual report on human 
rights in China, including religious persecution, the development of 
democratic institutions, and the rule of law. Reports shall provide 
information on each region of China.
    (b) Prisoner Information Registry.--The Secretary of State shall 
establish a Prisoner Information Registry for China which shall provide 
information on all political prisoners, prisoners of conscience, and 
prisoners of faith in China. Such information shall include the 
charges, judicial processes, administrative actions, use of forced 
labor, incidences of torture, length of imprisonment, physical and 
health conditions, and other matters related to the incarceration of 
such prisoners in China. The Secretary of State is authorized to make 
funds available to nongovernmental organizations presently engaged in 
monitoring activities regarding Chinese political prisoners to assist 
in the creation and maintenance of the registry.

SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS CONCERNING ESTABLISHMENT OF A COMMISSION ON 
              SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN ASIA.

    It is the sense of the Congress that Congress, the President, and 
the Secretary of State should work with the governments of other 
countries to establish a Commission on Security and Cooperation in Asia 
which would be modeled after the Commission on Security and Cooperation 
in Europe.

SEC. 8. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING DEMOCRACY IN HONG KONG.

    It is the sense of the Congress that the people of Hong Kong should 
continue to have the right and ability to freely elect their 
legislative representatives, and that the procedure for the conduct of 
the elections of the first legislature of the Hong Kong Special 
Administrative Region should be determined by the people of Hong Kong 
through an election law convention, a referendum, or both.

SEC. 9. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS RELATING TO ORGAN HARVESTING AND 
              TRANSPLANTING IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

    It is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) the Government of the People's Republic of China should 
        stop the practice of harvesting and transplanting organs for 
        profit from prisoners that it executes;
            (2) the Government of the People's Republic of China should 
        be strongly condemned for such organ harvesting and 
        transplanting practice;
            (3) the President should bar from entry into the United 
        States any and all officials of the Government of the People's 
        Republic of China known to be directly involved in such organ 
        harvesting and transplanting practice;
            (4) individuals determined to be participating in or 
        otherwise facilitating the sale of such organs in the United 
        States should be prosecuted to the fullest possible extent of 
        the law; and
            (5) the appropriate officials in the United States should 
        interview individuals, including doctors, who may have 
        knowledge of such organ harvesting and transplanting practice.

               TITLE II--AGREEMENT ON NUCLEAR COOPERATION

    (a) Amendment to Joint Resolution Relating to Agreement For Nuclear 
Cooperation.--The joint resolution entitled ``Joint Resolution relating 
to the approval and implementation of the proposed agreement for 
nuclear cooperation between the United States and the People's Republic 
of China (Public Law 99-183; approved December 16, 1985) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by inserting ``and subject to section 2,'' 
                after ``or any international agreement,''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (1) by striking ``thirty'' and 
                inserting ``120''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``Sec. 2. (a) Action by Congress To Disapprove Certification.--No 
license may be issued for the export to the People's Republic of China 
of any nuclear material, facilities, or components subject to the 
Agreement, and no approval for the transfer or retransfer to the 
People's Republic of China of any nuclear material, facilities, or 
components subject to the Agreement shall be given if, during the 120-
day period referred to in subsection (b)(1) of the first section, there 
is enacted a joint resolution described in subsection (b) of this 
section.
    ``(b) Description of Joint Resolution.--A joint resolution is 
described in this subsection if it is a joint resolution which has a 
provision disapproving the President's certification under subsection 
(b)(1), or a provision or provisions modifying the manner in which the 
Agreement is implemented, or both.
    ``(c) Procedures For Consideration of Joint Resolutions.--
            ``(1) Reference to committees.--Joint resolutions--
                    ``(A) may be introduced in either House of Congress 
                by any Member of such House; and
                    ``(B) shall be referred, in the House of 
                Representatives, to the Committee on International 
                Relations and, in the Senate, to the Committee on 
                Foreign Relations.
        It shall be in order to amend such joint resolutions in the 
        committees to which they are referred.
            ``(2) Floor consideration.--(A) The provisions of section 
        152(d) and (e) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2192(d) and 
        (e)) (relating to the floor consideration of certain 
        resolutions in the House and Senate) apply to joint resolutions 
        described in subsection (b).
            ``(B) It is not in order for--
                    ``(i) the House of Representatives to consider any 
                joint resolution described in subsection (b) that has 
                not been reported by the Committee on International 
                Relations; and
                    ``(ii) the Senate to consider any joint resolution 
                described in subsection (b) that has not been reported 
                by the Committee on Foreign Relations.
    ``(c) Consideration of Second Resolution Not in Order.--It shall 
not be in order in either the House of Representatives or the Senate to 
consider a joint resolution described in subsection (b) (other than a 
joint resolution described in subsection (b) received from the other 
House), if that House has previously adopted such a joint resolution.
    ``(d) Procedures Relating to Conference Reports in the Senate.--
            ``(1) Consideration.--Consideration in the the Senate of 
        the conference report on any joint resolution described in 
        subsection (b), including consideration of all amendments in 
        disagreement (and all amendments thereto), and consideration of 
        all debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith, 
        shall be limited to 10 hours, to be equally divided between, 
        and controlled by, the majority leader and the minority leader 
        or their designees. Debate on any debatable motion or appeal 
        related to the conference report shall be limited to 1 hour, to 
        be equally divided between, and controlled by, the mover and 
        the manager of the conference report.
            ``(2) Debate on amendments in disagreement.--In any case in 
        which there are amendments in disagreement, time on each 
        amendment shall be limited to 30 minutes, to be equally divided 
        between, and controlled by, the manager of the conference 
        report and the minority leader or his designee. No amendment to 
        any amendment in disagreement shall be received unless it is a 
        germane amendment.
            ``(3) Consideration of veto message.--Consideration in the 
        Senate of any veto message with respect to a joint resolution 
        described in subsection (b), including consideration of all 
        debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith, shall be 
        limited to 10 hours, to be equally divided between, and 
        controlled by, the majority leader and the minority leader or 
        their designees.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives November 5, 1997.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.