[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 967 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  1st Session
                                H. R. 967


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 7, 1997

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
     To prohibit the use of United States funds to provide for the 
      participation of certain Chinese officials in international 
   conferences, programs, and activities and to provide that certain 
  Chinese officials shall be ineligible to receive visas and excluded 
                  from admission to the United States.

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

SECTION 1. CONGRESSIONAL STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the sense of the Congress that the President should make 
freedom of religion one of the major objectives of United States 
foreign policy with respect to China. As part of this policy, the 
Department of State should raise in every relevant bilateral and 
multilateral forum the issue of individuals imprisoned, detained, 
confined, or otherwise harassed by the Chinese Government on religious 
grounds. In its communications with the Chinese Government, the 
Department of State should provide specific names of individuals of 
concern and request a complete and timely response from the Chinese 
Government regarding the individuals' whereabouts and condition, the 
charges against them, and sentence imposed. The goal of these official 
communications should be the expeditious release of all religious 
prisoners in China and Tibet and the end of the Chinese Government's 
policy and practice of harassing and repressing religious believers.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR THE PARTICIPATION OF CERTAIN 
              CHINESE OFFICIALS IN CONFERENCES, EXCHANGES, PROGRAMS, 
              AND ACTIVITIES.

    (a) Prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for 
fiscal years after fiscal year 1997, no funds appropriated or otherwise 
made available for the Department of State, the United States 
Information Agency, and the United States Agency for International 
Development may be used for the purpose of providing travel expenses 
and per diem for the participation of nationals of the People's 
Republic of China described in paragraphs (1) and (2) in conferences, 
exchanges, programs, and activities:
            (1) The head or political secretary of any of the following 
        Chinese Government-created or approved organizations:
                    (A) The Chinese Buddhist Association.
                    (B) The Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.
                    (C) The National Congress of Catholic 
                Representatives.
                    (D) The Chinese Catholic Bishops' Conference.
                    (E) The Chinese Protestant ``Three Self'' Patriotic 
                Movement.
                    (F) The China Christian Council.
                    (G) The Chinese Taoist Association.
                    (H) The Chinese Islamic Association.
            (2) Any military or civilian official or employee of the 
        Government of the People's Republic of China who carried out or 
        directed the carrying out of any of the following policies or 
        practices:
                    (A) Formulating, drafting, or implementing 
                repressive religious policies.
                    (B) Imprisoning, detaining, or harassing 
                individuals on religious grounds.
                    (C) Promoting or participating in policies or 
                practices which hinder religious activities or the free 
                expression of religious beliefs.
    (b) Certification.--
            (1) Each Federal agency subject to the prohibition of 
        subsection (a) shall certify in writing to the appropriate 
        congressional committees no later than 120 days after the date 
        of enactment of this Act, and every 90 days thereafter, that it 
        did not pay, either directly or through a contractor or 
        grantee, for travel expenses or per diem of any national of the 
        People's Republic of China described in subsection (a).
            (2) Each certification under paragraph (1) shall be 
        supported by the following information:
                    (A) The name of each employee of any agency of the 
                Government of the People's Republic of China whose 
                travel expenses or per diem were paid by funds of the 
                reporting agency of the United States Government.
                    (B) The procedures employed by the reporting agency 
                of the United States Government to ascertain whether 
                each individual under subparagraph (A) did or did not 
                participate in activities described in subsection 
                (a)(2).
                    (C) The reporting agency's basis for concluding 
                that each individual under subparagraph (A) did not 
                participate in such activities.
    (c) Definition of Appropriate Congressional Committees.--For 
purposes of this section the term ``appropriate congressional 
committees'' means the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and 
the Committee on International Relations of the House of 
Representatives.

SEC. 3. CERTAIN OFFICIALS OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA INELIGIBLE 
              TO RECEIVE VISAS AND EXCLUDED FROM ADMISSION.

    (a) Requirement.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any 
national of the People's Republic of China described in section 2(a)(2) 
(except the head of state, the head of government, and cabinet level 
ministers) shall be ineligible to receive visas and shall be excluded 
from admission into the United States.
    (b) Waiver.--The President may waive the requirement in subsection 
(a) with respect to an individual described in such subsection if the 
President--
            (1) determines that it is vital to the national interest to 
        do so; and
            (2) provides written notification to the appropriate 
        congressional committees (as defined in section 2(c)) 
        containing a justification for the waiver.

SEC. 4. SUNSET PROVISION.

    Sections 2 and 3 shall cease to have effect 4 years after the date 
of the enactment of this Act.

            Passed the House of Representatives November 6, 1997.

            Attest:

                                                ROBIN H. CARLE,

                                                                 Clerk.