[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 128 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 128
Calling on the Government of the People's Republic of China to
immediately and unconditionally release all American scholars of
Chinese ancestry being held in detention, calling on the President of
the United States to continue working on behalf of the detained
scholars for their release, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 11, 2001
Mr. Torricelli (for himself, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Allen, Mr.
Wellstone, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Helms, and Mr. Dodd)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Foreign Relations
July 12, 2001
Reported by Mr. Biden, without amendment
July 26, 2001
Considered, amended, and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Calling on the Government of the People's Republic of China to
immediately and unconditionally release all American scholars of
Chinese ancestry being held in detention, calling on the President of
the United States to continue working on behalf of the detained
scholars for their release, and for other purposes.
Whereas in recent months the Government of the People's Republic of China has
arrested and detained several scholars and intellectuals of Chinese
ancestry with ties to the United States, including at least 2 United
States citizens and 4 permanent residents of the United States;
Whereas according to the Department of State's 2000 Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices in China, and international human rights organizations,
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'';
Whereas the harassment, arbitrary arrest, detention, and filing of criminal
charges against scholars and intellectuals has created a chilling effect
on freedom of expression in the People's Republic of China, in
contravention of internationally accepted norms, including the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the People's
Republic of China signed in October 1998;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China frequently uses torture
and other human rights violations to produce coerced ``confessions''
from detainees;
Whereas the Department of State's 2000 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
in China has extensively documented that human rights abuses in the
People's Republic of China ``included instances of extrajudicial
killings, the use of torture, forced confessions, arbitrary arrest and
detention, the mistreatment of prisoners, lengthy incommunicado
detention, and denial of due process'', and also found that ``[p]olice
and prosecutorial officials often ignore the due process provisions of
the law and of the Constitution . . . [f]or example, police and
prosecutors can subject prisoners to severe psychological pressure to
confess, and coerced confessions frequently are introduced as
evidence'';
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China has reported that some
of the scholar detainees have ``confessed'' to their ``crimes'' of
``spying'', but it has yet to produce any evidence of spying, and has
refused to permit the detainees to confer with their families or
lawyers;
Whereas the Department of State's 2000 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
in China also found that ``police continue to hold individuals without
granting access to family or a lawyer, and trials continue to be
conducted in secret'';
Whereas Dr. Li Shaomin is a United States citizen and scholar who has been
detained by the Government of the People's Republic of China for more
than 100 days, was formally charged with spying for Taiwan on May 15,
2001, was tried and convicted on July 14, 2001, and is expected to be
deported;
Whereas Dr. Li Shaomin has been deprived of his basic human rights by arbitrary
arrest and detention, has not been allowed to contact his wife and child
(both United States citizens), and was prevented from seeing his lawyer
for an unacceptably long period of time;
Whereas Dr. Gao Zhan is a permanent resident of the United States and scholar
who has been detained by the Government of the People's Republic of
China for more than 114 days, and was formally charged with ``accepting
money from a foreign intelligence agency'' on April 4, 2001;
Whereas Dr. Gao Zhan has been deprived of her basic human rights by arbitrary
arrest and detention, has not been allowed to contact her husband and
child (both United States citizens) or Department of State consular
personnel in China, and was prevented from seeing her lawyer for an
unacceptably long period of time;
Whereas Wu Jianmin is a United States citizen and author who has been detained
by the Government of the People's Republic of China, has been deprived
of his basic human rights by arbitrary arrest and detention, has been
denied access to lawyers and family members, and has yet to be formally
charged with any crimes;
Whereas Qin Guangguang is a permanent resident of the United States and
researcher who has been detained by the Government of the People's
Republic of China on suspicions of ``leaking state secrets'', has been
deprived of his basic human rights by arbitrary arrest and detention,
has been denied access to lawyers and family members, and has yet to be
formally charged with any crimes;
Whereas Teng Chunyan is a permanent resident of the United States, Falun Gong
practitioner, and researcher who has been sentenced to three years in
prison for spying by the Government of the People's Republic of China,
apparently for conducting research which documented violations of the
human rights of Falun Gong adherents in China, has been deprived of her
basic human rights by being placed on trial in secret, and her appeal to
the Beijing Higher People's Court was denied on May 11, 2001;
Whereas Liu Yaping is a permanent resident of the United States and a
businessman who was arrested and detained in Inner Mongolia in March
2001 by the Government of the People's Republic of China, has been
deprived of his basic human rights by being denied any access to family
members and by being denied regular access to lawyers, is reported to be
suffering from severe health problems, was accused of tax evasion and
other economic crimes, and has been denied his request for medical
parole; and
Whereas the arbitrary imprisonment of United States citizens and residents by
the Government of the People's Republic of China, and the continuing
violations of their fundamental human rights, demands an immediate and
forceful response by Congress and the President of the United States:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That
(1) the Senate--
(A) condemns and deplores the continued detention of Li
Shaomin, Gao Zhan, Wu Jianmin, Qin Guangguang, Teng Chunyan, and
other scholars detained by the Government of the People's
Republic of China, and calls for their immediate and
unconditional release;
(B) condemns and deplores the lack of due process afforded
to these detainees, and the probable coercion of confessions
from some of them;
(C) condemns and deplores the ongoing and systematic pattern
of human rights violations by the Government of the People's
Republic of China, of which the unjust detentions of Li Shaomin,
Gao Zhan, Wu Jianmin, Qin Guangguang, and Teng Chunyan, are only
important examples;
(D) strongly urges the Government of the People's Republic
of China to consider carefully the implications to the broader
United States-Chinese relationship of detaining and coercing
confessions from United States citizens and permanent residents
on unsubstantiated spying charges or suspicions;
(E) urges the Government of the People's Republic of China
to consider releasing Liu Yaping on medical parole, as provided
for under Chinese law; and
(F) believes that human rights violations inflicted on
United States citizens and residents by the Government of the
People's Republic of China will reduce opportunities for United
States-Chinese cooperation on a wide range of issues; and
(2) it is the sense of the Senate that the President--
(A) should make the immediate release of Li Shaomin, Gao
Zhan, Wu Jianmin, Qin Guangguang, and Teng Chunyan a top
priority of United States foreign policy with the Government of
the People's Republic of China;
(B) should continue to make every effort to assist Li
Shaomin, Gao Zhan, Wu Jianmin, Qin Guangguang, and Teng Chunyan,
and their families, while discussions of their release are
ongoing;
(C) should make it clear to the Government of the People's
Republic of China that the detention of United States citizens
and residents, and the infliction of human rights violations
upon United States citizens and residents, is not in the
interests of the Government of the People's Republic of China
because it will reduce opportunities for United States-Chinese
cooperation on other matters; and
(D) should immediately send a special, high ranking
representative to the Government of the People's Republic of
China to reiterate the deep concern of the United States
regarding the continued imprisonment of Li Shaomin, Gao Zhan, Wu
Jianmin, Qin Guangguang, Teng Chunyan, and Liu Yaping, and to
discuss their legal status and immediate humanitarian needs.
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