Whereas leading reformist and
former Chinese Communist Party Secretary General, Zhao Ziyang, died under house
arrest in China on January 17, 2005, at the age of 85;
Whereas Zhao implemented
important agricultural, industrial, and economic reforms in China and rose to
the prominent positions of premier and Secretary General within the Communist
Party despite criticisms of his capitalist ideals;
Whereas, in the early summer
of 1989, students gathered in Tiananmen Square to voice their support for
democracy and to protest the Communist government that continues to deny them
that democracy;
Whereas Secretary General
Zhao advised against the use of military force to end the pro-democracy
protests in Tiananmen Square;
Whereas, on May 19, 1989, in
Tiananmen Square, Zhao warned the tens of thousands of students clamoring for
democracy that the authorities were approaching and urged them to return to
their homes; an action that illustrated his sympathy for their cause;
Whereas Zhao was consequently
relieved of all leadership responsibilities following his actions in Tiananmen
Square that summer and was placed under house arrest for the remaining years of
his life;
Whereas the Government of
China remained indecisive regarding a ceremony for Zhao for several days before
allowing a relatively modest ceremony at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery
in Beijing, where Zhao was cremated on January 29, 2005;
Whereas the Government of
China’s fear of civil unrest resulted in the prohibition of political
dissidents and others from the funeral, and the thousands who were in
attendance were surrounded in an intimidating environment without adequate time
to mourn and grieve;
Whereas news of Zhao’s death
was announced only in a brief notice by the Communist government and was
forbidden to be covered by the radio or national television, while eulogies
were erased by censors from memorial websites;
Whereas, upon the
announcement of Zhao's death, Chinese news agencies were certain to reference
the serious mistake
committed by Zhao at what they refer to as a
political incident in 1989;
Whereas mourning the death of
Zhao in the Hong Kong Legislative Council was deemed unconstitutional and
lawmakers in Hong Kong were refused the opportunity to observe a moment of
silence in honor of his life;
Whereas the death of Zhao has
renewed the desire of certain Chinese people for a reassessment of the
crackdown in 1989 in order to acknowledge the merit of pro-democracy student
demonstrations and complaints of government corruption; and
Whereas Zhao will continue to
serve as a symbol of the dreams and purpose of the 1989 Tiananmen Square
demonstration, which survived the Tiananmen massacre but which have still not
been realized for the people of China: Now, therefore, be it
That the Senate—
(1)
recognizes that Zhao Ziyang
made an important contribution to the people of China by providing assistance
to the students in Tiananmen Square in 1989, and that through this contribution
and his decisions to actively seek reform, Zhao remains a symbol of hope for
reform and human rights for the people of China;
(2)
expresses sympathy for Zhao’s
family and to the people of China who were unable to appropriately mourn his
death or to celebrate his life;
(3)
calls on the Government of
China—
(A)
to release all prisoners of
conscience, including those persons still in prison as a result of their
participation in the peaceful pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in
1989; and
(B)
to allow those people exiled
on account of their activities to return to live in freedom in China;
and
(4)
stands with the people of
China as they strive to improve their way of life and create a government that
is truly democratic and respectful of international norms in the area of human
rights.