110 HRES 821 IH: Condemning Communist China’s U.S. House of Representatives 2007-11-13 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 110th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 821 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES November 13, 2007 Mr. McCotter (for himself, Mr. Rohrabacher, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Kuhl of New York, Mr. Stearns, and Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Condemning Communist China’s discrimination, harassment, imprisonment, torture, and execution of its prisoners of conscience.

Whereas according to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom’s (USCIRF) 2007 Annual Report, All religious groups in China face some restrictions, monitoring, and surveillance, … and religious freedom conditions deteriorated for communities not affiliated with one of the 7 government-approved religious organizations, … and those closely associated with ethnic minority groups. Religious communities particularly targeted include … underground Roman Catholics, house church Protestants, and various spiritual movements such as Falun Gong; Whereas according to the USCIRF 2007 Annual Report, in Communist China, There continue to be reports that prominent religious leaders and laypersons alike are confined, tortured, disappeared, imprisoned, or subjected to other forms of ill treatment on account of their religion or belief; Whereas according the United States Congressional-Executive Commission on China’s 2007 Annual Report, The Commission noted a more visible trend in harassment and repression of unregistered Protestants for alleged cult involvement starting in mid-2006 … and an increase in harassment against unregistered Catholics starting in 2004 and an increase in pressure on registered clerics beginning in 2005; Whereas according to the United States Department of State’s 2006 Country Report on Human Rights practices in China, Government officials continued to deny holding any political prisoners, asserting that authorities detained persons not for their political or religious views, but because they violated the law; however, the authorities continued to confine citizens for reasons related to politics and religion; Whereas according to Chapter II Article 36 of the constitution of Communist China, No state organ, public organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not to believe in, any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in, or do not believe in, any religion; Whereas according to Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance; Whereas Communist China is an original party to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Whereas according to Human Rights Watch’s 2007 World Report, Communist Chinese authorities arrested … as many as 1,958 [protestant Christians] in a one-year period ending in June 2006—for attending training sessions and Bible study meetings in unregistered venues …; Whereas according to Amnesty International’s 2007 Annual Report on China, Thousands of members of underground protestant house churches and unofficial Catholic churches were detained, many of whom were ill-treated or tortured in detention; Whereas on May 27, 2001, Christian journalist Li Ying was arrested by the Communist Chinese authorities for her involvement in publishing an “underground” Christian church magazine, and she is presently serving a 15-year prison sentence in Communist China’s Wuhan Female Prison in Hubei Province; Whereas on August 20, 2001, Sun Minghua was arrested by Communist Chinese authorities for her leadership position in the South China Church, and she is presently serving a 13-year prison sentence in Communist China's Wuhan Female Prison in Hubei Province; Whereas on June 17, 2004, Jiang Zongxiu was arrested, in Guizhou Provence, by Communist Chinese authorities for distributing Christian literature and died the following day, June 18, 2004, after being beaten to death while in the custody of Communist Chinese authorities; Whereas on December 1, 2004, Pastor Zhang Rongliang was arrested in Xuzahi village by Communist Chinese authorities and sentenced to seven and one-half years in prison at the Third Detention Center in Zhengzhou City, Hennan Provence. Previously, Pastor Rongliang served a combined 12 years in Communist Chinese prisons where he has been tortured with electrical shocks; Whereas on September 9, 2007, underground Bishop Han Dingxiang of the Diocese of Yong Nian died in a Communist Chinese prison after being detained for nearly eight years. During his life, Bishop Dingxiang was arrested 11 times and spent roughly 35 years in either labor camps, prisons, or under house arrest; Whereas on September 22, 2007, Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng was secretly taken from his home after sending an open letter to the United States Congress recounting Communist China’s elimination of over 3,000 Falun Gong practitioners over the past eight years; Whereas on October 1, 2007, Hua Huiqi was placed under house arrest in Beijing by Communist Chinese authorities for his role as a pastor of an underground house church. Subsequently, on October 17, 2007, Hua Huiqi was beaten by Communist Chinese authorities because he would not reveal names of other “underground” Christians. Presently, Communist Chinese authorities have imprisoned Hua Huiqi’s 76-year-old mother, Shuang Shuying; Whereas according to the Cardinal Kung Foundation, Bishop Lin Xili, Bishop Shi Enxiang, Bishop Su Zhimin, and Bishop Yao Liang are being held in secret locations by the Communist Chinese government; and Whereas according to the Cardinal Kung Foundation, Father Huo Junlong, Father Liu Deli, Father Lu Genjun, Father Ma Shunbao, and Father Ma Wuyong are presently detained in Communist Chinese prisons and Father Guo Ergrang, Father Yen Shuangxi, and Father Zhang Zhenquian are also detained and locked in small cages for roughly ten hours per day by the Communist Chinese government: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1)condemns Communist China’s discrimination, harassment, imprisonment, torture, and execution of its prisoners of conscience; (2)calls upon Communist China to immediately— (A)cease harassment and discrimination against all unregistered religious organizations and individual religious practitioners; and (B)release its prisoners of conscience; (3)calls upon Communist China to publicly release information about— (A)the number of prisoners of conscience presently detained in Communist China (including Communist China’s Laogai prison camp system); (B)the extent of Communist China’s organ harvesting among its prisoners of conscience; and (C)the number of prisoners of conscience executed in Communist China (including Communist China’s Laogai prison camp system); (4)expresses sympathy and condolences to the families of prisoners of conscience who have been imprisoned, tortured, and murdered by the Communist Chinese government; (5)calls upon Communist China to allow the USCIRF or international humanitarian organizations unrestricted access to current and former prisoners of conscience held in Communist China’s jails, prison, administrative detention centers, and Laogai prison camp system; and (6)urges the administration to raise the issue of Communist China’s prisoners of conscience in high-level diplomatic meetings with Communist Chinese officials.