[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 156 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 156

    Supporting Charter 08 and the ideals of the Charter 08 movement.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 11, 2009

Mr. McCotter (for himself and Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Supporting Charter 08 and the ideals of the Charter 08 movement.

Whereas since seizing power in 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has 
        brutally ruled the Chinese people using murder, imprisonment, beatings, 
        torture, confiscation of private property, and fear in its efforts to 
        destroy Chinese culture, and the inherent dignity and religious faiths 
        of the Chinese people;
Whereas the CCP's efforts to build and maintain a totalitarian Communist 
        dictatorship have resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of Chinese 
        citizens, egregious human rights violations, stifling corruption, and 
        tremendous environmental damage;
Whereas, on December 9, 2008, 303 Chinese signatories announced the creation of 
        Charter 08;
Whereas Charter 08 documents the widespread failings of the CCP, calls for 
        urgent and extensive political reforms in Communist China, enumerates 
        and endorses the ideas and principles of freedom, human rights, 
        equality, Republicanism, democracy, and constitutional rule, and 
        enumerates 19 recommendations for political reform within Communist 
        China;
Whereas the signatories of Charter 08 represent numerous strata of Chinese 
        society, including former members of the CCP;
Whereas despite detentions, interrogations, threats, job harassment, and 
        confiscation of personal property by the Communist Chinese authorities 
        to suppress the announcement of Charter 08, the CCP ultimately failed in 
        its endeavor;
Whereas the CCP has directed the Communist Chinese Government to censor 
        references to Charter 08 in Communist Chinese media and on the Internet;
Whereas Communist Chinese authorities have harassed and threatened over 100 of 
        the 303 original signers of Charter 08 with the intent of coercing them 
        to remove their names from Charter 08; and
Whereas since December 9, 2008, more than 8,100 Chinese citizens have signed 
        Charter 08: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports Charter 08 and the ideals of the Charter 08 
        movement;
            (2) commends and respects the courage and bravery of the 
        framers and signers of Charter 08;
            (3) supports the Chinese people in their ongoing efforts to 
        secure liberty, justice, the rule of law, representative 
        government, political parties separate and independent from the 
        CCP, and the protection of human rights through political 
        reforms which would necessarily undermine the CCP's 
        totalitarian authority over all aspects of Communist China's 
        society;
            (4) notes the concern demonstrated by the CCP over the 
        spread of the Charter 08 movement;
            (5) notes CCP efforts to destroy the Charter 08 movement, 
        underscore the necessity of the reforms contained in the 
        Charter 08, and highlight the growing influence of the Charter 
        08 movement in China;
            (6) calls upon the CCP to release Liu Xiaobo, an original 
        signer of Charter 08 who has been detained since December 8, 
        2008; and
            (7) calls upon the CCP to cease its efforts to intimidate 
        and coerce signers of Charter 08, end its state-enforced 
        censorship of Charter 08 in Chinese media, and enter into 
        negotiations with the leaders of the Charter 08 movement to 
        adopt the principles and enact the political reforms contained 
        in Charter 08.
                                 <all>