[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 25 (Wednesday, March 9, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
 RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA--THEY STILL DON'T 
                                 GET IT

                                 ______


                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 9, 1994

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, in the next few months China's 
human rights record for the year will be examined and scrutinized--
perhaps as never before.
  Frankly, China hasn't even come close to making the progress that 
would allow the administration--in good conscience--to seek a waiver of 
Jackson-Vanik. State Department officials have indicated in hearings 
that if the decision were to be made today--when they testified--they 
would not recommend the extension of MFN. We must continue to send a 
signal to the Chinese Government that these conditions are 
nonnegotiable. The ball is in their court.
  In January I led a delegation to China in order to engage in frank, 
constructive talks with Chinese officials regarding deep concerns that 
remain over China's human rights record. We also wanted to meet with 
those who suffer from the continued and well-documented repression--
especially political dissidents and underground church believers. We 
succeeded on both goals.
  Let me note at the outset that the Chinese people deserve the abiding 
respect of their Government, and nowhere is this more crucial than in 
protecting universally recognized human rights. It was out of empathy 
for the oppressed, the tortured, the prisoner of conscience, the mother 
being forced to abort her baby, that I went to China to respectfully 
but firmly petition the Chinese Government for relief. Today, I would 
like to focus primarily on one of these areas--religious liberty--
although all areas are important and deserve our attention.
  In the May 28, 1993, Executive order extending MFN to China for 1 
year, the President calls for ``significant progress'' in the area of 
human rights. I continued to tell officials that without significant 
progress, MFN was at great risk. In meetings with high officials of 
various Government ministries I stressed that scrutiny of China's human 
rights record will not be cursory or frivolous, but would entail a 
penetrating analysis as to whether substantial progress has been made. 
Instead of substantial progress--China has made substantial regression.
  The Executive order is quite clear in listing the human rights 
conditions which must be met in order for MFN to be renewed later this 
year. Specifically it says that ``the Secretary shall determine whether 
China has made overall, significant progress with respect to taking 
steps to begin adhering to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights'' 
and protecting Tibet's distinctive religious and cultural heritage.
  This Declaration of Human Rights is the internationally accepted 
standard for the treatment of all people in every country. It is not an 
American standard; it is not culturally biased. The Chinese, as a 
member state of the United Nations, pays lipservice to it--but its 
actions show the complete disregard the Government has not only toward 
its people but toward the entire international community as well.
  In Beijing--almost like broken records--leaders began with soothing 
words concerning their desire for open and honest dialog with the 
United States and that they hoped our meeting would lead to a greater 
understanding. In meeting after meeting I was assured that there was 
complete freedom of religion in China, protected by the Constitution. I 
was also assured that there were no religious prisoners in China. But 
these representatives are an insult to the truth. And I minced no words 
in conveying that to them. We know of several hundred religious 
prisoners, and it is likely that there are several thousands more known 
only to God, their loved ones, and the police.

  Reports from human rights organizations and our State Department, 
indicate that human rights conditions got worse in 1993--and from all 
reports they continue to deteriorate in 1994. Asia Watch, in its recent 
publication of over 1,200 prisoners in China says that ``1993 was 
without doubt the worse year from political arrests and trials in 
China.'' Other organizations such as Puebla Institute, Christian 
Solidarity International, Amnesty International, and Freedom House all 
document continuing religious persecution.
  I was told that the first obligation of the churches in China was to 
promote socialism and encourage the people to support the Government. 
There are many Christians who are not members of the Government-
sponsored churches. These people, I was told, oppose socialism, and 
because of that they would inevitably break Chinese laws and must be 
punished. Both Government and Government-sponsored church leaders 
compared prisoners in the United States with prisoners in China, saying 
that we do not release prisoners simply because they are Christian and 
we should not expect China to do the same. Those who break the law, 
they say, must be punished.
  But there is a great deal of difference. Many of the Christians who 
are imprisoned in China are there because they have broken laws which 
strictly govern and limit religious activities in China. These laws 
prevent Roman Catholics from being in union with the Vatican, they 
prevent any Christian from listening to religious broadcasts, they 
prevent Protestants from meeting in private homes to pray. For these 
and many other reasons, Christians are in prison--they are criminals 
because they are enemies of the state--followers of an ideology which 
does not place the state over all other things.
  As I was meeting with individuals who were assuring me that there was 
religious freedom, I was also receiving reports of Christians who were 
being detained. I was hearing from members of the underground 
Protestant and Catholic churches about the repression and 
discrimination which they experienced. I returned with the names of 
five Catholic priests who were arrested only weeks before my delegation 
arrived. Unlike my meetings with the Government and Government-
sponsored church leaders which can be made public, I cannot give any 
details about the meetings with the Christians who risked their lives 
to meet with me.
  But these underground Christians have been taking risks for quite a 
while now. Catholics in one village have built a large church, rectory, 
and convent. Protestants told us about the great numbers of people who 
are becoming Christians through the evangelization which is taking 
place. All of them respond that they are ready to be arrested, put into 
jail, and even die for their religious activity. As one person said, 
``What can they do? Tear down our church? Put us in jail?'' How 
prophetic their words are.
  Mr. Speaker, you and many of my colleagues are well aware of the 
arrest and detention of a bishop who said Mass for our delegation. 
Bishop Su Zhi Ming, who had already spent 15 years in Chinese prisons 
and labor camps, subject to beatings and torture, was arrested days 
after our meeting. Judging from the nature of his interrogation, his 
crime was saying Mass for me and the delegation. To add insult to 
injury, he was arrested on the day Secretary Bentsen was in Beijing 
meeting with Chinese officials and discussing the future of United 
States-Sino relations.
  Since January 31 new orders were issued by Li Peng which gave 
Government sanction to a renewed crackdown on all religious activities 
in China. All of us were bitterly disappointed but not surprised when 
we learned that the Chinese Government would escalate the persecution 
and harassment and torture of believers. Less than 3 weeks ago, three 
American citizens were arrested and detained in China. Dennis Balcombe, 
the pastor of Hong Kong's Revival Christian Church was detained and 
held incommunicado for 4 days. The arrest was made during a midnight 
raid on the house in which Reverend Balcombe and several other guests 
were sleeping. He and the others were accused of ``disturbing the 
public peace'' and all of his possessions were confiscated. Had 
Reverend Balcombe been in China to negotiate a business deal he would 
have had welcoming hands extended to him. Instead, because he brought 
the goodness of the Gospel he was met with clenched fists.
  Following his release he testified here before the House Ways and 
Means Committee. He is a living witness to the renewed religious 
persecution which is taking place in China. As an American citizen he 
enjoyed the benefit of swift action on the part of many people and 
human rights groups. However, there are thousands of Chinese citizens 
who do not have this benefit. Three of the people who were arrested 
along with him are still detained, and there are even reports which say 
they have been executed. If they are alive, and I hope they are, how 
long will they have to wait in prisons, how many beatings will they 
have to endure, who will speak out loudly and act swiftly for them? And 
what of those friends of Reverend Balcombe who are not in prison but 
must remain in China and live under the fear of persecution?
  These people are not interested in political activity. In fact they 
told me that they pray for the Government and their leaders and ask for 
God's blessings on China. All religious believers in China are asking 
for is the ability to worship freely and openly. Right now those who do 
not belong to the Government-sponsored churches have no place to 
worship, many of them are denied housing and work permits, and 
countless numbers are harassed, detained, tortured--and some have been 
martyred for their faith.
  The two executive orders which I have already mentioned will further 
restrain religious liberty in China and will have devastating 
consequences and represent a new crackdown for the underground 
Protestant and Catholic churches.
  Order 144 is titled ``Rules for management of foreigners' religious 
activities.'' It prohibits all proselytizing activities by foreigners 
among Chinese. While it allows for foreigners to conduct their own 
private worship services, they are prohibited from preaching in Chinese 
churches. it also prohibits the importing of religious goods and 
publications.
  Order 145 regulates management of places of worship. The right to 
assemble, pray, and worship God--even in your own home--carries severe 
punishments. Catch-all statements such as, ``No one may use places of 
worship for activities to destroy national unity, ethnic unity, and 
social stability, to damage public health or undermine the national 
educational system,'' criminalizes just about anything that a believer 
says or does. These cruel policies are likely to lead to thousands of 
new arrests, tortures, and mistreatment.
  Although I have focused on the lack of religious freedom in China, I 
cannot ignore the plight of millions of others whose human rights are 
violated in other ways. I would like to turn our attention to just a 
few of these.
  Millions of Chinese are detained in forced labor prisons where they 
work long hours each day to meet unrealistic production quotas. We have 
known about this for years and have tried to engage the Chinese 
Government in addressing this human rights abuse.

  The 1992 memorandum of understanding [MOU] expressly prohibits the 
importing of prison labor products and outlines the method of 
investigating reports of forced labor in prisons.
  Even when it was signed, many people criticizied the MOU as a 
meaningless document unless it would be backed up by swift and open 
verification. Testimony only a few months ago by Assistant Secretary 
Winston Lord indicated that there has been great resistance by the 
Chinese to investigate reports of prison labor. The Chinese deny access 
to prisons by United States officials until they have had enough time 
to sanitize the prisons and factories. Visits by nongovernmental human 
rights groups are not allowed at all.
  The Chinese Laogai is not like any prison system we are familiar 
with. These are forced labor camps similar to the Nazi work camps of 
another era. It is the most extensive forced labor camp system in the 
world, and this system has destroyed the lives of millions of people, 
and it continues to do so. In January I met with several people who 
bear the permanent scars of years in Chinese prison labor camps. I 
heard their stories of beating and torture and saw for myself the 
broken bodies which these camps created.
  The MOU is mentioned specifically in the Executive order. It is clear 
that China has not yet lived up to this agreement, nor is there any 
indication that it will in the future. We are still denied access to 
prisons and there is a large body of evidence that products 
manufactured entirely or in part are still being exported to the United 
States. All the while, millions of people continue to suffer at the 
hands of the cruel Government slave-master.
  Religious believers and prisoners are not the only victims of China's 
continued violations of human rights. The Government aggressively 
victimizes women who bear children outside of the Government's 
repressive one-child-per-couple policy. Reports abound which detail the 
lengths to which the Government officials will go to see that quotas 
are met and policies enforced. The New York Times report by Nicholas D. 
Kristof poignantly described the ordeal of a mother and child who were 
victims of the Government-sanctioned brutality. It recounts the case of 
Li Qiuliang, who had been given permission to have a child in 1992. 
When, on December 30, 1992, she had not given birth, the local 
population control officer ordered the doctor to induce pregnancy. The 
child died and Ms. Li has been left incapacitated.
  Secretary of State Warren Christopher, when he learned of this 
report, said that he was appalled by China's coercive family planning 
practices and would seriously consider tying MFN to ending those 
practices. In the ``Report to Congress Concerning Extension of Waiver 
Authority for The People's Republic of China,'' it explicitly states 
that ``in considering extension of MFN, we will take into account 
Chinese actions with respect to the following: Taking effective steps 
to ensure that forced abortion and sterilization are not used to 
implement China's family planning policy.''
  During my meeting with Li Honggui, Director for the General Office of 
the State Family Planning Commission of China, he brushed aside with an 
angry smile our concerns that Chinese women are routinely victimized 
and abused with coerced abortions and coercive sterilizations. When 
questioned about the New York Times' report, Mr. Li responded by saying 
that the article was ``not real'' and that it only showed the 
``unfriendly staff'' of the New York Times.
  In a sworn affidavit, Dr. John Aird, former Chief, the China Branch 
at the United States Census Bureau, said ``coercion in the Chinese 
family planning program has in the past 2 years reached its second 
extreme peak approaching or perhaps exceeding the levels of 1983.''

  Forced abortion is a crime against both women and children. In China 
today, women are punished by the state for conceiving a child not 
approved by state goals. If a woman is lucky or clever enough to escape 
to deliver an illegal child and is discovered, she is fined and 
otherwise dealt with.
  In December the Chinese Government issued a draft of a eugenics law 
which would legalize discrimination against the handicapped--however 
the Government may define handicapped--by forcing sterilization and 
denying them permission to have children. There are also provisions 
which would mandate the abortion of any babies which are determined to 
not meet Government-approved standards of health and ability. While the 
rest of the world moves to protect the rights and the dignity of the 
handicapped, China is seeking ways to exterminate them.
  It is becoming increasingly clear that in category after category the 
Chinese Government is not only not making progress, but is actually 
getting worse--bringing further shame and dishonor to the Government 
and more and more pain to the Chinese people.
  Today, and each day since I have returned from China, the facts point 
to significant regression, not progress, in human rights.
  Disturbing reports in the last week indicate that the administration 
might be weakening their commitment to human rights in the Executive 
order. When I hear statements that a grand gesture or promises could 
replace the significant progress called for in the Executive order, I 
wonder what good our words are if they will not be backed up by action. 
There is a great deal of evidence that China has regressed 
significantly. Even as Secretary Christopher prepares for his visit to 
China, the Chinese Government has detained at least nine dissidents. 
Whether these detentions are short- or long-term, they are deplorable. 
They also show the complete disregard they have toward the conditions 
which must be met in order for MFN to be renewed. Only a few months 
remain before the administration must make this decision. We must 
continue to let China know that we are watching and that we care, that 
we will not sacrifice human life for profit, and that the United States 
is serious when we say we want significant progress in human rights.
  Yesterday, I received a letter from a seventh grade student at Holy 
Family School in Lakewood in my district. Alicia Lorenc wrote: ``I 
think it is unfair that they put Roman Catholic bishops in prison for 
being Catholic. It is stupid, it is discriminating, and it is unfair. 
Over in China, people's rights are being abused. I know since I am only 
in seventh grade I can't make that much of a big difference. But I 
try.'' Alicia may only be in seventh grade, but her wisdom and 
compassion surpass that of the Chinese Government. She understands, why 
can't they? She is trying to make a difference. I hope that we can 
respond to her that we are trying, too.

                          ____________________