[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 143 (Wednesday, October 5, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 5, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                 MORE EVIDENCE OF SLAVE LABOR IN CHINA

  (Mr. WOLF asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, these artificial flowers are the latest 
evidence that goods made with slave labor in Chinese prison camps are 
making their way into the United States. The proof is in the label and 
the story is documented in the latest report by my friend Harry Wu. It 
was also the subject of a report aired on ABC news last night. I am 
submitting this and another report on export of slave-labor-grown green 
tea for the Record.
  The labels were smuggled out of China by a courageous prisoner named 
Chen Pokong. I want to quote from a six-page appeal he sent to the 
international community:

       I am thrown into this hell because the Guangdong 
     authorities want to crush me physically and spiritually. I 
     strongly urge * * * the world * * * to pay close attention to 
     human rights conditions in China, and to extend their 
     assistance to the Chinese people who are in an abyss of 
     misery. I understand that once my letter is published, I 
     might be persecuted even more harshly. I might even be 
     killed. But I have no choice.

  These flowers were purchased at a popular craft retail store in the 
United States. Importing slave labor goods is illegal.
  Last spring President Clinton certified that the People's Republic of 
China is complying with the memorandum of understanding for slave labor 
goods signed in 1992. This new evidence makes me wonder if the 
administration is doing all it can to enforce it.
  Mr. Speaker, this man risked his life to bring us this information. 
The U.S. Government has an obligation to make sure Chen Pokong is not 
harmed.

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