[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 108 (Thursday, June 29, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H6645-H6647]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CALLING UPON THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA TO RELEASE U.S. CITIZEN, 
                                HARRY WU

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on International Relations be discharged from further consideration of 
the resolution--House Resolution 178--calling upon the People's 
Republic of China to release U.S. citizen Harry Wu unconditionally and 
to provide for an accounting of his arrest and detention, and ask for 
its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, I do not 
intend to object. I simply want to commend the authors of the 
resolution for their excellent work in bringing this measure before the 
House in a timely fashion.
  House Resolution 178 condemns the arbitrary detention of Mr. Harry Wu 
by the Chinese.
  Mr. Wu is a dedicated human rights activist. He is highly respected 
by Members, many Members of this House. I support the resolution, and I 
call upon the Chinese Government to release Mr. Wu.
  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. HAMILTON. Further reserving the right to object, I yield to the 
gentleman from Connecticut.
  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Speaker, I just want to join my colleagues and 
commend the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Smith], the gentleman from 
Virginia [Mr. Wolf] and so many others, particularly the gentlewoman 
from California [Ms. Pelosi], for the work they have done on this 
issue. 

[[Page H 6646]]

  I know Harry Wu. He has testified before my committee. The courage of 
this individual, who spent 19 years in slave labor camps in China, to 
go back to fight for other people's freedom and to continue to raise 
the issues of the Chinese Government's abuse of its own citizens is 
courage that it is hard for most of us to fathom.
  There is a double outrage here. One is that Harry Wu, who suffered so 
much at the hands of the Chinese, is suffering there again today. But 
it does beyond that. Harry Wu Went to China as an American citizen with 
a valid American passport and a valid visa from the Chinese Government. 
This is someone who has had the courage to continue to work for his 
fellow man and for his fellow men and women of China who live under 
oppression.
  This kind of action by the Chinese Government will only continue to 
isolate that Government. It is an outrage that we will not sit idly by. 
It will mobilize Members of the House and Senate on both sides of the 
aisle.
  Harry Wu is a genuine hero today, and he will not be forgotten by 
this Congress. He must be released by the Chinese, and again I would 
like to commend the ranking Member, the chairman of the committee, the 
gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Smith], the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. 
Wolf], particularly on our side, the Gentlewoman from California [Ms. 
Pelosi], for the wonderful work she has done on this issue through the 
years.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. HAMILTON. Further reserving the right to object, I yield to the 
gentleman from New York.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, earlier today, our committee on 
International Relations reported out House Resolution 177, a resolution 
that calls upon the People's Republic of China to immediately and 
unconditionally release Harry Wu. Harry Wu is well-known to many 
Members of Congress for his testimony before a number of our committees 
about human rights abuses in China. Because of this, he was arrested in 
China on June 19.
  I want to commend the chairman of the Human Rights and International 
Organization Subcommittee, the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Smith], 
for crafting the resolution before us and I want to thank the Asia and 
Pacific Subcommittee Chairman, Mr. Bereuter, for coordinating his 
efforts with Mr. Smith to bring it so rapidly before us.
  It is an outrage that an American citizen is being held by the 
Government of the People's Republic of China and they have denied our 
Government representatives access to him and have not told our 
representatives where he is or what charges are being contemplated 
against him.
  That kind of action indicates that the Government is Beijing will 
disregard conventions and agreements whenever it suits them. A 
government that will sell restricted weapons technology to Iran will 
certainly not have a problem with breaking more mundane but no less 
important consular agreements.
  Accordingly, I fully support this resolution and urge my colleagues 
to join us in voting for it.
                              {time}  2230

  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
yield to the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi], one of the chief 
sponsors of House Resolution 177.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I wanted 
to commend Chairman Gilman, Chairman Smith, and perhaps Harry Wu's best 
friend in the Congress, Frank Wolf. Harry Wu has friends on both sides 
of the aisle, on both sides of the Atlantic, and on both sides of the 
Pacific. He is a truly internationally recognized champion of freedom 
and democracy.
  Who else is Harry Wu? Harry Wu, when 19 or 20 years old, criticized 
the Soviet invasion of Hungary. He was overheard doing that and sent as 
a political prisoner to a slave labor camp, where he served for 19 
years. Eventually he came out and came to the United States, He is a 
U.S. citizen, but has not forgotten those who were left behind in these 
prison labor camps. He has written books describing the plight of those 
people, and worked tirelessly to try to expose the prison labor system 
in China.
  Those of us who know Harry and appreciate the valuable contribution 
he has already made always discouraged him from going back to China, 
because this is what we did fear. Because of the international acclaim 
that he had received and the international attention that he had 
brought to both the slave labor issue in China and also the organ 
transplant issue which is associated with the slave labor camps, that 
the Chinese were not happy, and that he might be in danger should he go 
there. So we have discouraged him in recent years from returning there, 
and our worst fears have not been realized.
  So, with that, I want to say, because I know time is of the essence 
and we want to get on with the evening, but to Harry Wu's wife Ching 
Li, we commend her for her courage. She is a source of strength and 
inspiration to us. She knows that Harry did what he did because he 
believed in freedom and democracy, and risked his life many times over 
the years. He did these outstanding things with the support of his 
friends in the U.S. Congress and the European Parliament and other 
places, and among those are the people who are here before us tonight, 
Mr. Gilman. Mr. Smith, and Mr. Wolf. It is one of the joys of my 
service in Congress to have worked with them on this issue and to 
support such an exceptional person as Harry Wu. I am grateful to all of 
our colleagues for allowing us this unanimous consent request this 
evening.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
yield to the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Smith], a chief sponsor of 
the resolution.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, the abuse of human rights by the People's Republic of 
China includes the thousands of people who languish in the gulag system 
and logai system which Harry Wu has so faithfully, as well as so 
courageously, exposed throughout the years, but the human rights 
abuses, as we all know, are legion in the People's Republic of China. 
Now they include again a U.S. citizen.
  On June 19 of this year, just a couple of days ago, Harry Wu was 
arrested as he entered China. Harry Wu is well known to many of us in 
Washington. He is a former political prisoner. He was a prisoner in the 
logai system for 19 years.
  Harry has tirelessly worked to expose Chinese human rights abuses. 
The extensive prison labor system, the backbone of China's export 
industry, the trafficking of body parts of prisoners for transplant and 
research, and he has also uncovered the numerous products manufactured 
in the slave labor camps which are being sold in the United States.
  Knowing that each time he returned to China to investigate human 
rights abuses that he put himself in danger, Harry Wu continued to go 
back, remembering those millions who like he suffered, or like his 
brother, who died at the hands of the Chinese Government and military.
  Mr. Chairman, on April 3 we had the privilege in the International 
Operations and Human Rights Committee to hear testimony from six 
survivors of the logai system. They gave extensive testimony, a 
Buddhist monk, a priest, and others who had been held by the Chinese, 
and, of course, I think the most riveting testimony was given by Harry 
Wu.
  When talking about this, he said, ``I really want to forget the 
nightmares of that past period, buy, you know, some things simply will 
not go away. So, like a bad dream, they refuse to disappear.''
  But he also said, ``I am a survivor. I think I have a responsibility 
to those inmates who are still there. Finally, I have got a chance to 
tell the truth to the world.''
  Today again, sadly, Mr. Speaker, Harry Wu is not free. His 
whereabouts is not known. The U.S. Embassy for its part was informed of 
the arrest and tried, and tried very hard, to find out where he is, and 
has been stonewalled. Nine days have past since Harry Wu, a U.S. 
citizen, was arrested.
  How much longer do we have to wait to find out where he is and 
exactly what kind of shape he is in? Harry Wu indeed has been a voice 
for those crying out for truth and for justice. I am 

[[Page H 6647]]
very glad in a bipartisan way, Mr. Speaker, that we today will go on 
record calling on the People's Republic of China, working with the 
administration on this one, to try to get the freedom of this United 
States citizen, who has been unjustly and cruelly taken by the People's 
Republic of China.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, under the reservation of objection, I 
yield to the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Wolf], one of the chief 
sponsors of the resolution.
  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. Speaker, so much has been said, let me just cover a few other 
points. Harry is a scholar at the Hoover Institute. He is an author. 
His latest book is Bitter Winds, where he talks about his 19 years in 
the gulag.
  With regard to these circumstances, as the gentleman from Connecticut 
[Mr. Gejdenson] said, Harry is an American citizen. Harry Wu is an 
American citizen with a valid passport who has been arrested and 
detained by the Chinese Government. They have not even allowed our 
government to interview him, to see him. He is a moral leader, not only 
in the United States, but in the world. He is almost like the Sharanski 
of China, if you will.
  I want to thank the people who moved this out of the committee so 
fast, and thank the leadership of the Congress. I think the fact that 
Congress has acted so quickly, I have never seen the Congress has acted 
so quickly, I have never seen the Congress act this quickly on 
anything, and the fact that in these busy days, staying in around the 
clock, that the Congress has brought this up is very, very important.
  We are asking that he be released. Released. Unconditionally 
released, whereby he can return to his family. I do not know that Harry 
is listening at this moment, but I know his wife is, and we just 
remember Harry in our prayers and remember her.
  I would just say to the Chinese Government, and I do not know if they 
are watching tonight, but if anything were to happen to Harry Wu, I 
just think that the Chinese Government would pay a price for the future 
that they do not even realize. We are not going to make any threats 
tonight, and I do not think it is appropriate to be combining this with 
MFN or all these other things. But if anything ever happened to Harry 
Wu, I pledge myself I would commit myself and dedicate myself to doing 
anything and everything I can to make sure that there had been a price 
paid.
  So we call on the Chinese Government to release Harry Wu and let him 
return to his family.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for moving this resolution so 
fast.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
yield to the gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman].
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am just asking the gentleman to yield in 
order for me to thank the ranking minority member for his cooperation 
and bringing the measure to the floor expeditiously. I want to commend 
the original sponsors, the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi], 
the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Wolf], the gentleman from New Jersey 
[Mr. Smith], and the gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter] for joining 
together in moving this measure quickly through the House so we can 
bring the greatest pressure possible to the People's Republic of China 
for the early release of Mr. Wu.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
yield to the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi].
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding and 
his cooperation this evening. Just in closing I wanted to make it clear 
what we are asking for is for the Chinese Government to make us aware 
of Harry Wu's whereabouts, to allow him to have a visit as is 
appropriate in our relationship with China and the consular agreements, 
a visit from representatives of the American Embassy and consulate 
there, and also to free Harry Wu.
  We will pursue this issue until he is free, and this evening's 
unanimous consent action is an important step for us in the direction. 
Once again, I want to thank the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Hamilton] 
for his cooperation.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  Mr. SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 178

       Whereas Peter H. Wu, known as Harry Wu, is a citizen of the 
     United States;
       Whereas Harry Wu entered the People's Republic of China 
     with an American passport and a valid visa but has been 
     detained incommunicado by Chinese authorities since June 19, 
     1995;
       Whereas on June 23, 1995, the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China notified the United States Government of 
     its detention of Harry Wu;
       Whereas on June 26, 1995, the United States Government 
     requested that Chinese Government authorities provide prompt 
     access to Harry Wu;
       Whereas Article 35 of the United States-People's Republic 
     of China Consular Convention of February 19, 1982, requires 
     that access to a detained or arrested American citizen be 
     granted no later than 48 hours after a request for such 
     access is made;
       Whereas, as of Wednesday, June 28, 1995, the People's 
     Republic of China had failed to act in accordance with the 48 
     hour consular access provision of the Consular Convention; 
     and
       Whereas the Department of State has not been informed of 
     where Harry Wu is being held, nor what charges, if any, are 
     being contemplated, and has not received any assurances that 
     the obligations of the Government of the People's Republic of 
     China under the Consular Convention will be met: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) The House of Representatives expresses its condemnation 
     of the arrest and detention of Harry Wu and its deep concern 
     for his well-being and freedom;
       (2) It is the sense of the House of Representatives that--
       (A) The People's Republic of China must immediately comply 
     with its commitments under the United States-People's 
     Republic of China Consular Convention of February 19, 1982, 
     by allowing consular access to Harry Wu;
       (B) The People's Republic of China should provide a full 
     accounting to the United States for Harry Wu's arrest and 
     detention, and should immediately and unconditionally release 
     him; and
       (C) The President of the United States should use every 
     diplomatic means available to ensure Harry Wu's safety and 
     well-being, and to secure his immediate and unconditional 
     release.
       (3) The Clerk of the House shall transmit copies of this 
     resolution to the President of the United States, to the 
     Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United 
     States, and to President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic 
     of China.

  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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