[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 197 (Tuesday, December 12, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H14342-H14348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CONCURRENT RESOLUTION CONCERNING WRITER, POLITICAL PHILOSOPHER, HUMAN 
      RIGHTS ADVOCATE, AND NOBEL PEACE PRIZE NOMINEE WEI JINGSHENG

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 117) concerning writer, political 
philosopher, human rights advocate, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Wei 
Jingsheng, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 117

       Whereas Wei Jingsheng is a writer, political philosopher, 
     and human rights advocate who is widely known and respected 
     in China and throughout the world;
       Whereas on November 21, 1995, the Government of the 
     People's Republic of China announced the arrest of Wei 
     Jingsheng and its intention to try him for ``attempt[ing] to 
     overthrow the government'';
       Whereas prior to this announcement Wei had been detained 
     since April 1994 without formal charges or the opportunity to 
     communicate with his family or with legal counsel, in 
     violation of Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human 
     Rights and other 

[[Page H14343]]
     international standards prohibiting arbitrary arrest and detention;
       Whereas the government had previously imprisoned Wei from 
     1979 until 1993 on a charge of ``spreading 
     counterrevolutionary propaganda'' for his peaceful 
     participation in the Democracy Wall movement;
       Whereas Wei's analysis of democracy in 1979 as a necessary 
     ``fifth modernization'' was an important theoretical and 
     practical contribution to the movement for freedom and 
     democracy in China and also to modern political philosophy;
       Whereas during his long imprisonment Wei was subjected to 
     beatings and other severe ill treatment which left him in 
     extremely poor health;
       Whereas after his release in 1993 Wei devoted his time to 
     humanitarian activities, including visiting and assisting the 
     families of victims of the June 4, 1989, massacre at 
     Tiananmen Square, as well as the surviving victims 
     themselves, and assisting the civilian effort to secure 
     compensation for damages caused to the Chinese people by the 
     Japanese Government during World War II;
       Whereas, far from advocating an ``overthrow'' of the 
     Government of China, Wei has been a strong advocate of 
     nonviolence and a peaceful transition to democracy;
       Whereas Wei was regarded as a leading candidate for the 
     1995 Nobel Peace Prize, having been nominated by 
     parliamentarians throughout the world, including 58 members 
     of the United States Congress;
       Whereas Wei was also the recipient of the 1995 Olaf Palme 
     Foundation Award, the 1994 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights 
     Award, and the 1993 Gleitsman Foundation International 
     Activist Award; and
       Whereas because of his great courage, the force of his 
     ideas, and his long unjust imprisonment Wei has come to 
     embody the aspirations of the people of China for democracy 
     and for the enjoyment of free speech and other universal and 
     inalienable human rights, and his fate has come to symbolize 
     their fate: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the United States Congress--
       (1) urges the immediate and unconditional release of Wei 
     Jingsheng;
       (2) urges, in the event Wei Jingsheng is not immediately 
     released, that he be afforded all internationally recognized 
     human rights, including the right to consult freely with 
     counsel of his choice, to assist in the preparation of his 
     defense, and to communicate with his family, and that his 
     trial be open to the domestic and foreign press, to 
     diplomatic observers, and to international human rights 
     monitors;
       (3) urges the United States Department of State to make the 
     release of Wei Jingsheng and the protection of his 
     internationally recognized human rights a particularly 
     important objective in relations with the Government of 
     China, and that it raise these issues forcefully and 
     effectively in every relevant bilateral and multilateral 
     forum; and
       (4) recognizes that the efforts of Wei Jingsheng once again 
     merit careful consideration for the Nobel Peace Prize in 
     1996.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York [Mr. Gilman] and the gentleman from American Samoa [Mr. 
Faleomavaega] will each be recognized for 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman].
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of House 
Concurrent Resolution 117 and I commend the chairmen and ranking 
minority members of the Asia and Pacific and International 
Organizations and Human Rights Subcommittees for expeditiously marking 
up this resolution. I especially commend the gentleman from New Jersey 
[Mr. Smith], for crafting House Concurrent Resolution 117.
  During this past summer we were told by the administration that there 
was a cloud over United States-Sino relations because the Congress 
insisted that President Lee of Taiwan be allowed to enter the United 
States. But the storm developed many years ago when the Communist Party 
took control of China. The so-called cloud was just a smoke ring blown 
to deflect attention from the root of the problem; democracies and 
dictatorships are fundamentally different and will always clash.
  The case of Wei Jingsheng--Way Ching Shung--is just the tip of an 
iceberg. According to Asia Watch there are over a thousand peaceful 
prodemocracy activists imprisoned in China and Tibet. Let us not 
overlook the hundreds of Christian priests and even a bishop some of 
whom are serving lengthy terms in prison for just practicing their 
faith.
  Beijing is notorious for arresting and imprisoning high profile 
prodemocracy advocates so that it can be rewarded for releasing them 
later. The First Lady went to Beijing to attend the women's conference 
after American citizen Harry Wu was released after his illegal arrest. 
Wei Jinsheng was released after serving nearly 15 years in prison in 
September 1994 so that China would have a better chance at hosting the 
world olympics in the year 2000. He was arrested again in February 
1994, and has not been heard from since, after meeting with assistant 
secretary of human rights John Shattuck, in February 1994.

  The arrest, release, arrest, release cycle has worked to Beijing's 
advantage, so we should not be surprised that Wei is going on trial. 
The trial could be linked to the upcoming discussion at the U.N. 
subcommission on human rights regarding China's human rights record.
  Over the last 5 years in which MFN for China has been debated, the 
Chinese have engaged in a pattern of releasing prominent dissidents. We 
have also seen this cynical action taken just before bilateral trade 
talks. Recently the administration has always jumped at the opportunity 
to use the prison release as a fig leaf for deflecting substantive 
action.
  Whenever an effort is made by the Congress to have China abide by 
bilateral agreements on trade, human rights, prison labor, or weapons 
proliferation we are told that ``now is not the time. . . . there is a 
political transition period underway in China and if we take any strong 
action we will be strengthening the hand of the hardliners in 
Beijing.''
  In addition to the concern about transition periods, the 
administration sweeps aside China's violations of its many accords and 
agreements with the United States by dismissing enforcement as an 
attempt to isolate or contain China.
  Accusations and concerns about isolation, containment and transition 
periods are broad brush-stroke generalizations that avoid the hard 
question of how to deal pragmatically and effectively with a 
totalitarian Government that has enormous resources to cause havoc.
  Until we hold China accountable for what it does, our response to 
Beijing's egregious behavior will be manipulated by these arrests, 
trials, imprisonments, and release incidents.
  Wei is just a pawn and Beijing is the only player. If we want to get 
in the game we need to insist on a seat at the table. At this point we 
have not done so. Accordingly, I join with my colleagues in deploring 
the charges brought against Wei and urge my colleagues to fully support 
House Concurrent Resolution 117.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the House Concurrent 
Resolution 117 as amended, and certainly commend the chairman of the 
Committee on International Relations, the gentleman from New York [Mr. 
Gilman], and also my colleague, the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. 
Smith], who is the chief sponsor of this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, this resolution has broad bipartisan support. I 
certainly would like to commend also the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. 
Hamilton] as the ranking Democrat on the full committee; also my 
colleague from California [Mr. Berman], who is the ranking Democrat of 
the subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs. I commend these 
gentlemen and also the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi], the 
gentleman from California, [Mr. Lantos], and the gentleman from 
Connecticut [Mr. Gejdenson], all sponsors of this important 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, this is an important resolution, and it comes at an 
extremely opportune time. Tomorrow, Mr. Wei Jingsheng goes on trial for 
allegations that he attempted to overthrow the Government of the 
People's Republic of China.
  Mr. Wei Jingsheng is probably the leading pro-democracy advocate 
today in China, Mr. Speaker. For 14 years of his life he was in prison, 
from 1979 to 1993, and was released in 1993. And yet he was arrested 
again in April of last 

[[Page H14344]]
year, shortly after his meeting with the Assistant Secretary of State 
for Human Rights, Mr. John Shattuck.
  Mr. Wei Jingsheng, since last year we did not know what was happening 
to him, until now we find out from the Government that he will have an 
open trial tomorrow.
  Mr. Speaker, I submit that the committee unanimously adopted this 
resolution last week. The resolution urges the unconditional release of 
Mr. Wei Jingsheng; and, in the event this does not happen, that he be 
afforded all the internationally recognized human and legal rights.

                              {time}  1915

  The resolution also urges the State Department to make Mr. Wei's 
release a particularly important objective in relations with China, and 
to raise the issue relevant in bilateral and multilateral forums.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, the resolution recognizes Mr. Wei merits 
careful consideration for the Nobel Peace Prize. The resolution has 
been changed in a number of respects, and the administration fully 
supports this resolution, as amended.
  Mr. Speaker, the only thing Mr. Wei is guilty of is standing as a 
symbol for the aspirations of the Chinese people to adhere to the basic 
and fundamental principles of freedom and democracy.
  I am sensitive to China's enormous and difficult task in meeting the 
needs of her 1.3 billion citizens, while undergoing dramatic economic 
and social changes. But I also submit, Mr. Speaker, at the same time 
the People's Republic of China must show more evidence of complying 
with the basic provisions of the United Nations Charter, specifically 
that of enhancement and protection of human rights.
  Mr. Speaker, it is important that the Congress of the United States 
speak out in very specific terms on the matter of human rights. We must 
say to China's political leaders that we expect them to live up to 
internationally accepted standards of conduct and behavior by all its 
citizens.
  Mr. Speaker, the People's Republic of China, as a full-fledged member 
of the United Nations, certainly should comply with the basic 
provisions of human rights as stated in the charter of the United 
Nations. I urge my colleagues to support the adoption of this 
resolution, and I commend again the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. 
Gilman], my good friend and chairman of the Committee on International 
Relations, for bringing this resolution to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record articles on Wei Jingsheng.

               [From the Washington Post, Dec. 12, 1995]

            Why Is China Taking On World by Trying Dissent?

       Beijing.--Nine ago this month, senior leader Deng Xiaoping 
     urged Communist Party leaders to take a hard line against 
     domestic critics, without concern for China's international 
     image.
       ``Didn't we arrest Wei Jingsheng?'' Deng asked rhetorically 
     about the democracy activist who was sentenced to a 15-year 
     prison term in 1979. ``We arrested him and haven't let him 
     go, yet China's image has not suffered.''
       This week China's leaders put Wei on trial again, charged 
     with attempting to overthrow the government. And many China 
     watchers worry that the trial portends a resurgence of 
     actions by China's hard-line leadership violating 
     internationally recognized human rights.
       ``There's no way that this can help China 
     internationally,'' said UCLA political scientist Richard 
     Baum. ``It's an unsettling sign, a jarring occurrence for a 
     regime trying to portray itself as having joined the 
     international community.''
       Like many political prisoners, Wei's reputation and stature 
     has been growing the longer he sits in prison. While many 
     other Chinese political activists have put aside politics to 
     pursue business, Wei has remained an uncompromising advocate 
     of democracy for China. Over the last decade, he has become 
     China's most prominent dissident.
       Wei's trial, scheduled for Wednesday at Beijing's 
     Intermediate Court, has mobilized groups anxious about the 
     outcome, which could carry punishment ranging from 10 years 
     in prison to the death penalty. Human rights groups are 
     prodding the U.S. Congress to adopt a resolution calling for 
     Wei's release.
       Wei's sister, Wei Shanshan, who lives in Germany, flew to 
     the United States today to lobby lawmakers on her brother's 
     behalf. A demonstration is being organized for Tuesday 
     afternoon in front of the Chinese Embassy on Connecticut Ave.
       Human rights groups are pressing the Clinton administration 
     to take a strong stand in defense of Wei. Those groups say 
     that President Clinton, by soft-pedaling human rights issues 
     in his October meeting with Chinese President Jiang Zemin and 
     by severing the link between human rights and trade, might 
     have led the Chinese government to think it could sentence 
     Wei without severe repercussions.
       Among those offerring to serve on Wei's defense team are: 
     Nicholas Katzenbach and Richard Thornburgh, attorneys general 
     under presidents Lyndon Johnson and George Bush; for French 
     justice minister Robert Badinter; Singapore's former 
     solicitor general Francis Seow, and former chairman of the 
     Bar of England and Wales Lord Gareth Williams.
       A Chinese court spokesman said today that the trial of Wei 
     would be open, an unusual step in political cases. The court 
     said, however, that foreign lawyers would not be allowed to 
     participate. Wei's family has hired Zhang Sishi, who defended 
     dissidents Wang Juntao and Chen Ziming when they were tried 
     for participating in the 1989 democracy demonstrations. Each 
     was sentenced to 13 years in prison. In China, an arrest 
     generally is announced after police and the courts have 
     decided they have enough evidence to convict.
       Wei was the most daring and influential of the so-called 
     Democracy Wall activists who in late 1978 printed magazines 
     and pasted democracy manifestoes on a wall just west of the 
     former Forbidden City, now part of the Chinese leadership 
     compound.
       At that time, Deng had returned to power and promised to 
     deliver China from the political upheaval of the Cultural 
     Revolution and to undertake four modernizations: in 
     agriculture, industry, science and technology, and national 
     defense.
       While many Chinese welcomed Deng's return after a turbulent 
     decade, Wei and other Democracy Wall activists were critical. 
     Wei said Deng's program would fail without a ``fifth 
     modernization''--democracy.
       Unlike political reformers within the Communist Party, Wei 
     and his associates at Exploration magazine in 1978 totally 
     rejected Marxism-Leninism. He said Marxist countries were 
     ``without exception undemocratic and even anti-democratic 
     autocracies.''
       Wei was convicted of ``counter-revolutionary'' activities 
     and of leaking secret information about China's war with 
     Vietnam to a reporter. He was sentenced to 15 years in jail 
     and was paroled six months early in September 1993. 
     Unrepentant, he urged the international community to deny the 
     2000 Olympic Games to Beijing. He was rearrested April 1, 
     1994, shortly after meeting Assistant Secretary of State for 
     Human Rights John Shattuck, and was held incommunicado until 
     last month--when the government announced charges against 
     him.
       Analysts note several possibilities in trying to explain 
     why Wei is being put on trial now.
       Some suggest China wants to use a convicted and resentenced 
     Wei as a bargaining chip to persuade other governments to 
     back off from a critical human rights resolution at the 
     United Nations. That concern could also help explain the 
     Chinese government's effort to make the trial look more 
     legitimate.
       Others say that China could be preparing to boot Wei out of 
     the country and that it needs to show its toughness by first 
     handing him a long prison term--just as it did with Chinese-
     born American citizen Harry Wu, who was detained this summer 
     while trying to enter China. Expulsion would give Wei a 
     platform overseas but it would remove him from the Chinese 
     political scene.
       A third possibility is that hard-line officials in the 
     Ministry of State Security, the army and the Communist Party 
     propaganda department are using the trial as a vehicle for 
     their political comeback--as well as a warning to anyone 
     contemplating dissent as the 91-year-old Deng fades from 
     power.
       Whatever legal motions the government goes through, no 
     observer consulted related Wei's incarceration to what are 
     widely viewed as trumped-up charges. Merle Goldman, a 
     professor of Chinese politics at Boston University, said, ``I 
     don't see what evidence they can have since he was followed 
     every single minute he was out of jail.''
                                                                    ____


             [From the Reuters News Agency, Dec. 12, 1995]

Chinese Dissident's Trial To Be Open to the West--But Ex-U.S. Officials 
                            Can't Defend Wei

                          (By Jeffrey Parker)

       Beijing, December 1.--In a highly unusual move, China has 
     opened the trial of top dissident Wei Jingsheng to Western 
     reporters--but will not allow him to be defended by two 
     former U.S. attorneys general who have offered to take his 
     case.
       The Beijing Intermediate People's Court said Western 
     reporters were asked to submit applications to attend 
     tomorrow's session. The trial will also be open to the 
     public, meaning close relatives and a few court-selected 
     citizens would be allowed in.
       But court spokesman Chen Xiong said Mr. Wei could not hire 
     foreign lawyers, thus rejecting an offer by former U.S. 
     Attorneys General Dick Thornburg and Nicholas D. Katzenbach 
     to defend Mr. Wei against what is seen widely in the West as 
     a political charge.
       The defendant has retained Beijing lawyer Zhang Sizhi, a 
     relative said.
       China meanwhile sentenced three dissident Christian 
     activists to up to 2\1/2\ years of re-education through 
     labor, a form of administrative detention, sources close to 
     the defendants said. 
     
[[Page H14345]]

       The Beijing Muncipal Re-education Through Labor Committee 
     sentenced the three recently, but the exact date was not 
     clear, the sources said.
       Defendants Xu Yonghai, Gao Feng and Liu Fenggang all have 
     been active in Beijing's underground Christian circles, 
     seeking to practice their religion outside state-sanctioned 
     churches.
       Mr. Wei's trial technically opened December 1, when 
     presecutors lodged the charge of ``conspiring to overthrow 
     the government,'' which can carry the death penalty on 
     conviction.
       The same charge was used to imprison many dissidents 
     arrested when the Communist government crushed the 1989 
     Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests.
       Widely viewed as a father of China's democracy movement, 
     Mr. Wei was first jailed in the late 1970's Democracy Wall 
     era after proposing that leader Deng Xiao-ping's Four 
     Modernizations drive needed a fifth component--multi-party 
     democracy.
       Mr. Wei's relatives have denounced his prosecution, saying 
     he did nothing but exercise his costitutional right to speak 
     his mind.
                                                                    ____


               [From the Washington Post, Nov. 22, 1995]

                China Accuses Dissident of Coup Attempt

       Beijing.--China formally arrested its leading critic, Wei 
     Jingsheng, today and charged him with attempting to overthrow 
     the Chinese government.
       Under Chinese law, conviction could result in a sentence 
     ranging from 5 years in prison to execution, according to 
     legal experts here. In China, conviction is almost certain 
     after a formal arrest is announced.
       Wei, 44, regarded as the father of China's tiny democracy 
     movement, thus was publicly charged nearly 20 months after 
     his detention. He had vanished after being stopped by 
     security agents on a road outside Beijing on April 1, 1994. 
     Despite appeals from world leaders, China has given no 
     indication of Wei's whereabouts nor was he allowed to see 
     family members or attorneys.
       The official New China News Agency said ``an investigation 
     by Beijing's municipal public security departments showed 
     that Wei had conducted activities in [an] attempt to 
     overthrow the government. * * * His actions were in violation 
     of the criminal law and constituted crimes.''
       An uncompromising voice for free speech and democracy, Wei 
     has spent all but six months of the last 18 years in 
     detention. This year he was a strong contender for the Nobel 
     Peace Prize. A former soldier and an electrician, Wei was 
     jailed in 1979 for his role in the Democracy Wall movement. 
     At that time he wrote and published an essay that criticized 
     Chinese leader Deng Xleoping for leaving democracy out of his 
     reform program. Wei later branded Deng a ``new dictator.''
       The latest charge appears to signal Beijing's continued 
     determination to stifle overt political dissent as well as 
     its confidence that foreign companies' eagerness to do 
     business in China's booming economy will prevent any foreign 
     trade restrictions in response.
       The timing of the announcement--just after Chinese 
     President Jiang Zemin's meetings with President Clinton in 
     New York, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl in Beijing, and 
     leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum in Osaka--allowed 
     Jiang to sidestep confrontations over China's human rights 
     conditions. But the charge against Wei also suggests that 
     appeals those world leaders said they made on behalf of 
     political prisoners had little effect.
       In Washington, a State Department spokesman said, ``We 
     regret the government's decision to formally charge Chinese 
     democracy activist Wei Jingsheng. We have expressed our 
     concerns about this latest development in his case to Chinese 
     officials.''
       Most people familiar with Wei express doubt that any 
     evidence against him exists, apart from a lifetime of bold 
     writing against what he called ``political swindlers.''
       Wei came from a classic Communist ``good family 
     background.'' His parents and siblings were Communist Party 
     cadres and Wei grew up with the party elite. Wei's father, a 
     high-ranking Foreign Ministry official, was a devoted Maoist 
     who forced his son to memorize a page a day from the writings 
     of Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong. If Wei 
     failed, he was sent to bed without dinner.
       In 1968, Wei was among the millions of youths who went to 
     Tiananmen Square to see Mao review Red Guards * * * the 
     Cultural Revolution. The next year Wei was jailed briefly 
     amid internecine Red Guard strife. After his release, Wei was 
     assigned to work as an electrician at the Bejing zoo. He quit 
     to join the People's Liberation Army, where he spent four 
     years. He later wrote that his military service took him 
     around the country and showed him how peasants suffer. In 
     1976, he returned to his job at the zoo.
       In late 1978, Wei took part in the Democracy Wall movement, 
     when activists plastered posters and political essays on 
     walls in the center of the city. Wei ran a magazine called 
     Explorations, produced on a handcranked printer.
       While many Democracy Wall activists cautiously couched 
     their essays in the jargon of the day, Wei lambasted the 
     ``deafening noise of `class struggle' slogans.'' At a time 
     that many Chinese were welcoming Deng's ``four 
     modernizations''--agriculture, industry, science and 
     technology, and national defense--Wei said Deng's reform plan 
     would fail without democracy, which he called the ``fifth 
     modernization.''
       Arrested in 1979 and sentenced to 15 years in jail, Wei 
     served much of his time in solitary confinement. He also 
     worked in a labor camp.
       Released in 1993 when China was trying to persuade the 
     international community to choose Bejing as the site of the 
     2000 Olympic Games, Wei immediately made new contacts with 
     workers, intellectuals and foreign journalists even though he 
     was closely monitored by Beijing police. Wei spoke out 
     against China's treatment of political prisoners and urged 
     the international community to pick a different site for the 
     Olympics. The latest detention came just after Wei met with 
     Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights John Shattrick.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
California [Mr. Cox].
  Mr. COX of California. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow the Communist government 
of the People's Republic of China will put China's leading advocate of 
democracy on trial. This so-called trial speaks volumes about the 
abysmal state of human rights and the complete and utter denial of 
political freedoms in the People's Republic of China.
  Wei Jingsheng is China's foremost dissident, and has become a 
personal target of Deng Xiaoping because he demanded that Deng's ``Four 
Modernizations'', agriculture, industry, science, and defense, be 
supplemented with a very important fifth: Democracy. Wei's magazine, 
``Exploration'', repudiated not just Maoism and Leninism, but Marxism 
itself.
  Mr. Speaker, for this he spent 14\1/2\ years of his life in some of 
Communist China's most brutal and remote prison camps. Much of that 
time was spent in solitary confinement. His alleged offense was 
counterrevolutionary activities. The truth is that he led the Democracy 
Wall Movement. That movement, as the Speaker knows, took its name from 
the wall near the Forbidden City which activists used to displace their 
prodemocracy manifestos.
  When the People's Republic of China recently was seeking 
international acceptance so that it could host the Olympic Games, 
forthcoming in the year 2000, Wei was paroled just 6 months before the 
expiration of that grueling 15-year sentence. This was done obviously 
in order to curry favor with Western governments and the International 
Olympic Committee.
  But when Wei was released, he did not stop speaking. He called on the 
members of the Olympic Committee to punish Beijing for its abysmal 
human rights record by denying it the opportunity to host the Olympic 
Games. Shortly after that, in April 1994, Wei disappeared. For the past 
20 months the Communist authorities have refused to tell anyone, even 
his family, his whereabouts.
  Mr. Speaker, it is now probable that Wei will be put on trial 
tomorrow for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government. In truth, 
the sum total of his offenses against China's Communist Government has 
been his underlying support for democracy and human rights. His likely 
punishment will be a minimum of 10 years, and perhaps death.
  The Chinese Government may return him to Laogai, the notorious 
Chinese gulag. They may expel him after imposing a Draconian sentence, 
which is what they did to Californian Harry Wu.

  The Communist regime is no doubt retaliating against Wei because he 
was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and because the Olympic 
Committee decided not to award the People's Republic of China the 
Olympics.
  Mr. Speaker, the Wei case demonstrates the nature of justice under 
the current Communist government in China. Wei was arrested 20 months 
ago without warning and without explanation. For nearly 2 years he has 
been held incommunicado. Only afterward did the Communist government 
initiate its investigation of Wei. Then, and only then, did the 
Communist government announce the charges against Wei and set his trial 
for tomorrow.
  But sadly, Mr. Speaker, this will be a sham trial. There is no doubt, 
absolutely none, about the result. Wei will be found guilty. The trial 
in China's Intermediate People's Court will be anything but the open 
proceeding announced in the press of the People's Republic of China. It 
will not be public. 

[[Page H14346]]

  American and European requests to monitor the trial have either been 
rejected or gone simply unanswered, and the Chinese regime has refused 
to allow a distinguished international team to assist Wei. In addition, 
two former United States Attorneys General, Nicholas Katzenbach and 
Dick Thornburgh, one Republican and one Democrat, have been trying to 
assist in Wei's defense, and the Chinese Government has told them 
coldly, harshly, ``No.''
  Wei Jingsheng, like the heroic students of Tiananmen Square, is 
living proof that China's people are not indifferent to democracy. They 
are not indifferent to human rights. They are not content with 
lawlessness, dictatorship and corruption.
  Tomorrow, the People's Republic of China will attempt to put Wei 
Jingsheng on trial, but it will be China's Communist dictatorship that 
is in fact on trial. Mr. Speaker, the message in this resolution is 
clear. Wei Jingsheng should be immediately released and his sham trial 
should be stopped.
  The detention and trial of Wei Jingsheng is only the latest and most 
striking case of China's systematic infringement of political freedoms, 
individual liberties, and human rights. This Congress and this 
resolution intends to make clear that communist China's continued 
violations of human rights will have consequences.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume 
to the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi].
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from American Samoa 
for his leadership, as well as that of the gentleman from New York [Mr. 
Gilman], the gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter], the gentleman from 
New Jersey [Mr. Smith], the gentleman from California [Mr. Berman], and 
others who have brought this legislation to the floor today. I commend 
them all, and am pleased to be a sponsor of the resolution before us.
  Mr. Speaker, it is most fitting that we consider this bill today, the 
day before Wei Jingsheng is tried in a Chinese court. Today is also the 
day on which the U.S. Department of State is celebrating Human Rights 
Day. On December 5, President Clinton signed a proclamation designating 
the week of December 10 through 16, 1995 as Human Rights Week. 
President Clinton said:

       We live in an era of great advances for freedom and 
     democracy. Yet, sadly, it also remains a time of ongoing 
     suffering and hardship in many countries. As a nation long 
     committed to promoting individual rights and human dignity, 
     let us continue our efforts to ensure that people in all 
     regions of the globe enjoy the same freedoms and basic human 
     rights that have always made America great.

  Our action today on this legislation demonstrates our congressional 
commitment to living up to our American values of promoting human 
rights, basic freedoms and human dignity.
  Wei Jingsheng is scheduled to be tried tomorrow, I guess it is in a 
few hours, taking into consideration the time difference, in a Chinese 
courtroom on charges of attempting to overthrow the Government, a 
capital offense. The charges against Wei are spurious, the trial is 
fixed, and the entire event would be farcical if a man's life were not 
at stake.
  The case of Wei Jingsheng, a key figure in China's pro-democracy 
movement, once again exposes to world view the flaws in China's 
judicial system and the alarming pattern of human rights abuses by 
China's authoritarian Government.
  Wei Jingsheng was first imprisoned as a result of his 1979 democracy 
wall activities. His activities at that time include daring to write 
and to publicize material critical of Marxist-Leninism and critical of 
China's Communist Government. For those activities, Wei was sentenced 
to 15 years in prison.
  He was released after serving 14\1/2\ years of that 15 year sentence 
and I might add, much of that in solitary confinement. As part of the 
public relations campaign by China's dictatorial Government to woo the 
International Olympic Committee into naming Beijing as an Olympics 
site.
  Wei Jingsheng was detained again by the Chinese Government in 1994, 
less than 6 months after obtaining his freedom. His crime? Daring to 
continue to speak out against China's Communist Government.
  When Wei met with foreign journalists and officials, including U.S. 
Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights John Shattuck. The 
Chinese Government did not like what Wei had to say or to whom he was 
saying it and shortly after his meeting with Assistant Secretary of 
State Shattuck, Wei was thrown once again into the bowels of the 
Chinese Government penal system.
  Wei Jingsheng was held incommunicado for 20 months by China's 
dictators. During that time, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 
by an international group of parliamentarians, including 58 Members of 
the U.S. Congress. During those 20 months, the Chinese Government held 
Wei without charging him, in violation of their own laws.
  Two days before the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving, I mention that 
because it is clear that the Chinese Government knew this would be at a 
time when Congress was not in session and able to respond to the 
charges, the Chinese Government finally acknowledged that they were 
holding Wei and formally charged him with attempting to overthrow the 
government. Last Friday, they announced that his trial would be on 
Wednesday, December 13. The charges are absurd; the verdict predictable 
and predetermined.
  Wei's family has hired a talented and dedicated attorney to defend 
him, the same attorney who defended prominent dissidents Wang Juntao 
and Chen Ziming. Unfortunately, as of 48 hours before the trial, the 
attorney had neither been granted access to Wei nor allowed to view the 
dossier against him. This is but one example of the sham trial which is 
about to be undertaken.
  Chinese authorities had originally announced that the trial would be 
open. The question here is to whom the word open applies--neither 
foreign journalists nor U.S. Embassy officials who have requested to 
attend the trial are being permitted to do so.
  Wei Jingsheng's sister, Wei Shanshan, is in Washington, DC this week 
to appeal for help in freeing her brother. The bill before us today 
bolsters an international campaign on Wei's behalf. The international 
efforts include a campaign by prominent and distinguished international 
jurists, represented in the U.S. by former attorneys General Nicholas 
Katzenbach and Dick Thornburgh, to defend Wei and a campaign by PEN, 
the international authors organization, to appeal for Wei's release. 
House Concurrent Resolution 117 puts the strong voice and the moral 
authority of the United States House of Representatives on record in 
support of a fighter for freedom and Democratic reform, a man who 
embodies the values upon which our own great democracy was built.
  As we commemorate human rights week, I call on the administration to 
live up to its rhetoric on human rights. President Clinton should 
communicate directly and in no uncertain terms to the Chinese 
Government at the highest levels that Wei Jingsheng must be released 
immediately and unconditionally. The United States and China cannot 
have a normal relationship while China insists upon violating 
international law and violating international norms of behavior.
  I urge my colleagues to support freedom and democracy in China by 
supporting Wei Jingsheng. Wei is a strong symbol of, to, and for the 
Chinese dissidents who are risking their lives by bravely speaking out 
against tyranny.
  Mr. Speaker, this morning we cheered the remarks of Shimon Peres as 
he spoke out in support of democracy and how it was important to peace. 
Hopefully, our colleagues will now join together in sending another 
strong message in support of democracy by supporting this resolution.
  Once again, I commend the gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman], the 
gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter], the gentleman from New Jersey 
[Mr. Smith], and the gentleman from American Samoa [Mr. Faleomavaega] 
for giving us this opportunity to vote on this important legislation 
this evening.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Hastings].
  (Mr. HASTINGS of Florida asked and was given permission to revise and 
extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the 
concurrent resolution.

[[Page H14347]]

  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Illinois [Mr. Porter], the cochairman of the Human Rights Caucus.
  (Mr. PORTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)

                              {time}  1930

  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York, the 
chairman of the committee, for yielding time to me.
  Mr. Speaker, the world was outraged a month ago when the Government 
of Nigeria, the Abacha government, executed Ken Sarawiwa and all of the 
Ogoni Nine. Now China, Mr. Speaker, is conducting a quiet but 
comprehensive campaign to quash the remainder of China's dissident 
movement left from the violent 1989 crackdown on democracy protesters.
  The trial of human rights advocate and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Wei 
Jingsheng, scheduled to begin tomorrow, culminates this vicious 
campaign. Human Rights Watch World Report 1996 reports that the formal 
arrest of Mr. Wei for conducting activities in an attempt to overthrow 
the Chinese Government was the most blatant example of the Chinese 
Government using trumped-up criminal charges against political 
dissidents.
  Mr. Speaker, again and again the Chinese Government flagrantly 
ignores domestic and international pressure for peaceful political 
change. Instead relying on its economic attractiveness to foreign 
investors, Beijing continues to demonstrate its disdain for fundamental 
human rights guarantees and the rule of law.
  It is time, Mr. Speaker, that that change. Mr. Speaker, it is 
outrageous that Mr. Wei has been detained since April 1994 without 
formal charges or the opportunity to communicate with his family or 
legal counsel. The Government of China should unconditionally release 
Mr. Wei. But at a minimum, Mr. Wei should be afforded all 
internationally recognized human rights, including the right to consult 
freely with counsel of his choice and to communicate with his family.
  Mr. Speaker, to the extent that the world tolerates these outrageous 
abuses is the extent to which it encourages all repressive governments. 
But to the extent that we respond strongly against them, this and other 
governments will be restrained.
  I commend the gentleman from New Jersey for offering this resolution. 
I commend the gentleman from New York for bringing it to the floor. I 
urge all Members to support its adoption.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Virginia [Mr. Wolf].
  (Mr. WOLF asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 117, 
a resolution which urges the Government of the People's Republic of 
China to immediately and unconditionally release Wei Jingsheng, a 
leader of China's modern democracy movement.
  I want to thank the chairman, the gentleman from New York [Mr. 
Gilman], and the chairman, the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Smith], 
for moving this bill quickly.
  I would say it is good that the Congress is speaking out both in the 
House and the Senate. When this comes up for a vote, it will be, 
hopefully, passed 435 to nothing.
  I wonder, where is the business community? Why are they not speaking 
out on this issue? This indictment of Wei was handed down only 3 days 
after Vice President Al Gore met with Chinese President Jiang Zemin in 
Osaka. Why has Wei been charged with attempting to overthrow the 
powerful and the repressive and weapons-laden Chinese Government? 
Because he dared to speak to Assistant Secretary for Human Rights and 
Humanitarian Affairs, John Shattuck, shortly after he was released in 
1994.
  Wei, Mr. Speaker, is the kind of hero and a patriot the United States 
should be supporting. The Clinton administration unfortunately has just 
simply expressed regret tat the whole incident, a wholly inappropriate 
response, not even a slap on the wrist. The Vice President, Mr. 
Speaker, has even refused to meet with Wei's sister who is in 
Washington lobbying on behalf of her brother. If America does not have 
a hand to lend in his struggle for freedom, who does? Wei is like 
Sakharov or Shcharansky or Solzhenitsyn or someone like this.
  I urge a strong and unanimous vote. I want to again thank Chairman 
Gilman, Chairman Smith, and the gentlewoman from California, Ms. 
Pelosi, and the others for their efforts to move this bill quickly.
  The Chinese Government's formal arrest of Wei in November is a 
classic example of what happens to China's brave democracy activists 
when the world turns its back on them. Mr. Speaker, through the de-
linking of trade from human rights in May 1994 and the failure of the 
Senate to take up the China Policy Act of 1995, the United States has 
indeed turned its back on Wei Jingsheng and the hundreds of other 
political prisoners, Christians, and Tibetan Buddhists who languish in 
Chinese jails today. The resolution we are debating today is only a 
step in the right direction. What the United States really needs is a 
tougher overall policy towards China. Engagement just isn't working. 
This indictment of Wei was handed down only 3 days after Vice President 
Al Gore met with Chinese President Jiang Zemin in Osaka.
  Why has Wei Jingsheng been charged with attempting to overthrow the 
powerful, repressive, weapons-laden Chinese Government? Because he 
dared to speak to Assistant Secretary for Human Rights and Humanitarian 
Affairs John Shattuck shortly after he was released in 1994. Because he 
dared to tell the world that it should keep pressure on China to 
address human rights problems. Because he dared to speak to foreign 
journalists about the need for democracy despite being banned for 3 
years from doing so by Chinese authorities.
  Wei Jingsheng is the kind of hero and patriot the United States 
should be supporting. But the Clinton administration has simply 
expressed regret at the whole incident. A wholly inappropriate 
response. Not even a slap on the wrist. The Vice President has even 
refused to meet with Wei's sister who is in Washington lobbying on 
behalf of her brother. If America doesn't have a hand to lend to these 
struggling for freedom, who does? Where do they turn for help?
  In July, 410 members of this Chamber supported H.R. 2058, a bill that 
would have given definition to the administration's China policy and 
commended brave democracy reformers like Wei Jingsheng. Supporters and 
opponents of revoking MFN status for China rallied around this unified 
message of disdain for China's human rights, weapons proliferation, and 
unfair trade policies.
  It's been 6 months and the Senate has not yet taken up the bill. 
There are some who argue it's not the right time to tweak the Chinese 
Government's nose. There are some who want only to dialogue and engage 
and continue to let brave reformers like Wei Jingsheng suffer in jail 
or worse. If Congress cannot pass a statement of policy like H.R. 2058, 
what hope do people like Wei Jingsheng have?
  I urge my colleagues to vote for H. Con. Res. 117, but I also 
encourage my colleagues to look inside themselves and decide when 
enough is enough. When Congress reconvenes in January, perhaps the MFN-
human rights fight should begin anew. America must not walk away from 
these people.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman 
from California [Mr. Rohrabacher].
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, here we are on the floor of the House 
of Representatives talking about someone who languishes on in prison 
halfway around, on the other side of the world.
  I would like to point something out here in this Chamber. Here as we 
stand in this bastion of democracy of the legislative branch, one of 
the oldest elected legislative branches in the world, we have two 
pictures on our walls. One is of George Washington; the other is of 
Lafayette. That suggests something about freedom and the way the 
American people think of freedom. The fact is that Lafayette heard of 
our struggle for freedom and democracy in far-off France, a country 
that was much further away from the United States in those days than we 
are from China today, and came to our country to help us in our 
struggle for freedom. We never forgot Lafayette. Years later he 
returned to the United States and was welcomed as a hero by the 
American people. Every little city and town and hamlet throughout our 
country welcomed him as a champion of American freedom.
  That is because the people who founded our country understood that 
the concept of freedom and democracy is universal. It is not something 
that we hold dear just for Americans, but it is, instead, something 
that unites all 

[[Page H14348]]
peace-loving and freedom-loving people of the world everywhere.
  Today another hero languishes in far-off China, in a prison in far-
off China. We are putting the world on notice that we have remained 
true to the principles of Washington and of Lafayette and of Jefferson 
because we are on his side. I ask support of this resolution and ask my 
colleagues to join us in supporting Wei Jingsheng and his struggle for 
democracy and the people of China's struggle for democracy.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New 
Jersey [Mr. Smith], the sponsor of this measure, who is also a member 
of our Committee on International Relations.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman 
from New York [Mr. Gilman], the chairman, for his expeditious passage 
of this legislation in the full committee. I also thank the gentleman 
for his very strong leadership on human rights, particularly as it 
relates to the People's Republic of China.
  I would like to thank the gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter], the 
gentleman from American Samoa [Mr. Faleomavaega], the gentleman from 
California [Mr. Berman], the gentleman from California [Mr. Lantos], 
and the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi], who has been a real 
stalwart when it has come to China, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Berman and the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Cox], who spoke earlier and, of course, 
my good friend and colleague with whom I have traveled to China on 
behalf of human rights, the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Wolf], who has 
been tenacious in promoting human rights around the globe.
  Mr. Speaker, today the American people stand united in outrage at the 
latest assaults on freedom, democracy and decency by the government of 
the People's Republic of China. The ordeal of Wei Jingsheng began in 
1979 when he took the Communist government at its word and wrote 
articles suggesting political reform. For this they sentenced him to a 
15-year jail term.
  In late 1993, he was unexpectedly released on parole, a few months 
prior to the end of his sentence. This gesture, I would note 
parenthetically, was designed to induce the Olympic committee to award 
Beijing as host of the Olympics 2000. They did not get it, as we all 
know.
  During his long and unjust imprisonment, he has been severely beaten 
and subjected to other forms of physical and psychological abuse. He 
was in extremely poor health, but he had also become a hero in the 
meantime, a symbol of courage and even of hope to a beleaguered people.
  It was my privilege, Mr. Speaker, to visit with Wei Jingsheng in 
Beijing in January 1994, during his very brief period of freedom. I 
found him to be extremely articulate, compassionate and principled. He 
spoke of his quest for democracy and human rights with a very keen 
understanding. Notwithstanding his horrific ordeal in prison, he never 
once slandered the leadership of the People's Republic of China. I was 
amazed at his lack of malice and his lack of rancor toward his jailers. 
I was deeply impressed by his kindness and his goodness.
  A few weeks later, after meeting with Assistant Secretary of State 
for Human Rights John Shattuck, he was rearrested. For 19 months the 
Beijing government would not even admit that they had Wei in its 
custody. He was cut off from communication with his family, with legal 
counsel, with his colleagues and admirers in the human rights movement. 
None of us knew for sure whether or not he was dead or alive.
  When I visited Beijing in September of this year, I asked to visit 
Wei in prison. My request was not denied, it was just ignored as if he 
was persona non grata. Finally on November 21 of this year, the Beijing 
authorities acknowledged what the world already knew, that Wei was 
their prisoner. They announced their intention to try him for 
``attempting to overthrow the government.''
  This charge is clearly false, Mr. Speaker, unless it is just another 
way of saying that anyone who believes in freedom and democracy and who 
is not afraid to say so is a threat to the ultimate survival of a 
totalitarian regime such as the one in Beijing.
  In a free country, Mr. Speaker, Wei Jingsheng would have a place of 
high honor in society. In today's China, the only question is whether 
he will be tried for a crime that is punishable by death or by a very, 
very long imprisonment. Wei is an innocent man, Mr. Speaker. In a free 
country, this would matter. In Communist China, it is his very 
innocence that his jailers hate and fear.
  Mr. Speaker, there is disagreement among the Members of the United 
States Congress as to the best way to bring freedom and democracy to 
the People's Republic of China. Some believe that we must pursue a 
course of constructive engagement, that if we work closely with the 
Chinese officials and give them much of what they want from us, we will 
be in the best position to encourage them to improve their dismal human 
rights record. Others feel that the last 20 years of U.S. policy 
towards China amounts to a long and unrequired one-way love affair with 
a Communist dictatorship. Today, however, we all stand together, 
Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, pro- and anti-
MFN advocates, united by one simple truth: This decent and gentle man 
is not a criminal.
  The trial of Wei Jingsheng is set to begin in just a few hours and, 
looking at the clock, probably in just a few minutes. We appeal to 
President Zemin on his behalf. Release him. Today we pray, we hope and 
we can tell the truth on the floor of this House about what is 
happening to Wei Jingsheng. For just this one day, let us let the world 
know that the United States did not conduct business as usual with a 
government that brutalizes its own people and dishonors its heroes.

  Wei Jingsheng deserves to be free. Let us send a clear, unmistakable 
expression of our support for him as he goes on trial and again in just 
a couple of minutes in China.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to again commend the gentleman from New 
Jersey, [Mr. Smith] as the chief sponsor of this legislation. Not only 
that, but I commend him not only as an outstanding leader on our 
committee but certainly a champion of human rights throughout the 
world. I want to commend him for his leadership in that capacity.
  Certainly I want to thank the gentleman from New York, chairman of 
our Committee on International Relations, for his leadership. In the 
spirit of bipartisanship, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues that we 
support this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1945

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaHood). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman] that the House 
suspended the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, House 
Concurrent Resolution 117, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 5 of 
rule I and the Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this 
motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________