[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 12, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1791-S1792]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  100 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION

  Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, last week, South Carolina State 
University and the city of Orangeburg celebrated 100 years together. I 
would like to take a few moments to reflect upon this university's 
contributions to South Carolina and to the Nation. As remarkable as its 
history has been, we find, on its centennial, that S.C. State is 
creating an even greater story to be told in the future. For it is the 
products of this university, in the form of its graduates, that have 
made and continue to make tremendous contributions to our society. And 
it is the graduating classes to come that will carry the legacy into 
the next century.
  For many years, S.C. State has been a focal point of African-American 
education in South Carolina. The school has served as a cultural 
nursing ground for African-Americans inside and outside the State of 
South Carolina. Through its fine academic tradition and strong sense of 
community, it has nurtured both the intellects and the self-confidence 
of its students. In the beginning, the college was established as a 
State supported institution under the system of segregation. Sixty 
years later, it was to produce a student body which stood at the 
vanguard of the civil rights movement. As Christine Crumbo of The State 
writes, ``They have always been the children of tradition, the students 
of South Carolina State. And the breakers of tradition.''
  The college opened its doors on September 27, 1896. Both of them. Its 
campus consisted of only two buildings, neither of which was furnished 
with electricity or plumbing. However, the school had plenty of what 
was essential: students. The original enrollment was approximately 
1,000 people ranging from kindergarten to college level, and, unlike 
other State colleges, S.C. State was coeducational from the start. A 
great deal of credit goes to Thomas E. Miller, the school's first 
president and founding father, who fought to establish the school. He 
left his political career to dedicate his time and his vision to 
creating an independent Colored Normal Industrial Agricultural and 
Mechanical College.
  The college started out with an emphasis on agriculture. About 80 
percent of the first year's students came from farm families. Though 
the agriculture school was phased out in 1971, it still houses the 
headquarters for the 1890 Research and Extension Program. This serves 
farmers in the spirit of the old curriculum, incorporating such 
branches as The Small Farmer Outreach Training and Technical Assistance 
Project. Today, South Carolina State has a strong liberal arts and 
business concentration.
  Over the past 100 years, South Carolina State has gained a reputation 
for producing alumni of high caliber who go on to distinguish 
themselves in their communities, and throughout the Nation. From 
teachers to professional football players, from actresses to 
scientists, S.C. State graduates have made their mark. They are 
ministers, community leaders, lawyers, and college presidents; for 
every aspect of public life, there is an S.C. State graduate excelling 
in it. Included among its ranks are our own Congressional 
Representative James E. Clyburn; Chief Justice Ernest A. Finney, Jr., 
the first African-American man to serve as a State supreme court 
justice; and Marianna White Davis, the first African-American woman to 
serve on the State Commission on Higher Education. In fact, one will 
notice a lot of firsts among the graduating classes of S.C. State. 
These men and women make the most of the knowledge and self-confidence 
that their educations instill in them and go on to affect change in 
this country. At South Carolina State, the students feel a part of 
something that extends back to their ancestors and forward to the next 
generation. I commend the efforts of the faculty and administration of 
S.C. State to continue its tradition of excellence, and I salute the 
university's independent spirit. I wish them another successful 100 
years.

[[Page S1792]]



      CONDEMNATION OF CHINESE MISSILE TESTS IN THE TAIWAN STRAITS

  Mr. PELL. Mr. President, we are currently in the middle of a very 
tense period in the relationship between the United States, the 
People's Republic of China, and Taiwan. Military tensions, in 
particular, are rising. Last week, China began a week-long series of 
ballistic missile tests and announced it will conduct an additional set 
of live fire military maneuvers as well. I urge China to cancel these 
tests and maneuvers. Together they constitute the fourth set of major 
military exercises the People's Liberation Army has undertaken in the 
straits since last July. They are provocative, destabilizing, and only 
damage China's image in the eyes of the world.
  There is no reason to disbelieve China's public claim that it is not 
planning an actual attack on Taiwan at this time. But I do not believe 
that these are merely routine military maneuvers, as Chinese officials 
have portrayed them. These tests, and the military exercises that 
preceded them last year, are clearly meant to intimidate the people of 
Taiwan in the run-up to the first fully democratic presidential 
election in the history of Chinese civilization. But the escalation in 
both scope and nature of this week's exercises raises the risk that 
conflict could start through miscalculation or accident. It is 
essential that all parties work to prevent an armed conflict that no 
one wants.
  Chinese Premier Li Peng stated in a speech to the National People's 
Congress that the Taiwan issue was an internal affair and warned other 
countries not to interfere. In this regard I support the long-standing 
United States position that the issue of reunification be handled by 
the Chinese people on both sides of the straits, but that policy was 
founded on the understanding that the question of Taiwan would be 
resolved peacefully. When the leadership in Beijing threatens to use 
force against Taiwan, it challenges that understanding and Beijing 
itself creates an international issue. Beijing must understand that the 
United States does not view Chinese threats toward Taiwan as an 
internal Chinese affair. The United States has a strong interest in 
peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits. It has a strong interest in 
the continued prosperity of the region--Taiwan is the world's 14th 
largest trading economy and the 7th largest United States trading 
partner. These exercises are disrupting shipping and continued military 
maneuvers will inevitably make investors and traders think twice about 
doing business in the region.
  China has repeatedly sought to be considered a responsible member of 
the world community in a number of international fora. But if it wants 
the international respect it feels it deserves, it must follow that 
community's norms of behavior. Threatening Taiwan is not acceptable to 
that community. Beijing should stop these missile tests and military 
maneuvers and re-open talks with Taiwan through its own Association for 
Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and Taiwan's Straits Exchange 
Foundation. Negotiations between these two entities were successful in 
resolving a number of issues between Beijing and Taipei before China 
cut them off last year. China should again use these talks, and not the 
military, to persuade the people and the Government on Taiwan.

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