[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 62 (Tuesday, May 13, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E905]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                            ON WEI JINGSHENG

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JOSEPH P. KENNEDY II

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 13, 1997

  Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, in 1995 it took a Chinese 
court less than 6 hours to convict Nobel Peace Prize nominee Wei 
Jingsheng of conspiring to subvert the Government. He was sentenced to 
14 years in prison.
  Wei was first imprisoned from 1979-1993, and has spent most of this 
last 18 years in solitary confinement. Yet the only crime that he has 
committed was standing up against tyranny and calling for democracy in 
China.
  Today marks the publication of Wei's book--``The Courage To Stand 
Alone: Letter From Prison and Other Writings''--in which he writes 
about his belief in democracy and human rights. But despite 
international pressure and opposition, people in China continue to be 
detained and sentenced for standing up for their fundamental rights.
  The trial and sentencing of Wei Jingsheng is a gross violation of the 
core ideals of democracy and freedom. In April 1994 Wei disappeared in 
the Beijing bureaucracy. For 19 months he was not allowed to 
communicate with his family, with legal counsel, or with his 
colleagues. In December 1995 Wei had only a few days to prepare a trial 
and obtain a lawyer.
  Today Wei languishes in a cell where he spent the last years of his 
previous prison term. His health is poor and the conditions are 
deplorable. He suffers from arthritis, high blood pressure and heart 
disease, but his request for urgent medical attention have gone 
unfulfilled.
  I applaud Wei's courage and strength to speak out in opposition to 
the tyranny of his government. I appeal to the Government of China to 
release this man, guilty only of believing in freedom and democracy. 
And I call on the President of the United States to continue to press 
for the release of Wei Jingsheng, and not to relent until he is free.

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