[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 62 (Tuesday, May 13, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S4380]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CALLING FOR THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF WEI JINGSHENG

  Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, I rise today to call for the release of 
Wei Jingsheng who has been imprisoned for almost 18 years under the 
harshest of circumstances in China. Mr. Wei was first jailed in 1979 
for advocating democratic reform in China. Can you imagine? The free 
exchange of such ideas which we take for granted every day in the 
United States cost Mr. Wei his freedom.
  Mr. Wei was released in 1993 in an act which curiously coincided with 
an upcoming vote by the International Olympic Committee on China's 
application to host the Olympic games in the year 2000. China's bid for 
the Olympic games was unsuccessful and shortly thereafter Mr. Wei was 
imprisoned again. He is not scheduled for release until 2009. This 
overtly politically motivated move is unconscionable.
  Through these years of personal terror Mr. Wei has frequently been 
held in solitary confinement. He was been the victim of cruelty and 
mistreatment which had a serious effect on Mr. Wei's health. I am told 
that Mr. Wei is suffering from heart disease but does not have access 
to proper medical care. This treatment is simply wrong.
  The People's Republic of China wants to assume the status of a 
responsible nation in the world community. And yet they continue to 
subjugate the people of Tibet. As a case in point, I spoke earlier this 
year on the floor about Ngawang Choephel, a former Fulbright scholar at 
Middlebury College and a friend of the United States, who is serving an 
18-year prison term for supposed espionage activities.
  The People's Republic of China wants to assume the status of a 
responsible nation in the world community. And yet they continue to 
subjugate their own people as well. Mr. Wei is a case in point. The 
State Department in its annual human rights record for 1996 hit the 
nail on the head. It said that China ``continued to commit widespread 
and well-documented human rights abuses, in violation of 
internationally accepted norms, stemming from the authorities' 
intolerance of dissent, fear of unrest, and the absence or inadequacy 
of laws protecting basic freedoms.''
  Mr. President, Mr. Wei has suffered enough. The people of Tibet have 
suffered enough. The people of China have suffered enough. It is time 
for a change. We must work for that change in areas we can influence. 
And let's start by calling for the release of Mr. Wei.

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