[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 130 (Thursday, September 25, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9977-S9978]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         SENATE RESOLUTION 127--REGARDING A PLANNED STATE VISIT

  Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself, Mr. Abraham, Mr. Helms, and Mr. Wellstone) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 127

       Whereas the President of the People's Republic of China is 
     tentatively scheduled to begin a state visit in Washington, 
     D.C., on October 29, 1997;
       Whereas a state visit, unlike a working-level visit, 
     involve the highest-level protocol that can be afforded a 
     foreign head of state;
       Whereas on December 13, 1995, a Beijing court sentenced Wei 
     Jingsheng to 14 years in prison for peacefully advocating 
     democracy and political reforms in China.
       Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     had previously imprisoned Wei Jingsheng from 1979 to 1993, 
     also for peacefully promoting human rights and democracy in 
     China;
       Whereas Wei Jingsheng is just one of hundreds, if not 
     thousands, of other political, religious, and labor 
     dissidents who are imprisoned in China and Tibet for 
     peacefully expressing their beliefs and exercising their 
     internationally recognized rights of free association and 
     expression.
       Whereas like other prisoners, Wei Jingsheng is in poor 
     health and Chinese authorities refuse to provide him with 
     proper medical care; and
       Whereas the Department of State 1996 Human Rights Report 
     states: ``[t]he Government [of the People's Republic of 
     China] continued to commit widespread and well-documented 
     human rights abuses, in violation of international accepted 
     norms, stemming from the authorities' intolerance of dissent, 
     fear of unrest, and the absence or inadequacy of laws 
     protecting basic freedoms.'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the 
     President should not host a state visit by the President of 
     the People's Republic of China until--
       (1) the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     immediately and unconditionally releases Wei Jingsheng, Wang 
     Dan, and a significant number of other prisoners of 
     conscience held in prison in China and Tibet;
       (2) the Government of the People's Republic of China takes 
     immediate steps toward improving the conditions under which 
     political, religious, and labor dissidents are imprisoned in 
     China and Tibet, including providing prisoners with adequate 
     medical care and allowing international humanitarian agencies 
     access to detention facilities; and
       (3) the Government of the People's Republic of China makes 
     significant progress toward improving overall human rights 
     conditions in China and Tibet, including taking concrete 
     steps to grant freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and 
     freedom of association in compliance with international human 
     rights standards.

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise today to submit a resolution 
regarding the upcoming State visit by the President of the People's 
Republic of China, Mr. Jiang Zemin.
  As we all know, President Clinton plans to host Mr. Jiang on a State 
visit to Washington at the end of October. The resolution I am offering 
today is a sense of the Senate resolution that states that President 
Jiang should not be given a red carpet welcome in our Nation's Capital 
until we see some progress on human rights in China. Specifically, the 
resolution calls for China to release Wei Jingsheng and other prisoners 
of conscience from jail as a precondition for a State visit.
  By agreeing to this State visit without receiving any concession on 
human rights, the administration may be squandering perhaps its 
strongest source of leverage with Beijing. The Chinese Government has 
been pressing for such a visit in Washington for several years. The 
Chinese want to be treated like a great power. An invitation to the 
White House not only bestows legitimacy on the Communist regime, it 
will boost the prestige of President Jiang and help him to solidify his 
position as Deng Xiaoping's successor. In short, China needs this State 
visit more than the United States does.
  Agreeing to invite the President of China to the White House before 
any improvement is made on human rights will send a terrible message. 
It will confirm what many Chinese leaders already believe--that the 
United States offers lots of rhetoric on human rights, but no action, 
and that the United States ultimately cares more about trade than 
political prisoners.
  Judging by the administration's China policy, it is easy to see why 
the leadership in Beijing would come to such a conclusion. In 1994, the 
President delinked most-favored-nation trade status from human rights. 
This was a serious mistake. What we have seen since the delinkage is 
the reincarceration of political dissidents and increased repression in 
Tibet.
  Just this past April, at the meeting of the U.N. Human Rights 
Commission, the United States mounted what I view as a half-hearted 
attempt to win passage of a resolution critical of China's human rights 
record. As we all know, that resolution failed to pass, and some of our 
close allies--including France,

[[Page S9978]]

Germany, and Canada--refused to cosponsor it. Finally, just this past 
June, the President once again unconditionally extended MFN to China 
for one more year.
  Now, the administration is preparing to give Jiang Zemin a red carpet 
welcome in Washington despite the deplorable human rights conditions in 
China. Why wouldn't Chinese leaders conclude that, in the final 
analysis, the United States is unwilling to back up its human rights 
concerns with concrete action?
  What we have then is not a policy of constructive engagement but one 
of unconditional engagement.
  An invitation to the White House is meant to symbolize a relationship 
of close cooperation. But the United States simply does not have such a 
relationship with China. On security issues, China has sold sensitive 
nuclear and missile technologies to countries like Pakistan and Iran. 
The People's Republic of China last year fired missiles toward Taiwan 
in an attempt to disrupt the island's first democratic Presidential 
election. China has blatantly violated agreements on copyrights and 
intellectual property. And, as I have stated, China has made little, if 
any, attempt to improve its human rights conditions.
  Now the administration is rewarding this lack of cooperation by 
hosting high-level visits by Chinese officials. Last December, the 
administration welcomed China's Defense Minister, Gen. Chi Haotian, to 
Washington. Mr. Chi, also known as the butcher of Beijing, was one of 
the People's Liberation Army officers who led the military assault 
against the citizens of the Chinese capital on June 4, 1989. Now, the 
administration wants to invite the President of China for a State 
visit, even though the Government of China--in the spirit of the 
Tiananmen Square massacre--continues to persecute anyone who dares 
criticize the Communist regime. Just this week, China's Justice 
Minister ruled out granting medical parole to pro-democracy dissident 
Wang Dan despite pleas from Wang's family, who say he is seriously ill.
  When Jiang Zemin is given a 21-gun salute at the White House, the 
United States will lose what little credibility we have left on the 
issue of human rights.
  Mr. President, this resolution simply calls on the administration to 
hold off on a State visit until China releases Wei Jingsheng and other 
political prisoners. This resolution focuses on Wei Jingsheng, but only 
as a symbol of the thousands of people who are rotting in Chinese jail 
cells or toiling in labor camps because they dared to peacefully 
express their political or religious beliefs.
  Wei Jingsheng may be the most famous Chinese dissident, but we should 
never forget that there are many more like him, people whose names we 
may not know, but who nevertheless show the same type of courage. This 
resolution calls for the release of a significant number of political 
and religious prisoners in addition to Wei. China must know that the 
release of one or two high-profile dissidents is not enough.
  In addition to demanding the release of political prisoners, the 
resolution also calls on China to give prisoners access to medical 
care, and to take concrete steps towards improving overall human rights 
conditions in China and Tibet.
  These are realistic demands. This resolution does not say China must 
change its political system or withdraw from Tibet, events that are 
unlikely to take place before next month. This resolution only states 
that, in order to create the right atmosphere for a State visit, China 
must make a good-faith effort to improve human rights.
  I should also point out that this resolution only applies to a State-
level visit. The State Department's protocol office tells me there are 
several levels of visits including private visits, working visits, 
official visits, and finally, at the highest level, State visits. My 
goal in introducing this resolution is not to cut off all dialog 
between the United States and China. I would not necessarily object to 
having Mr. Jiang come to Washington for a working-level visit. But I 
feel the pomp and symbolism of a State-level visit is inappropriate 
given the present situation in China.
  Oviously, China will object to this resolution, but it contains a 
message that Beijing must hear. China's leaders have unfortunately 
interpreted the inability of Congress to reach a consensus on China's 
most-favored-nation status as evidence that Members of Congress do not 
really care about human rights. But I assure you, Mr. President, that 
even though many of my colleagues have different views on the MFN 
issue, all share my concern for the plight of people like Wei 
Jingsheng.
  China wants to be treated as a great power, but it does not want to 
accept the responsibilities that come with the role. It does not want 
to fulfill its treaty obligations nor abide by the international 
conventions--including those on human rights--that it has signed. This 
resolution sends a clear message that if the United States is to treat 
China like a great power, then China must comply with international 
human rights standards.
  Mr. President, I think it is time for the United States to end its 
policy of unconditional engagement and put human rights and trade on an 
equal footing in our China policy.
  I therefore urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

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