[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 148 (Wednesday, October 29, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H9627]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            COMMUNIST CHINA SHOULD FREE RELIGIOUS PRISONERS

  (Mr. CHABOT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, in an apparent effort to illustrate its 
commitment to human rights during President Jiang Zemin's visit to the 
United States, the Communist Chinese Government just released a Roman 
Catholic bishop from prison. My question is this: What the heck was a 
Roman Catholic bishop doing in prison in the first place?
  The answer, of course, is that Bishop Su is a priest in what is known 
as the underground church, a church that does not take its orders from 
a Chinese dictatorship.
  I hope that between the champagne toast over at the White House, 
President Clinton does not forget to remind his guests that Communist 
China still has a long way to go when it comes to religious freedom, 
and that if the dictatorship wants our Government to take them 
seriously, they will open the prison doors and release all those 
believers they have jailed because they dared to practice their faith.
  Mr. Speaker, China and the world is watching.

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