[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 154 (Thursday, November 6, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H10139-H10147]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    FORCED ABORTION CONDEMNATION ACT

  Mrs. FOWLER. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 302, and as 
the designee of the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, I call 
up the bill (H.R. 2570) to condemn those officials of the Chinese 
Communist Party, the Government of the People's Republic of China, and 
other persons who are involved in the enforcement of forced abortions 
by preventing such persons from entering or remaining in the United 
States.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore [Mr. Gibbons]. The bill is considered as read 
for amendment.
  The text of H.R. 2570 is as follows:

                               H.R. 2570

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Forced Abortion Condemnation 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Forced abortion was rightly denounced as a crime 
     against humanity by the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal.
       (2) For over 15 years there have been frequent and credible 
     reports of forced abortion and forced sterilization in 
     connection with the population control policies of the 
     People's Republic of China. These reports indicate the 
     following:
       (A) Although it is the stated position of the politburo of 
     the Chinese Communist Party that forced abortion and forced 
     sterilization have no role in the population control program, 
     in fact the Communist Chinese Government encourages both 
     forced abortion and forced sterilization through a 
     combination of strictly enforced birth quotas and immunity 
     for local population control officials who engage in 
     coercion. Officials acknowledge that there have been 
     instances of forced abortions and sterilization, and no 
     evidence has been made available to suggest that the 
     perpetrators have been punished.
       (B) People's Republic of China population control 
     officials, in cooperation with employers and works unit 
     officials, routinely

[[Page H10140]]

     monitor women's menstrual cycles and subject women who 
     conceive without government authorization to extreme 
     psychological pressure, to harsh economic sanctions, 
     including unpayable fines and loss of employment, and often 
     to physical force.
       (C) Official sanctions for giving birth to unauthorized 
     children include fines in amounts several times larger than 
     the per capita annual incomes of residents of the People's 
     Republic of China. In Fujian, for example, the average fine 
     is estimated to be twice a family's gross annual income. 
     Families which cannot pay the fine may be subject to 
     confiscation and destruction of their homes and personal 
     property.
       (D) Especially harsh punishments have been inflicted on 
     those whose resistance is motivated by religion. For example, 
     according to a 1995 Amnesty International report, the 
     Catholic inhabitants of 2 villages in Hebei Province were 
     subjected to population control under the slogan ``better to 
     have more graves than one more child''. Enforcement measures 
     included torture, sexual abuse, and the detention of 
     resisters' relatives as hostages.
       (E) Forced abortions in Communist China often have taken 
     place in the very late stages of pregnancy.
       (F) Since 1994 forced abortion and sterilization have been 
     used in Communist China not only to regulate the number of 
     children, but also to eliminate those who are regarded as 
     defective in accordance with the official eugenic policy 
     known as the ``Natal and Health Care Law''.

     SEC. 3. DENIAL OF ENTRY INTO THE UNITED STATES OF PERSONS IN 
                   THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ENGAGED IN 
                   ENFORCEMENT OF FORCED ABORTION POLICY.

       The Secretary of State may not issue any visa to, and the 
     Attorney General may not admit to the United States, any 
     national of the People's Republic of China, including any 
     official of the Communist Party or the Government of the 
     People's Republic of China and its regional, local, and 
     village authorities who the Secretary finds, based on 
     credible information, has been involved in the establishment 
     or enforcement of population control policies resulting in a 
     woman being forced to undergo an abortion against her free 
     choice, or resulting in a man or woman being forced to 
     undergo sterilization against his or her free choice.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 302, the 
amendments printed in part 3 of House Report 105-379 are adopted.
  The text of H.R. 2570, as amended by the amendments printed in part 3 
of House Report 105-379, is as follows:

                               H.R. 2570

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Forced Abortion Condemnation 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Forced abortion was rightly denounced as a crime 
     against humanity by the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal.
       (2) For over 15 years there have been frequent and credible 
     reports of forced abortion and forced sterilization in 
     connection with the population control policies of the 
     People's Republic of China. These reports indicate the 
     following:
       (A) Although it is the stated position of the politburo of 
     the Chinese Communist Party that forced abortion and forced 
     sterilization have no role in the population control program, 
     in fact the Communist Chinese Government encourages both 
     forced abortion and forced sterilization through a 
     combination of strictly enforced birth quotas and immunity 
     for local population control officials who engage in 
     coercion. Officials acknowledge that there have been 
     instances of forced abortions and sterilization, and no 
     evidence has been made available to suggest that the 
     perpetrators have been punished.
       (B) People's Republic of China population control 
     officials, in cooperation with employers and works unit 
     officials, routinely monitor women's menstrual cycles and 
     subject women who conceive without government authorization 
     to extreme psychological pressure, to harsh economic 
     sanctions, including unpayable fines and loss of employment, 
     and often to physical force.
       (C) Official sanctions for giving birth to unauthorized 
     children include fines in amounts several times larger than 
     the per capita annual incomes of residents of the People's 
     Republic of China. In Fujian, for example, the average fine 
     is estimated to be twice a family's gross annual income. 
     Families which cannot pay the fine may be subject to 
     confiscation and destruction of their homes and personal 
     property.
       (D) Especially harsh punishments have been inflicted on 
     those whose resistance is motivated by religion. For example, 
     according to a 1995 Amnesty International report, the 
     Catholic inhabitants of 2 villages in Hebei Province were 
     subjected to population control under the slogan ``better to 
     have more graves than one more child''. Enforcement measures 
     included torture, sexual abuse, and the detention of 
     resisters' relatives as hostages.
       (E) Forced abortions in Communist China often have taken 
     place in the very late stages of pregnancy.
       (F) Since 1994 forced abortion and sterilization have been 
     used in Communist China not only to regulate the number of 
     children, but also to eliminate those who are regarded as 
     defective in accordance with the official eugenic policy 
     known as the ``Natal and Health Care Law''.

     SEC. 3. DENIAL OF ENTRY INTO THE UNITED STATES OF PERSONS IN 
                   THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ENGAGED IN 
                   ENFORCEMENT OF FORCED ABORTION POLICY.

       The Secretary of State may not issue any visa to, and the 
     Attorney General may not admit to the United States, any 
     national of the People's Republic of China, including any 
     official of the Communist Party or the Government of the 
     People's Republic of China and its regional, local, and 
     village authorities--except the head of state, the head of 
     government, and cabinet level ministers--who the Secretary 
     finds, based on credible information, has been involved in 
     the establishment or enforcement of population control 
     policies resulting in a woman being forced to undergo an 
     abortion against her free choice, or resulting in a man or 
     woman being forced to undergo sterilization against his or 
     her free choice.

     SEC. 4. WAIVER.

       The President may waive the requirement contained in 
     section 3 with respect to a national of the People's Republic 
     of China if the President--
       (1) determines that it is in the national interest of the 
     United States to do so; and
       (2) provides written notification to the Congress 
     containing a justification for the waiver.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Florida [Mrs. Fowler] for 30 minutes.
  Mrs. FOWLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mrs. FOWLER asked and was given permission to revise and extend her 
remarks.)


                             General Leave

  Mrs. FOWLER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. FOWLER. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that the House is 
considering today H.R. 2570, legislation I have introduced to condemn 
the practice of coerced abortion and sterilization in China.
  I want to state at the outset that this legislation, in my opinion, 
does not take a prochoice or a prolife position. It simply condemns 
China's all too common practice of forcing women to undergo involuntary 
abortions and sterilization under China's one-child-per-couple 
policies, and prohibits the State Department from issuing United States 
visas to Chinese officials involved in the establishment or enforcement 
of these practices. Mr. Speaker, I believe these are goals that we all 
support.
  Let me also take this opportunity to note my support for provisions 
offered by the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Hamilton], which were self-
executing in the rule, and to thank him for his contributions in this 
regard.
  The tragic and wholly unacceptable practices that are targeted in 
this legislation have been well-documented. I would note that the 
latest edition of the State Department's Country Reports on Human 
Rights Practices states, ``The Chinese Government continued to 
implement highly intrusive one-child family planning policies first 
adopted in the late 1970's. Poor supervision of local officials who are 
under intense pressure to meet family planning targets results in 
instances of abuse, including forced abortion and sterilization. There 
were credible reports that several women were forced to undergo 
abortions of unauthorized pregnancies in Fujian. A well-documented 
story of a 1994 forced 8-month abortion has been reported in the 
coastal province Guangdong. A 1995 incident involving a forced 
sterilization was also reported in Guangzhou.''
  Amnesty International has also expressed its strong opposition to 
these practices. In its 1996 report, Women in China, Detained, 
Victimized, but Mobilized, it stated its profound concerns about them, 
observing, and I quote, ``Testimonies have indicated that officials 
have resorted to physical coercion resulting in torture or cruel, 
inhuman and degrading treatment when faced with this pressure. Family 
planning cadres continue to be disciplined and fired for failing to 
keep to birth quotas.''
  I am aware that some have concerns about how we can assure compliance

[[Page H10141]]

with this legislation's requirement that visas be denied to individuals 
involved with these nefarious practices. While I would expect that a 
determined effort would be made to identify persons involved in such 
acts prior to the issuance of visas, I recognize that enforcement will 
not be easy in every instance.
  I would state that what is most important is that we provide both a 
strong condemnation of these practices, which this bill does, and a 
mechanism for taking action against those responsible for them when 
information about their activities comes to light.
  Mr. Speaker, involuntary abortion and sterilization represent 
intolerable human rights violations of the first order. I urge my 
colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. (Mr. Gibbons). As the designee of the 
gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Conyers], the gentleman from Hawaii [Mr. 
Abercrombie] is recognized for 30 minutes.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I will not take the 30 minutes, other than to say how 
proud I am to be able to stand here today and associate myself with the 
gentlewoman from Florida [Mrs. Fowler]. I have the good fortune, Mr. 
Speaker, to be associated, as well, with the gentlewoman from Florida 
[Mrs. Fowler] on the Committee on National Security, and in this 
instance I can say that I believe we are cooperating, if you will, in 
the same manner and in the same sense of commitment and dedication that 
is exemplified in the work on the Committee on National Security.
  This is, Mr. Speaker, most profoundly a human rights issue. It is not 
something that we are putting forward, or I should say the gentlewoman 
from Florida [Mrs. Fowler] has put forward, if I can speak for her in 
this instance, because of ideological considerations with respect to 
the very real differences that people may have with respect to 
questions of choice and abortion here in the United States. This, on 
the contrary, is a situation in which we are speaking of force.
  Mr. Speaker, one of the reasons that I became involved in political 
work in the first place was that I could not understand as a child, as 
a young man growing up, how people could do the things that they did 
that I discovered when I first was exposed to the Holocaust. I could 
not understand it. I could not comprehend it as a student.
  One of the things that propelled me in my academic career was to try 
to come to grips with what it was in us as human beings that caused us 
to be indifferent to the suffering of other human beings; in fact, to 
perpetrate death, terror, destruction, inhumanity, one to another.
  In this instance, Mr. Speaker, there is no question in my mind that 
the forced abortion and sterilization circumstances and actions which 
the gentlewoman from Florida [Mrs. Fowler] has outlined and which 
Amnesty International has chronicled is taking place.

                              {time}  1745

  Mr. Speaker, this took place in Nazi Germany. If I learned anything 
over that period of time in my academic studies in my attempt to try to 
come to grips with what human beings are capable of doing to one 
another, I recognized that it is because we dehumanize other people 
that it is able to be done.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe you have had some experience yourself in 
warfare and in the destructive capacity that humankind has. We have not 
overcome it, but, hopefully, we learn something from it. One of the 
things I think that we learn, I hope that we learn, is that we cannot 
allow historical reference to simply be abstract, we have to see 
whether it applies in our own lives and our own time. It does little 
good.
  I can think, and, again, I would hope that I am not speaking for the 
gentlewoman from Florida [Mrs. Fowler] on this other than in a way that 
recognizes and is cognizant of the thrust of her philosophy behind 
putting this bill forward. It is one thing to recognize a Thomas More, 
that we must stand for those things which perk our conscience and which 
require us as human beings to make visible or expression of witness. 
That is what this is.
  I agree with the gentlewoman from Florida [Mrs. Fowler] that we are 
not in a position to command enforcement. That would be extraordinarily 
difficult. That is not an argument against it. That is an argument for 
us to stand up and do these things precisely because it is difficult.
  Bearing witnesses is not always an easy task. But because it involves 
logistical difficulties is not a reason to stop doing it or to urge 
that it be done. On the contrary, it seems to me it is even more 
pertinent and even more important that we stand up now.
  So this, I repeat, from my earlier espousal of the Ros-Lehtinen bill 
on human rights abuses toward prisoners in China and in Tibet, in China 
and Tibet, that we have to bring the light into the cells and we have 
to bring the light onto this situation of forced abortion and 
sterilization, not because we are trying to single out China and take a 
superior, a patronizing position, an imperialistic position, where we 
feel that we can condescend toward China in this regard. Quite the 
contrary. China is a signatory to various international covenants and 
treaties, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that is 
in the purview of the United Nations.
  Everything that we are doing with respect to these bills in general, 
and most particularly to this bill in particular, is a direct 
reflection of treaty and covenant obligations that we have as a nation, 
that China has as a nation, and that we as individuals surely express. 
It most certainly, I believe, exemplifies what we stand for when we 
take our oath of office, hold up our hand, Mr. Speaker, as all of us 
have been privileged to do on the floor of this House, to uphold and 
defend the Constitution of the United States.
  Inherent in that, that which has been given to us, the honor and 
privilege of serving here, is to reflect upon the philosophical basis 
of the origin of the Constitution which allows us to be free men and 
women here today. We are, in a very real sense, I believe, defending 
those who are unable totally to defend themselves under these 
circumstances.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I request the favorable attention of our colleagues. 
I hope that perhaps those young people might be in the same 
circumstances I found myself so many years ago, trying to understand 
how to be a human being, what it is that differentiates us from the 
other animals, the other species. I have come to the conclusion, and 
this bill is a visible manifestation of it, that all animals die, Mr. 
Speaker. The difference is in the details of their lives. And the 
details of our lives are such that we are able to reflect, we are able 
to imagine.
  Few animals are able to contemplate the nature of their deaths or the 
nature of the meaning of their deaths, let alone their lives. But we 
are capable, this species, homo sapiens, is capable of that and, in 
fact, is obligated to do that. We have to justify our lives on this 
Earth in the time given to us. This bill is one of the times we have to 
justify our lives. And in voting for it, I think we act on that 
obligation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. FOWLER. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, the gentleman 
from Hawaii [Mr. Abercrombie], for his gracious comment. We have worked 
very closely together on the Committee on National Security, and I am 
pleased to be working with him on this bill today.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. 
Coburn].
  (Mr. CORBURN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. COBURN. Mr. Speaker, I would like for the Members of this body 
and the American public to think about for a minute their children. If 
they have more than one child, if they lived in China today, it would 
not exist. Because of the oppressive practices of this Government, that 
if they had a Katie or a Sara, that I do, a second or third child, and 
unfortunate enough to be born in China, either they would be terminated 
against their will or strangled at birth. That is what this issue is 
about, whether or not they have the right to reproduce themselves and 
have offspring as a basic human choice.
  What is happening in China today? If their first child is born and 
happens to be a female, what happens? Oftentimes

[[Page H10142]]

that child is strangled at birth. Why? Because a female in China is not 
as capable of caring for their parents at an advanced age as a male is 
because of their society.
  Regrettably, our country has separated human rights issues from 
economic issues under what I believe to be a very false pretense that, 
in fact, we can engage on an economic level and that we will change 
these horrendous practices. I do not believe that is what is going to 
change them.
  I think even though we cannot significantly effectively enforce what 
we are trying to do today, we have an obligation to say to the people 
who live in China they do have the basic right of reproducing 
themselves, they do have the right to have a second and a third child 
if they so choose, a God given right, and that no government anywhere 
in the world has the right to take that right away from them.
  It saddens me that we, as a nation, have such a diverse challenge 
when we look at Cuba and we say they have human rights abuses and we 
cannot trade with them, but because the economic potential is so much 
greater in China, that we abandon that principle. We should not abandon 
these people. We should enforce at every level that our Government 
interacts with China that they stop this practice.
  I would beg and plead with the Members of this body to think of their 
own children and the fact that, if they lived in China, only one of 
those children would exist.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to 
the gentlewoman from New York [Mrs. Lowey].
  (Mrs. LOWEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend her 
remarks.)
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill. All 
of us in this House, whether pro-choice or pro-life, joined together in 
sending a very clear message to the Chinese Government that the United 
States will not tolerate a policy of forced abortions and 
sterilizations.
  As a mother of three and a grandmother of two, I cannot imagine 
anything more abhorrent. This policy is anathema to all of us who 
celebrate the beauty of life. Members in this House who support 
abortion rights believe very, very strongly that every woman in the 
world should have the basic right to choose, a woman should have the 
information they need to make their own decisions.
  I would urge my colleagues who are on the floor today supporting the 
right of Chinese women to control their own bodies to accord the same 
rights and respect to American women. Let us support reproductive 
choice in China and in the United States. Forced abortion must be 
condemned. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mrs. FOWLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania [Mr. Pitts].
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I come before the House today to urge Members 
to support H.R. 2570, the Forced Abortion Condemnation Act. This bill 
would deny a visa to any Chinese official who carries out forced 
abortion or sterilization and condemns those in the Chinese Communist 
Party who oversee and enforce this process.
  Women all over China are victimized daily due to their ability and 
desire to bear children. I would like to share just one story with my 
colleagues today that I believe demonstrates the need for this bill.
  When Steven Mosher, a Ph.D. candidate at the time, attended a family 
planning meeting at Equality Commune in China, he observed some of 
these coercive procedures.
  Mosher writes, ``From Sandhead Brigade there were 18 women, all 5 to 
9 months pregnant, many red-eyed from lack of sleep and crying. They 
sat listlessly on short plank benches arranged in a semicircle about 
the front of the room where He Kaifeng, a commune cadre and Communist 
Party member of many years of experience in mass meetings, explained 
the purpose of the meeting in no uncertain terms.'' His message to the 
women was anything but reassuring. He said, slowly and deliberately, 
``None of you has any choice in this matter. The two of you who are 8 
or 9 months pregnant will have a Caesarean. The rest of you will have a 
shot which will cause you to abort.'' In order to be allowed to return 
home to their families, the women had to agree to abort their babies no 
matter how far along their pregnancies were.
  Mr. Speaker, this is not family planning. Forced abortions are 
outright human rights abuses. I do not believe that this is a pro-life 
or pro-choice issue. This is a human issue. It is an issue of blatant 
governmental abuse. The United States must not in any way be a part of 
it.
  We, as Members of Congress, must agree that China's so-called 
population control techniques are inhumane. We have a moral obligation 
to play absolutely no part in assisting such abominable abuse of women 
and their families.
  My colleagues, listen to the cries of these women in China. 
Acknowledge their grief. Vote ``yes'' on H.R. 2570.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, we have no other Members wishing to 
speak at this time, and therefore I will yield back the remainder of 
the time allotted to us.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, we have more speakers than we 
have time remaining. If the gentleman from Hawaii [Mr. Abercrombie] 
would be gracious enough to yield time.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I will yield to the gentlewoman from 
Florida [Mrs. Fowler] such time as may still be reserved for this side.
  Mrs. FOWLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Alabama [Mr. Bachus].
  Mr. BACHUS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida [Mrs. 
Fowler] for yielding me the time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this concerted effort to, 
hopefully, force China to change its present practice of religious 
persecution, suppression of individual freedoms and liberties, 
systematic genocide of children, and intimidation of Taiwan.
  Despite its many claims of reforms aimed at improving its business 
climate, China is still a Communist regime. China imprisons citizens 
who hold prayer meetings in their homes. That is repression. China 
requires registration of all religious groups and imprisons those who 
refuse to register. That is repression. China refuses to recognize the 
Catholic Church's appointment of a bishop, in fear that he will 
advocate service to the Pope or to the state. And that is repression.
  We all are, sadly, aware of the population control efforts which 
force abortion of Chinese children, especially girls.

                              {time}  1800

  We are also all sadly aware of the crackdowns on dissidents who dare 
speak out for democracy and fairness. And we are all disturbed by 
China's constant threats to the security of the people of Taiwan, such 
as the missile firings and military exercises. Too often those who 
rattle sabers become tempted to use them.
  In my view, trade is an important component in encouraging China to 
move towards democracy. Once the forces of free market and free 
enterprise start their dynamic reaction, heavy-handed regimes can no 
longer contain their by-product, a real desire for more and more 
freedom. China's leaders can try to build a free market without free 
people, but they will not succeed. A free market requires, demands and 
therefore leads to a free people.
  The United States granted normal trade relations to China for one 
primary purpose, to foster change. China's President thinks that there 
are no strings attached to the generous treatment our country has 
afforded China. But today we in Congress need to send a message to 
Jiang Zemin, stop the religious persecution, stop killing babies, stop 
arresting and killing peaceful dissidents and stop the threats aimed at 
Taiwan.
  This legislative package sends that message. It offers an important 
set of tools for fostering human rights improvement and freedom for the 
people of China.
  In conclusion, I urge my colleagues to support the China package in 
its entirety.
  Mrs. FOWLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Nebraska [Mr. Christensen].
  Mr. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R.

[[Page H10143]]

2570, the Forced Abortion Condemnation Act. As we heard earlier, this 
legislation would deny visas to Chinese officials who carry out forced 
abortion and sterilization practices. H.R. 2570 would accomplish that 
by condemning those Chinese officials who oversee and enforce abortion 
or sterilization practices on their citizens.
  When I was in Hong Kong about a year ago, I had a good visit with an 
individual whose father is high up in the Chinese Government. We talked 
about this problem. With 1.2 billion people in China, he said, ``Jon, 
we have abortion out of necessity. I don't agree with it, but you point 
the finger at China and here in America you have abortion out of 
convenience and you murder 1.5 million children every year.''
  I could not respond to that. He was right. So as we are condemning 
China and what is going on over there with the forced abortions, 
abortion is abortion. Whether it is forced abortion, it is the unborn 
child that we are talking about here.
  I welcome those that have voted against the pro-life movement in the 
past to this debate today. I think it is wonderful that we are all 
coming together to support this type of cause. But I encourage us to 
look at the end result, the unborn child. There is no issue that is 
more gruesome than abortion, the fact that we are losing unborn 
children.
  If the Chinese Government can continue to take a look at this issue, 
to work with us, to take a look at what we are trying to do here in 
America, to move us closer, I believe we can begin to work to save 
children all around the world. There is no doubt about it that this is 
a human rights issue. It is a human rights issue that must be stopped, 
it must be stopped now. I believe that H.R. 2570 is a step in the right 
direction. It sends a clear message to the Chinese Government, it sends 
a clear message to the Chinese people that America believes in life, 
that Americans all around the world who are fighting for this cause for 
freedom, freedom for those that do not have a right to speak, for those 
that are yet to be born, that it is a fight worth fighting for.
  We welcome all those people today and we hope for a unanimous 
decision here. I hope that everybody will join this cause for freedom 
for the unborn around the world.
  Mrs. FOWLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 8 minutes to the gentleman from New 
Jersey [Mr. Smith].
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for 
yielding me this time and I thank her for her leadership on this issue.
  Let me just begin by saying that forced abortion was rightly 
construed by the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal to be a crime against 
humanity. This House of Representatives throughout the 1980's and 
1990's has repeatedly gone on the record with recorded votes to again 
reassert that what is going on in the People's Republic of China is 
eerily reminiscent of what went on during the Nazi era where forced 
abortion was employed with devastating consequences against 
particularly Polish women that the Third Reich had deemed to be 
expendable.
  It is an exploitation of women. It steals their children. It is a 
State-sponsored rape, and the baby dies a very cruel and merciless 
death either by chemical poisoning or by dismemberment. We know for a 
fact, and there has been much documentation on this, that many of these 
babies are killed very late in pregnancy. The mothers desperately want 
to have these children. They often try to evade the population cadres, 
the family planning cadres who scour the countryside looking for these 
women and then if they find that they are with child, they then hound 
them, they browbeat them, they use peer pressure and a host of other 
techniques of psychological persuasion, and if that does not work, then 
they make an example of them and truss them and get them to these 
abortion mills.
  Just a few weeks ago, the Chinese government rolled out another 
hideous manifestation of this forced abortion policy. They announced 
about 600, according to a wire service copy, 600 new mobile abortion 
clinics. We put mammography and other health screening on wheels and we 
save lives, we mitigate the pain of breast cancer and things of that 
kind through those kinds of detection devices. What do the Chinese do? 
They are putting abortion clinics on wheels, and 600 of these will join 
this other army of abortionists that scour the country of China to kill 
the babies.
  I led 3 human rights trips to the People's Republic of China. I have 
met with Peng Peiyun, who runs the population program and she totally 
denies that coercion is part of their program. I have met with Li Peng, 
the premier of China, totally denies that there is any kind of 
coercion, forced abortion or forced sterilization. When the President 
of China, Jiang Zemin, was in town, I raised the question at the 
breakfast which was attended by Members of the House and the Senate 
about forced abortion, and again he denied it.
  Let me also remind Members, because we had some people who do not 
usually take the pro-life point of view today speaking, we welcome 
their input, that the United Nations Population Fund has whitewashed 
these crimes against humanity since the one child per couple policy was 
conceived back in 1979. They have given awards. The U.N. gave an award 
in the early 1980s for excellence in population matters, at a time when 
a high tide, at a time when forced abortions and sterilizations were 
actually on the rise. If that does not stand with the oppressor and the 
exploiter of women and children, I do not know what does.
  And the UNFPA, the U.N. Population Fund continues to whitewash and to 
defend the policy. Dr. Sadik, the Executive Director of the UNFPA, and 
I have met with her a number of times. She has said this to me 
personally, she has also said it on Night Watch, a CBS news program and 
other programs that are in the public domain, that the Chinese program 
is purely voluntary. I say to my colleagues, nothing could be further 
from the truth. The U.N. Population Fund stands, I believe, accused by 
their own words and by their complicity in this program as being 
complicit in the maiming and the killing of women and children in the 
People's Republic of China.
  Civilizations, Mr. Speaker, have long been judged by how they treat 
women and children, old people and strangers. Vulnerable people bring 
out the kindness in every society. But they also bring out the cruelty. 
Every so often they become the object of practices that are so heinous 
that all of us recoil in horror. In China today, forced abortion and 
forced sterilization fits that.
  Let me just remind Members as well that a couple of years ago the 
Chinese announced another manifestation of this hideous program. In 
1994, they targeted the handicapped. Again in a move that was totally 
reminiscent of the Third Reich, they said that the Down's syndrome 
kids, the kids that somehow do not measure up, would be targeted for 
elimination as part of their eugenics policy. We need to condemn that 
as well. Handicapped kids are valuable. We should love them and embrace 
them and protect them. No government has a right to forcibly abort and 
kill these children because they are found to be afflicted with some 
anomaly like Down's syndrome or any other kind of anomaly. I chair the 
Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights. I have had 4 
hearings on forced abortions. Let us not forget that the Clinton 
administration, until it finally signed the immigration bill that 
reversed his policy, would not even provide asylum for women who are 
fleeing coerced abortion and forced sterilization in China. We brought 
in after, and we had to subpoena these witnesses, some of the women who 
had suffered this cruelty of 6-month late-term abortions, forced 
abortions, and I will put the entire testimony of those brave women 
into this record. But one of the women talked about how she had found a 
baby girl who had been abandoned crying. And like the good Samaritan, 
and maybe she never even heard of that story, I think most of my 
colleagues have, she picked up this little girl. And what happened to 
her? The family planning cadre said that counts against your number. 
And then they visited her, and after 10 times trying to tell her and 
persuade her to be sterilized, they finally forced her to be 
sterilized.
  Another woman in the hearing, and many of my colleagues were at that 
hearing, my wife was at that hearing, I had a tear in my eye. She broke 
down and could not even continue her testimony. When she talked about 
how late

[[Page H10144]]

in her pregnancy, she was worn down to the point where she could resist 
it no more and they took her, she was broken and beaten and finally her 
baby was forcibly aborted as well. I urge Members, because time does 
not permit a full reading of this testimony, but these people have come 
forward. They were even being held here, I would say parenthetically 
because they did not get asylum until Congress passed the law that the 
gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Hyde] offered as an amendment to that 
important bill.
  Finally, just let me say to my colleagues, we need to go on record, 
this hopefully will be a unanimous or a near unanimous vote in favor of 
this legislation, but I hope that it continues when we start talking 
about those organizations like Planned Parenthood Federation, IPPF 
based in London, the United Nations Population Fund. When I hear such 
strong words from my colleagues on the other side of the issue as we 
heard today, let us not forget that these organizations front, are 
complicit with and become very much part of the fabric of the 
implementation of this coercive population control program. Let us not 
in any way accept the bogus denials that the Jiang Zemins and the Li 
Pengs and Peng Peiyuns and all the others and the Dr. Sadik, who runs 
the UNFPA, and others offer to try to get us to take a look and say, 
``Oh, maybe it's not as bad as we thought.'' We need to stand up 
strongly. This legislation advances the ball.
  Again we will be revisiting this over and over again. When this 
chapter is finally written someday, those who are complicit will have 
shame and sorrow over their face. Let us stand with the oppressed and 
not the oppressor.
  Mr. Speaker, the material referred to in my remarks is as follows:
       I would like to introduce Weng Kang Di, who will begin. And 
     he and Chen Yun Fei are husband and wife. And I just would 
     note parenthetically have been separated for 2 years. They 
     are husband and wife, and this hearing provides an 
     opportunity for the first time, in a long time, for them to 
     see one another.
       If you could proceed.
       [Interpreter speaking in Chinese.]
       Mr. Smith. Please pull the microphone very close so we can 
     hear the Translator as well as the witness.
       [Interpreter speaking in Chinese.]
       Mr. Smith. If Weng would want to proceed with his 
     testimony.


                statement of weng kang di, asylum seeker

       Mr. Weng Kang Di. My name is Weng Kang Di. And Chen Yun Fei 
     is my wife.
       My wife will tell you what happened to us.


                statement of chen yun fei, asylum seeker

       Ms. Chen Yun Fei. I am a woman from the countryside, so I 
     do not know how to say those very polite languages. I would 
     like you to forgive me for that.
       I come to the United States because of the Chinese family 
     planning program.
       The reason I came to the United States is because the 
     Chinese Government does not allow us to have more than one 
     child.
       Because I have more than one child, that is why they try to 
     suppress me, oppress me; and that is why I escaped to the 
     United States.
       Shall I say something more specifically?
       Mr. Smith. If you could give the details about your 
     situation, the treatment by the family planning cadres, for 
     example, why did you feel so threatened, whether or not you 
     were mistreated.
       Ms. Chen Yun Fei. The Chinese Government only allows us to 
     have only one child, and I have three children. And that is 
     why they want us, people who have more than one child, to 
     have sterilization and also fine a certain amount of money.
       If a person got pregnant, then they want you to bear the 
     child before it is mature. If you are pregnant, they will 
     force you to have abortion. So I am a woman from the 
     countryside. I do not want to have sterilization.
       I would like to tell you my story.
       I have come to the United States. I consider the U.S. 
     Government is a democratic government. And I believe that you 
     will rescue us.
       Now I am going to tell you my story.
       In 1982, the second child of my husband and mine were born. 
     And then the local government from the people's commune, from 
     the sterilization group, they come to our home and noticed 
     us, sent us notice to have me sterilized.
       Because it is so imminent, I told them, yes, OK, I will go 
     and have sterilization. And this is a way that I pushed them 
     away at first.
       I took the opportunity after they left, I escaped to other 
     places.
       I can only escape by telling them I agree that I will have 
     sterilization. That is the only way I can get them away.
       At that time, the sterilization campaign was just at the 
     beginning, so they were not pursuing very tightly.
       In 1986, the first part of 1986, when the sterilization 
     program, the family program, was at its height and it is very 
     unfortunate that I got pregnant again. It was like a two to 3 
     months pregnancy I was. And at that time, the cadres of the 
     local government were trying to catch women every place. So 
     you could hear the sound of crying, you know, everywhere. And 
     they used the tractors to put on this big loudspeaker to tell 
     people that those people who are pregnant, you have to go to 
     have it born immature. And then if you are pregnant, you have 
     to have abortion--early stage of abortion. And also, after 
     you have abortion, you are going to have sterilization and be 
     fined a certain amount of money.
       I did not want to have sterilization, so I was very, very 
     afraid. And also I was thinking even if I had sterilization, 
     I have to be fined and I do not have money. I am a country 
     woman. So I stealthily went to a place to find a medical 
     student who learned to be a doctor to help me to have the 
     abortion. This person is in private practice.
       And this person, this medical student, he was very afraid. 
     He did not dare to help me, because he said if the government 
     found out he would be in trouble. It was a great risk. But I 
     begged this person again and again. So finally he helped me 
     to have this abortion.
       Because he is a medical student, he did not have the full 
     grasp of the technique to do this abortion, so after the 
     abortion I got this very serious infection because we had 
     done that in a hurry. From then on, I was in poor health.
       Now after the abortion, I went home. But on my way home, I 
     saw a baby girl which was only born like seven or 8 days, 
     lying on the road, crying very hard, and it is very weak, 
     this little girl. And a lot of people were watching, so I 
     asked people around to help this child who can take this 
     child home, otherwise, this child is going to die because she 
     has nothing to eat. But those people around said, you are 
     talking nonsense. You know this is the time that the campaign 
     is at its height; who dare to have this child home? So if you 
     want to rescue this child, you are the person who will bring 
     this child home. So I was very angry because I thought, you 
     know, you people did not want to help, this child is going to 
     die. So I said, if nobody wants to help this child, I am 
     going to help the child. If you are afraid of the government, 
     I am not afraid of the government. So finally, I took the 
     child home.
       People were talking that this child belonged to a family, 
     the last name of the family was Sun. Because in China if you 
     do not have a son, then people will look down upon you if 
     there is no way for you to have a voice. So that is why the 
     family abandoned this child on the roadside. And I remember 
     what people, the last name is Sun. So I gave her a name 
     called Sun Sisi, still using her own last name. So I adopted 
     her.
       So after I returned home, later the government, the cadres 
     of the local government, found out. And then they came to my 
     home saying that, you know what you did and you already have 
     two boys and you picked up another girl and so you have to 
     have the sterilization.
       So I did not want to have sterilization, and I begged them 
     to let me have the child. And I said, what you said is really 
     ridiculous because this child was not my own. I just picked 
     her up from the roadside. But they said, since you picked up 
     the child, it should be accountable among your family 
     planning program. It belongs to you so you have to have 
     sterilization since you have three children.
       So I told them that the reason that women, after they have 
     their child born, to abandon the child at the roadside was 
     all due to the government policy. If I did not rescue the 
     child, the child was going to die. And when they heard what I 
     said, they were very angry.
       So I did not want to have the sterilization, I told them, 
     if you really want to have sterilization, then you go and ask 
     this mother of the child to have sterilization, that is the 
     Sun family, this girl's mother. But they said, since you 
     picked up, you have to go to have sterilization. So we argued 
     back and forth for a long time. And they came to my home 
     insistent that I should have this sterilization. They came 
     many, many times.
       So they came to my home more than 10 times, and they said 
     this woman who dares to counter the government; so they 
     forced me to sterilization. I begged them that, since I had 
     already had one abortion, I am in poor health. So they 
     insisted that I am now going to have the sterilization. And 
     then the cadres got very angry. They said this woman is very, 
     very tough, very difficult to deal with; so let us have her 
     husband to have the sterilization.
       And when my husband heard that they wanted him to be 
     sterilized, so he jumped out of the window and escaped. And 
     so I begged them, saying that, please do not have my husband 
     sterilized because the whole family relied on him to till the 
     land. Because in China we use all manual labor. You have to 
     carry water bucket by bucket. So everything--he is the 
     mainstay of the labor in the field. So I was very, very 
     frightened and while at the same time I was very angry. So I 
     fainted, and the whole family was crying and I did not know 
     what happened because I fainted.
       That was in 1986. Now conditions are turning better. People 
     are using tractors. At that time everything was manual labor. 
     So after I came to, the whole family was crying and the 
     cadres were gone and my husband was back. Then I said I would 
     not let my husband be sterilized because I have to rely on 
     him to till the land. Then I decided that we have to

[[Page H10145]]

     go because they will not let us off the hook. Either I will 
     be sterilized or my husband will be sterilized. So we escaped 
     to a place which is closed to where Mao Zedong had his 
     headquarters. It is a very, very tough place, a lot of 
     mountains and wild places, not much to eat.
       That was a very baron place. I started to work mending 
     other people's old shoes. It is a very, very deplorable 
     place. The living condition is very, very little. People 
     slept on this bed made of mud. And at the end of the bed, 
     there was a stove. You put firewood in. Then the heat would 
     go through under the bed. That is the heat you have to have 
     in the winter. That is called a kang. And people all live in 
     the cave. So I started up--because the people were very poor, 
     they have to have their old shoes mended again and again. And 
     I started to do this to make some money.
       I would not dare to go back home, and I stayed at that 
     place for 7 years. That place has a very, very hurricane kind 
     of a big storm, windy and a lot of snow in winter. People 
     eat, mainly, maize and sorghum.
       I was very eager to back to visit to see my children and my 
     family, but I was afraid if I went back home I would be 
     caught again. So I stayed there for 7 years. But when I first 
     went there, this place was deplorable; there was no family 
     planning program going on. But after 7 years, they started 
     having the family planning campaign. They came to the cave 
     where we stayed to check so-called identification. Everyone 
     has an identification. They checked the identification to see 
     whether there is anything wrong.
       I returned home in February 1993. And then shortly after 
     that, the government got to know that I was back and so they 
     came to my home saying, that, OK, now you are back; we have 
     been looking for you for several years; we could not find 
     you. And then I begged them not to--I told them that I am not 
     going to have more children, so please do not ask me to have 
     sterilization. They said, no, you are among the list; you are 
     still in the list; you have to have the sterilization. And 
     then they said, this woman is very stubborn.
       So even if you have sterilization, we are going to fine 
     more the money that we are going to fine you. So I was very, 
     very angry. I told them that the money you fine you should 
     not use that money. if you use that money--because they 
     divide the money among themselves--if you use the money to 
     eat or something, then you will die. Then they started to 
     bind me, you know, to force me to the sterilization place. 
     And I told them that I did not do anything wrong. I was not a 
     robber. I did not steal anything. They only thing I had done 
     is to have more children than one child.
       So I was very afraid because my husband, when we just 
     returned, when people saw these cadres were coming, they 
     shouted, they are coming again, they are coming again. So my 
     husband left again. He escaped. I told him that, you escape; 
     I will deal with them by myself. So he escaped.
       I told the cadres that, do not, you know, bind me together 
     using a rope or something. I will go and have sterilization 
     by myself. So under such circumstances, I was forced to have 
     sterilization done.
       After the sterilization, five or 6 days later, I went home; 
     but I was not--I did not agree with their policy. And they 
     are going to--because I knew they, said, they are going to 
     fine me more money than usual. So I though that, I do not 
     have the money. And then my family told me that my husband 
     escaped because the relatives and friends thought it is very 
     pathetic and they helped him to escape to a foreign country. 
     And I thought to myself, what am I going to do by myself; I 
     do not have the physical strength to till the land by myself 
     and they are going to fine a lot of money. And I had three 
     children. I did not have enough money.
       So I escaped, too.
       So I am here.
       Mr. Smith. I thank you very much for that testimony, and 
     there will be some questions by members of the panel. But I 
     would like to ask the other witnesses if they could testify 
     before we go to that.
       Hu Shuye, if you would not mind speaking next.


                  statement of hu shuye, asylum seeker

       Ms. Hu Shuye. I do not speak very well Mandarin, so please 
     forgive me.
       I left China because of the family planning program.
       I was pregnant 6 months and was forced to have an abortion.
       In November I was told to have sterilization because I have 
     two children and one abortion already. And I did not want to 
     have this sterilization, and I left home for a month. And 
     after I came home they forced me to have sterilized.
       I had no way out. They forced me. They dragged me to have 
     this surgery done.
       Mr. Hyde. Mr. Chairman, can counsel tell the story?
       Mr. Smith. Craig, would that be possible?
       Mr. Hyde. Do you know her story?
       Mr. Wilson. Mr. Chairman, unfortunately this lady's counsel 
     is not present. We could for any of the others.
       Mrs. Smith. Mr. Chairman?
       Mr. Smith. Yes.
       Mrs. Smith. Could we let someone else testify and let her 
     gain her composure, please.
       Mr. Smith. Yes, that is a very good idea.
       I would like to ask Li Bao Yu if she could make her 
     statement at this point.


                 statement of li bao yu, asylum seeker

       Ms. Li Bao Yu. I am a Chinese citizen, and my name is Li 
     Bao Yu. I had a daughter born in 1990. Because I was afraid 
     of the family planning program, I did not register her birth. 
     Later the government found out, and they asked me to have an 
     IUD put into my body; but I begged them not to do that. But 
     they just approved. They insisted on having an IUD in.
       So they forced me to put in this IUD. And after that, my 
     health deteriorated. My doctor said, you have to take this 
     IUD out before your health can return to normal. So my 
     husband and I went to this family planning office to ask them 
     to let me have this IUD taken out, but they did not. I 
     promised them that I am not going to have more children.
       They did not approve our request, and my husband was very 
     angry; so he started to quarrel with the cadres. The cadres 
     threatened him: ``If you are going to continue to disobey us 
     and quarrel with us, then we are going to sterilize you.'' So 
     I persuaded my husband to go home. And then after that, my 
     mother found a private doctor and had my IUD taken out. After 
     that, my health began to improve.
       In my native place, they have inspections of the family 
     planning program every season; and I would not dare to have 
     inspection because they will find out that I had this IUD 
     taken out by myself. But they kept on sending me notice 
     telling me to have this inspection. I always gave them 
     excuse, I am not home; but they came to my home many times. 
     They could not find me, so they were very angry. In January I 
     became pregnant again. After 3 months, they still could not 
     find me. One day they came and I happened to be home, so they 
     wanted me to go have an exam.
       My husband at that time was not home because he was * * * I 
     said: ``Let me wait until he comes home. Then I will * * * 
     this exam.'' They disapproved. They did not agree. So * * * 
     dragged me to the place to have the exam. After the exam * * 
     * course, they go to know that I was pregnant and had * * * 
     taken out. They wanted me to have an abortion. I begged them. 
     They did not agree. They threatened me saying that, if you do 
     not have this abortion, then your first child, your daughter, 
     will forever not allow to have her identification registered. 
     Because in China if you register a born baby, you have 
     certain kind of coupons, whatever. They threatened me that if 
     I do not agree to have this abortion, then my first child 
     will forever have no chance of being a registered, normal 
     citizen.
       Mr. Smith. If I could interrupt, does that mean denial of 
     education or health care or job opportunities? What does that 
     mean?
       Ms. Li Bao Yu. Yes.
       So I was forced to have this abortion. And after that, my 
     health was very poor. Because that was a hospital in the 
     countryside, the hygienic conditions is not very good. I had 
     a very negative impact on my health. I was bleeding 
     profusely. And they wanted me to have sterilization following 
     the abortion. But the doctor said since I was bleeding so 
     much, it is not possible to have sterilization immediately.
       I was not in a condition to return home, so I stayed in the 
     hospital; and my husband came to visit me in the hospital. He 
     was very angry and argued with the cadres. And the doctor had 
     nothing--there is nothing that the doctor can do for my poor 
     health. So the cadres from the family planning office, they 
     kept on arguing with my husband. They have the power in their 
     hands, so we are not in a position to fight with them. After 
     I went home, they again said that, when your health improved 
     a little, you still have to have the sterilization done.
       Because I am a housewife in the countryside, I have to do 
     everything at home. My husband was a worker at the time. But 
     since my health was poor, I could not do so much. I felt 
     burdened. Sometimes I went to my sister's place to see a 
     doctor. And sometimes my husband stayed alone at home. And 
     the family planning program office kept on telling me that 
     when you have your health improved, you have to have the 
     sterilization. Later my husband escaped to his relative's 
     home and I escaped to my sister's home.
       So none of us would dare to go home. Later, because of my 
     husband's work--the need for his work, so he has to return 
     home. Then the family planning office informed him to asked 
     him to inform me to go and have the sterilization. They 
     insisted on that. And my husband told them that, my wife was 
     still sick. So they argued again. And then they said: ``If 
     you argue with us, then you go and have the sterilization.'' 
     And they then started to struggle with each other, and he 
     escaped later.
       My husband thought at that time that under such 
     circumstances it is not going to maintain peace any more. 
     They will, anyway, come to force us to have sterilization. So 
     through somebody's recommendation, my husband escaped to the 
     United States.
       After my husband left China, I was at home by myself. My 
     health was still not very good--no, she was not at home at 
     first. She would not dare to go home. But her health was not 
     good.
       In 1992, during the Chinese New Year, she wanted to go home 
     to spend the New Year together with her family; so she 
     returned. After a few days, she did not know how they found 
     out. The family program cadres came to my home again and 
     forced--pressuring me to have sterilization. At that time, I 
     escaped through the back door.
       I thought, since my husband was not home, they would not 
     pursue me any more; but it

[[Page H10146]]

     was not the case. They kept on pressuring me. I would not 
     dare go home. That means, even if I had had a home, I cannot 
     go home. Under such circumstances, my mother and other 
     relatives, they helped me to find a way to escape to the 
     United States.
       Mr. Smith. The bells that you heard, just by way of 
     explanation, means that there are votes again occurring on 
     the House floor. We will take a very short break and then 
     resume some of the questioning as Members do return.
       Again, just let me say before we break for recess--and 
     perhaps you could translate this for them--hearing you tell 
     your stories--and I think I speak for everybody on this panel 
     and I speak for Members of the Congress, both parties, 
     Democrats and Republicans--you really represent the voices 
     and the tears of the women of China. The crimes that have 
     been committed against you and against the women of China are 
     no less serious than the crimes that were committed by the 
     Nazis.
       It is even more appalling when we realize that the Clinton 
     administration wants to send you back to your oppressors. And 
     when we realize that groups like the U.N. Population Fund 
     stand by and cheer as China achieves these targets in 
     population control when every one of those numbers represents 
     a person who has been injured, made sick, exploited, and hurt 
     by their government.
       The subcommittee is in recess for 10 minutes.
       [Recess.]
       Mr. Smith. The subcommittee will resume its hearing. Again, 
     I want to thank our witnesses for their very, very eloquent 
     statements and for their willingness to tell us in such 
     detail the difficulties that they have encountered and the 
     exploitation that they have experienced.
       It is my understanding that Hu Shuye, you might be willing 
     to and able to, perhaps, proceed with some of your testimony. 
     If you could tell us, and be as brief as you would like, some 
     of the particulars about the government's coercive abortion 
     that they inflicted upon you at 6 months.
       The Interpreter. She said she does not know how to speak, 
     so if you could ask questions, she will be able to answer.
       Mr. Smith. When the government found you were pregnant, 
     what kind of means did they use to force you to undergo the 
     abortion?
       The Interpreter. Let me explain for us, because Ms. Hu said 
     her Mandarin is not good enough to express herself.
       Mr. Smith. Right. I remember that from earlier.
       The Interpreter. So she is using her own dialect. And Ms. 
     Chen is translating her dialect to me, and I will translate 
     to you.
       Mr. Smith. All right. Thank you.
       Ms. Hu Shuye. They said--there were between 30 to 40 that 
     came to my home. And they said, since you have three 
     children, you have to have an abortion since you are now, 
     again, pregnant. So they dragged me to have an abortion.
       Mr. Smith. Did they literally drag her?
       Ms. Hu Shuye. There was a car, and these 30 to 40 people 
     dragged me onto the car and then drove away.
       Mr. Smith. Prior to that, were there attempts to persuade 
     her to abort the child?
       Ms. Hu Shuye. They did ask me to have this abortion. Then 
     since I was not willing to, they moved all my furniture, 
     whatever I had at home, to the government office.
       I was forced to have an abortion in June when I was 6 
     months pregnant. And then in November, they came again to 
     force me to have sterilization.
       I escaped in November. And in December, my mother-in-law 
     got cancer and passed away on December 17th. So I went home 
     to attend the funeral. And then on the 20th, the family 
     program office got to know that I was home; so they came and 
     dragged me away to have an abortion.
       I was forced to have an abortion when I was 6 months 
     pregnant. And then after that, they wanted me to have 
     sterilization. So I escaped in November. And then in December 
     I went back for the funeral. And then I was forced to have 
     sterilization. And then after a few years, in 1989, the 
     family program office told me that, you have too many 
     children, you should be fined a certain amount of money.
       Mr. Smith. So she was fined for the children that she had 
     is what you are saying.
       You know, I would like to yield to Mr. Hyde. He has a 
     comment.
       Mr. Hyde. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
       I wonder if I might ask both counsel to answer these 
     questions:
       We have heard heart breaking stories of oppression and 
     torture and a denial of one of the primary human rights, 
     civil rights, namely, the right to have children. And I am 
     appalled at what I have heard.
       But I am equally appalled at my own country at what state 
     these women find themselves in the ``Land of the Free,'' and 
     the ``Home of the Brave,'' ``Give me your Tired, your poor, 
     Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.''
       I understand they are under arrest, they are under 
     manacles. Now, I well know that for years Soviet Jewish 
     people, who could get an exit visa, all came here as refugees 
     because by definition they were persecuted, being Jewish 
     people, in the Soviet Union. And they came here by the 
     thousands. And many of them did not have family here, and it 
     was not a question of reunification but under asylum. Because 
     they were persecuted, they were permitted to come in here.

  Mrs. FOWLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman], chairman of the Committee on 
International Relations.
  (Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in strong support of H.R. 2570. I 
want to commend the bill's authors, the gentlewoman from Florida [Mrs. 
Fowler], the gentleman from California [Mr. Cox] and the gentleman from 
Illinois [Mr. Hyde], the distinguished chairman of the Committee on the 
Judiciary, for bringing forward this important measure.
  Mr. Speaker, we have no illusions about the Chinese regime and its 
poor record on human rights. Among the many human rights violations 
committed by the Chinese Government, one of the most despicable aspects 
of Chinese policy is its one-child mandate and its provincial eugenics 
policy. Under these policies, mothers are forced to abort their second 
or third children and to allow the deaths of children suffering from 
mental and other health problems. Government edicts are enforced 
against the fathers, mothers and especially children of China with 
countless victims in its wake. We must send a clear signal that we will 
have nothing to do with this ``Brave New World.'' If America is to 
stand for anything, it stands for the sanctity of the family and its 
most basic rights.
  While the central Chinese Government denies all of these charges, in 
their command and control society the understandable goal of limiting 
the growth of China's 1.3 billion person population is perverted into 
commands by local governments and Communist Party cadres to force 
abortions and the deaths of innocent infants, especially girls, to 
enforce quotas and other measures to restrict population growth.
  I note reports from Hebei Province officials who told workers that it 
was ``better to have more graves than one more child.'' We cannot sit 
idly by while this happens. This is a policy worthy of the 
dictatorships of the Soviet Union or wartime Germany, not a nation 
claiming to offer leadership in the 21st century.

                              {time}  1815

  I note that the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal listed such actions as 
crimes against humanity. China, our ally in World War II, is now the 
No. 1 violator of that sanction.
  Mr. Speaker, I am a strong supporter of voluntary family planning, 
but I must say that there is nothing voluntary about China's program. 
It is sad to note that in almost all of the other countries where 
mothers and fathers have a choice, parents make their own decision to 
have smaller families. The Chinese people are no different. If Chinese 
parents actually had a choice, they would space their children farther 
apart and, in the end, probably would reduce the size of their 
families.
  Regrettably the Chinese Government does not trust its people. The 
government has inserted itself in the most basic of human decisions of 
parents to have a child or to care for an impaired son or daughter.
  Mr. Speaker, I heard countless reports from people who have suffered 
under the Chinese Government. They came from all parts of China 
speaking Mandarin, Cantonese, and even Tibetans who have suffered under 
the one-child eugenics policy.
  I commend my colleague from New Jersey, Mr. Smith, and my colleague 
from California, Ms. Pelosi, who joined with us in condemning these 
abuses of the most basic human rights.
  In sum, I strongly support this bill in its denial of U.S. visas to 
the perpetrators of these crimes. Such people have no business in the 
land of the free and the home of the brave, and I thank the gentlewoman 
for bringing this measure to the floor, the gentlewoman from Florida 
[Mrs. Fowler].
  Mrs. FOWLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  That is the end of our speakers, Mr. Speaker, and I would just like 
to comment that we have heard from Members from a wide spectrum of 
philosophies here today all united in support of this bill, so I would 
urge my colleagues to cast their vote in favor of this bill.

[[Page H10147]]

  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support for H.R. 
2570, the Forced Abortion Condemnation Act. One of the most contentious 
ongoing debates before Congress is whether or not a woman has a right 
to choose abortion over life. But this debate is not about the right to 
choose. This is about forcing a woman to undergo a dangerous procedure 
without her consent. Regardless of whether you believe in the right to 
life or the right to choose, we can all agree that this practice is 
inhuman and barbaric. And one that we, as Americans, cannot and should 
not condone.
  H.R. 2570 denies visas to Chinese officials who carry out forced 
abortion or sterilization procedures and condemns those in the Chinese 
Communist Party and other Chinese nationals who oversee and enforce 
this process. Forced abortion was officially deemed a crime against 
humanity by the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal after World War II. What 
the Nazis did back then is no different then what is happening today in 
China. China's population control methods of forced abortions and 
sterilizations are not the way to control overpopulation in that 
country. The practice holds grave implications for religious liberty 
and basic human rights.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 2570.
  Mr. FOWLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the remainder of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gibbons). All time has expired.
  Pursuant to House Resolution 302, the previous question is ordered on 
the bill, as amended.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mrs. FOWLER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 415, 
nays 1, not voting 17, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 598]

                               YEAS--415

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Andrews
     Archer
     Armey
     Bachus
     Baesler
     Baker
     Baldacci
     Ballenger
     Barcia
     Barr
     Barrett (NE)
     Barrett (WI)
     Bartlett
     Barton
     Bass
     Becerra
     Bentsen
     Bereuter
     Berman
     Berry
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop
     Blagojevich
     Bliley
     Blumenauer
     Blunt
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bonior
     Bono
     Borski
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brady
     Brown (FL)
     Brown (OH)
     Bryant
     Bunning
     Burr
     Burton
     Buyer
     Callahan
     Calvert
     Camp
     Campbell
     Canady
     Cannon
     Cardin
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chambliss
     Chenoweth
     Christensen
     Clayton
     Clement
     Clyburn
     Coble
     Coburn
     Collins
     Combest
     Condit
     Conyers
     Cook
     Cooksey
     Costello
     Cox
     Coyne
     Cramer
     Crane
     Crapo
     Cummings
     Cunningham
     Danner
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (VA)
     Deal
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     DeLay
     Dellums
     Deutsch
     Diaz-Balart
     Dickey
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Dixon
     Doggett
     Dooley
     Doolittle
     Doyle
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Edwards
     Ehlers
     Ehrlich
     Emerson
     Engel
     English
     Ensign
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Evans
     Everett
     Ewing
     Farr
     Fattah
     Fawell
     Fazio
     Filner
     Flake
     Foglietta
     Foley
     Forbes
     Ford
     Fossella
     Fowler
     Fox
     Frank (MA)
     Franks (NJ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Frost
     Gallegly
     Ganske
     Gejdenson
     Gekas
     Gephardt
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gilman
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Goodling
     Gordon
     Goss
     Graham
     Granger
     Green
     Greenwood
     Gutierrez
     Gutknecht
     Hall (OH)
     Hall (TX)
     Hamilton
     Hansen
     Harman
     Hastert
     Hastings (FL)
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Hefner
     Herger
     Hill
     Hilleary
     Hilliard
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Holden
     Hooley
     Horn
     Hostettler
     Houghton
     Hoyer
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hutchinson
     Hyde
     Inglis
     Istook
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     Jenkins
     John
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson (WI)
     Johnson, E.B.
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kasich
     Kelly
     Kennedy (MA)
     Kennedy (RI)
     Kennelly
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick
     Kim
     Kind (WI)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kleczka
     Klink
     Klug
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     Kucinich
     LaFalce
     LaHood
     Lampson
     Largent
     Latham
     Lazio
     Leach
     Levin
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (GA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Linder
     Lipinski
     Livingston
     LoBiondo
     Lofgren
     Lowey
     Lucas
     Luther
     Maloney (CT)
     Maloney (NY)
     Manton
     Manzullo
     Markey
     Martinez
     Mascara
     Matsui
     McCarthy (MO)
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McCrery
     McDade
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McHale
     McHugh
     McInnis
     McIntosh
     McIntyre
     McKeon
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek
     Menendez
     Metcalf
     Mica
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller (CA)
     Miller (FL)
     Minge
     Mink
     Moakley
     Mollohan
     Moran (KS)
     Moran (VA)
     Morella
     Murtha
     Myrick
     Nadler
     Nethercutt
     Neumann
     Ney
     Northup
     Norwood
     Nussle
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Owens
     Oxley
     Packard
     Pallone
     Pappas
     Parker
     Pascrell
     Pastor
     Paul
     Paxon
     Payne
     Pease
     Pelosi
     Peterson (MN)
     Peterson (PA)
     Petri
     Pickering
     Pitts
     Pombo
     Pomeroy
     Porter
     Portman
     Poshard
     Price (NC)
     Pryce (OH)
     Quinn
     Radanovich
     Rahall
     Ramstad
     Rangel
     Redmond
     Regula
     Reyes
     Riggs
     Rivers
     Rodriguez
     Roemer
     Rogan
     Rogers
     Rohrabacher
     Rothman
     Roukema
     Roybal-Allard
     Royce
     Rush
     Ryun
     Sabo
     Salmon
     Sanchez
     Sanders
     Sandlin
     Sanford
     Sawyer
     Saxton
     Scarborough
     Schaefer, Dan
     Schaffer, Bob
     Schumer
     Scott
     Sensenbrenner
     Serrano
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shays
     Sherman
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Sisisky
     Skaggs
     Skeen
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (MI)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (OR)
     Smith (TX)
     Smith, Adam
     Smith, Linda
     Snowbarger
     Snyder
     Solomon
     Souder
     Spence
     Spratt
     Stabenow
     Stark
     Stearns
     Stenholm
     Stokes
     Strickland
     Stump
     Stupak
     Sununu
     Talent
     Tanner
     Tauzin
     Taylor (MS)
     Taylor (NC)
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Thornberry
     Thune
     Thurman
     Tiahrt
     Tierney
     Torres
     Towns
     Traficant
     Turner
     Upton
     Velazquez
     Vento
     Visclosky
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Waters
     Watkins
     Watt (NC)
     Watts (OK)
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     Wexler
     Weygand
     White
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wise
     Wolf
     Woolsey
     Wynn
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)

                                NAYS--1

       
     Brown (CA)
       

                             NOT VOTING--17

     Bateman
     Carson
     Clay
     Cubin
     Furse
     Gonzalez
     Lantos
     LaTourette
     McKinney
     Neal
     Pickett
     Riley
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Schiff
     Tauscher
     Waxman
     Yates

                              {time}  1840

  Mr. FLAKE changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
  So the bill was passed.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.

                          ____________________