[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 71 (Thursday, June 4, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5617-S5618]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HUMAN RIGHTS CONDITIONS IN CHINA AND TIBET

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, earlier this week, I spoke of a 
resolution on China that I introduced and that we will offer as an 
amendment as soon as there is a vehicle to work with, I think probably 
next week--certainly before the President's visit to China. I wanted to 
briefly summarize it. Let me just say that I am really pleased to have 
the support of Senator Lugar, Senator Durbin, Senator Leahy and Senator 
Feingold, and I think there will be very strong bipartisan support for 
this, what will be an amendment.
  The focus is on human rights conditions in China and Tibet. Let me 
just say I don't come to the floor in a spirit of bashing our 
President. Since our President will be the first head of state of our 
country to visit China since the 1989 crackdown where really students--
I see pages here--young people your age were murdered, gave their 
lives, and for the ``crime'' of just simply calling for the country to 
be a democracy, I wish the President would not go to Tiananmen Square. 
I think that is a mistake. My worry is that regardless of what 
statements the President makes about human rights in China--and I hope 
he will make some powerful statements--the symbolism of visiting that 
very sacred place where students were murdered will overwhelm 
everything else and will be taken, will be used by the Government or 
will be interpreted by people in China as reflecting a kind of carte 
blanche support of the Government. I think that would be a mistake.
  Now, I want to refer to the State Department's China country report 
this past year on human rights and practices. This is not my report. 
This is our own State Department report.

       The Government continues 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.

  I think the Assistant Secretary of State, John Shattuck, who has 
focused on human rights, has really done some magnificent work, and I 
think this State Department report is extremely important.
  What we are going to call on the President to do in our amendment--
and we will have a vote on it next week. I think it is terribly 
important the Senate go on record before the President's visit, because 
the President is going to visit China. Whether Senators think he should 
or not, the President is going to visit. I personally think it is not 
unimportant to be having a discussion with the Government there. I am 
not opposed to a discussion. But the question is what kind of 
discussion, what kind of visit, and what does the President say.
  At the very minimum, we are going to call upon the President to 
secure from China's leaders a pledge to remove by a certain date the 
names on the official reentry black list, which now contains the names 
of more than 50 Chinese living in the United States who cannot return 
to China because of their advocacy of democracy and freedom. In other 
words, there are some people in our country who think the fact that Wei 
Jingsheng, who was released from prison, is now in our country, exiled 
in our country is a sign he has his freedom. I doubt any American would 
feel he or she was free if they were exiled from our country and told, 
if you come back to the United States, you will be immediately 
arrested. That hardly represents freedom. So we want to make sure that 
by a certain date the Chinese Government removes these names on this 
official reentry blacklist.

  Second of all, that the President--and let me emphasize this. I 
emphasized it this morning--visit family members of the victims of the 
1989 massacre, many of whom still suffer from political harassment, 
discrimination, or persecution.
  I will say in this Chamber: Mr. President, if you are going to visit 
China, I hope you don't go to Tiananmen Square. I hope you will give 
some forceful speeches on human rights, but at the very minimum you 
could convey a very powerful message to the world, to people in China, 
to the Chinese Government, and to these families if you would visit the 
family members, or some of the family members of victims of the 1989 
massacre, many of whom today suffer from political harassment and 
discrimination and persecution. I think that would be a powerful 
message. I believe the President should do this.
  Third of all, I think the President absolutely has to urge Chinese 
leaders to engage in a meaningful dialog with the Dalai Lama, with the 
aim of establishing genuine cultural and religious autonomy in Tibet. 
In the past year, matters have only gotten worse in Tibet. No one is 
arguing to the contrary. No one is arguing to the contrary.
  The President must call upon China to revise its vague, draconian 
security laws, including the provisions on ``endangering state 
security,'' which were added to the criminal code in March of 1997; and 
release unconditionally all political, religious, and labor activists 
detained for their peaceful, nonviolent involvement. In other words, it 
is important to understand, when someone like Wei is released, that 
releasing some individuals doesn't deal with 2,000 political prisoners 
that you have in prison. That doesn't deal with all sorts of prisoners 
in forced labor camps. The President has to call upon the Chinese 
Government to live up to basic human rights standards--that is where 
our country should be; that is what we should stand for--and review the 
sentences of more than 2,000 who have been convicted of so-called 
counterrevolutionary crimes with a view toward granting full amnesty.
  Mr. President, I come to the floor today because it is the 
anniversary of the massacre at Tiananmen Square, and I think it is 
really important that we speak up. I think the Chinese Government would 
like nothing more than for Americans not to speak up. I think the 
Chinese Government would like for the world to forget what happened. We 
cannot. But above and beyond that, I do not want this just to be 
dramatic in the worst way or symbolic. I think what the President can 
do if he is going to visit China is not go to Tiananmen Square, 
certainly visit the families of the victims of Tiananmen Square, and 
certainly give some powerful speeches and statements while in China 
which call upon the Chinese Government to release people who are in 
prison for having committed no other crime than to speak out for 
democracy and freedom; for the President to say to the Government of 
China--frankly, we should be saying it to governments all over the 
world that do this--you cannot persecute people because of their 
religious practice or because of their political viewpoint. We have to 
be on the side of human rights throughout the world. I really hope that 
next week, if not tomorrow--the first opportunity I get I will bring 
this amendment to the floor --we would get very strong support for this 
amendment.
  Mr. President, I see my colleague from Nevada is here, and I will 
yield the floor.
  Mr. BRYAN. Mr. President, first, I would like to thank my colleague 
from Minnesota for his unfailing courtesy.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I might speak as if in 
morning business for a period of time not to exceed 7 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BRYAN. I thank the Chair.
  (The remarks of Mr. Bryan pertaining to the submission of S. Res. 243 
are located in today's Record under ``Submission of Concurrent and 
Senate Resolutions.'')
  Mr. BRYAN. Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence 
of a quorum.

[[Page S5618]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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