[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 71 (Thursday, June 4, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5661-S5662]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE ON THE NINTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
      MASSACRE OF PRO-DEMOCRACY DEMONSTRATORS ON TIANANMEN SQUARE

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of a Senate resolution at the 
desk which would express the sense of the Senate on the ninth 
anniversary of the massacre of prodemocracy demonstrators on Tiananmen 
Square in China. I ask further consent that the resolution be agreed 
to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I find myself in the awkward position of 
having to object to consideration of my own resolution. I want to make 
this clear that I am doing this solely as a courtesy to the Democratic 
leader.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I am really surprised and shocked that 
apparently there is objection on the Democratic side of the aisle to 
consideration of this important resolution. I had hoped that we would 
consider this evening a resolution expressing the sense of the Senate 
upon the ninth anniversary of the tragic massacre of Chinese students 
in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989.
  My resolution, had I been permitted to proceed with it this evening, 
was cosponsored by the distinguished majority leader, by the Senator 
from Arkansas, Senator Hutchinson, and by the Senator from Michigan, 
Senator Abraham. Regrettably, my colleagues from the Democratic side of 
the aisle have blocked consideration of this resolution. I would, 
however, like to take a moment to explain why I consider it to be very 
important.
  Mr. President, 9 years ago, thousands of students were peaceably 
assembled on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, peacefully protesting their 
government's refusal to permit them even the most basic freedoms of 
expression, association, and political activity.
  As a symbol of their hopes and aspirations for a democratic China, 
these students constructed a scale model of our own Statue of Liberty. 
It was to them, as it is to us and to untold millions around the world, 
a symbol of freedom's promise for people everywhere. Quoting Thomas 
Jefferson, these brave Chinese students spoke eloquently of the need 
for China to develop democratic institutions, and finally to allow a 
degree of political progress to match its dramatic economic change and 
development in recent years.
  Nine years ago today--today--the excitement and the promise of this 
Chinese democracy movement were extinguished as troops and armored 
vehicles were ordered into action against the peaceful students. Mr. 
President, it may never be known exactly how many died in the resulting 
bloodbath, but hundreds of Chinese demonstrators were certainly killed 
and many thousands more were arrested for so-called 
counterrevolutionary offenses that consisted only of attempting to 
assert rights that it is the duty of civilized governments everywhere 
to observe, protect and promote.
  I am wearing, Mr. President, a ribbon to commemorate just one of 
those political prisoners from that very sad period.
  I had hoped to introduce and have the Senate pass this resolution to 
make very clear to everyone in this country and, indeed, around the 
globe that the U.S. Senate has not forgotten what occurred in Tiananmen 
Square 9 years ago today.
  Mr. President, my resolution sought to do no more than to make clear 
that what occurred on June 4, 1989, was profoundly wrong and that we 
should not permit ourselves or our Government ever to forget this. This 
resolution would have merely expressed the sense of the Senate that our 
Government should remain committed to honoring the memory and the 
spirit of the Chinese citizens who died on Tiananmen Square and that 
assisting China's peaceful transition to democracy should be a 
principal goal of our foreign policy.
  Mr. President, it is important that we remember Tiananmen Square 
today precisely because we do enjoy increasingly close ties with the 
regime in Beijing. Relations with the People's Republic of China are--
and must--be a continual balancing act. The memory of Tiananmen Square 
should help us find the appropriate bounds, preventing us from giving 
way to a wholly unchecked enthusiasm in U.S.-Chinese relations by 
disregarding the fundamental nature of the regime with which we are 
dealing. China is not a democracy, after all, and its government still 
has few qualms about using armed force to suppress the legitimate 
aspirations of its people for basic liberties.
  I do not expect democracy to flower overnight in China. But it is 
today quite clear that China is capable of democracy. The very strength 
of the student movement that Communist authorities tried to crush on 
Tiananmen Square nine years ago attests to the powerful appeal that 
democracy and human rights have in China. The successes of pro-
democracy candidates in Hong Kong's recent elections also attest to how 
strong democratic ideals can be in China when not suppressed by 
autocrats intent upon preserving their own power and privileges. Most 
of all, the new and thriving democracy on Taiwan stands as the clearest 
indication that the phrase ``Chinese democracy'' is not an oxymoron. In 
fact, the phrase ``Chinese democracy is a ray of hope for a quarter of 
our planet's population.
  This is why it is important always to keep Tiananmen Square in our 
minds as we pursue our ``engagement'' with China. While we cannot 
ignore China and its huge population, neither can we ignore the human 
rights abuses committed by its government. Sound public policymaking is 
about pragmatism, but it is about the pragmatic pursuit of principles. 
Without principle, pragmatism is no more than a fraud, a process that 
lacks a purpose; there is no substitute for an underlying moral 
compass. This is why I very much wanted to introduce my resolution 
today: in U.S.-China relations, the memory of Tiananmen Square is one 
of the cardinal points on our moral compass, without which we cannot 
navigate.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the resolution I would have 
introduced be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                               S. Res.--

       Whereas in the spring of 1989, thousands of students 
     demonstrated in Tiananmen Square in Beijing in favor of 
     greater democracy, civil liberties, and freedom of expression 
     in the People's Republic of China (PRC);
       Whereas these students' protests against political 
     repression in their homeland were conducted peacefully and 
     posed no threat to their fellow Chinese citizens;
       Whereas on the evening of June 4, 1989, these students were 
     brutally attacked by infantry and armored vehicles of the 
     People's Liberation Army (PLA) acting under orders from the 
     highest political and military leadership of the PRC;
       Whereas hundreds of these students were killed by the PLA 
     in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989 for offenses no more 
     serious than that of seeking peacefully to assert their most 
     basic human, civil, and political rights;
       Whereas many of the leaders of the student demonstrations 
     thus attacked were subsequently imprisoned, sought out for 
     arrest, or otherwise persecuted by the Government of the PRC;
       Whereas during or shortly after the brutal assault of June 
     4, 1989, at least 2,500 persons were arrested for so-called 
     ``counter-revolutionary offenses'' across China and dozens of 
     persons were executed;
       Whereas the Chinese government has never expressed regret 
     for its actions on June 4, 1989, still imprisons at least 150 
     persons in connection with the Tiananmen Square 
     demonstrations, and has continued to deny its citizens basic 
     internationally-recognized human, civil, and political 
     rights;
       Whereas the Government of the PRC, as detailed in 
     successive annual reports on

[[Page S5662]]

     human rights by the United States Department of State, still 
     routinely and systematically violates the rights of its 
     citizens, including their rights to freedom of speech, 
     assembly, worship, and peaceful dissent; and
       Whereas the Tiananmen Square Massacre has become indelibly 
     etched into the political consciousness of our times as a 
     symbol both of the impossibility of forever denying a 
     determined people the right to control their own destiny and 
     of the oppressiveness and brutality of governments that seek 
     to do so: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That, in the interest of expressing support for 
     the observance of human, civil, and political rights in China 
     and around the world, it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the United States Government should remain committed to 
     honoring the memory and spirit of the brave citizens of China 
     who suffered and died in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989 for 
     attempting to assert their internationally-recognized rights; 
     and
       (2) supporting the peaceful transition to democratic 
     governance and the observance of internationally-recognized 
     human, civil, and political rights and the rule of law in 
     China should be a principal goal of United States foreign 
     policy.
       Sec. 2. The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit a copy 
     of this resolution to the President.

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