[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.
____________________