[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 72 (Friday, June 5, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1041]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          PERSONAL EXPLANATION

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                          HON. JOSE E. SERRANO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, June 5, 1998

  Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, last evening, I was inadvertently delayed 
in my office and missed the vote on H. Con. Res. 285, a resolution 
expressing the sense of Congress that the President should reconsider 
his decision to be received in Tiananmen Square when he visits the 
People's Republic of China.
  Had I been present, I would have voted against the resolution. I 
fully believe that if the United States is to exercise leadership in 
the world and, particularly, to influence other governments to adopt 
policies we support on issues such as human rights, we must be engaged 
with those governments. This includes exchanging visits, but a 
resolution urging the President to insult his hosts by refusing to be 
received where all national leaders are received comes pretty close to 
telling the President not to go to China at all.
  Indeed, Mr. Speaker, I would go a step farther. China is not the only 
nation with which we should be engaged. I look forward to the day when 
our policies toward Cuba will make possible an American President's 
visit there, and, when that day comes, I will be happy to support a 
resolution calling on the President to be received in the Plaza of the 
Revolution in Havana.

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