[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 72 (Friday, June 5, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S5681]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  NINTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MASSACRE OF PRODEMOCRACY DEMONSTRATORS ON 
                           TIANAN-MEN SQUARE

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Senate Resolution 244 
submitted earlier today by Senators Collins, Lott, Hutchison, and 
Abraham.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 244) expressing the sense of the 
     Senate on the ninth anniversary of the massacre of 
     prodemocracy demonstrators on Tiananmen Square by military 
     forces acting under orders from the Government of the 
     People's Republic of China.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate 
consideration of the resolution?
  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, yesterday was the ninth anniversary of 
the massacre of hundreds of prodemocracy students on Tiananmen Square 
in Beijing by troops acting under the orders of the Communist 
Government of China. In memory of the brave students who suffered and 
died there for speaking out peacefully against political repression, 
and in memory of those who are imprisoned still, last night I attempted 
to introduce this resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that 
our Government should remain committed to honoring the memory of these 
victims of oppression and also that supporting China's peaceful 
transition to democracy should be a principal goal of our foreign 
policy.
  I know that such sentiments are shared by all Members of this body. 
After all, who could possibly object to honoring the Chinese student 
martyrs to democracy on the ninth anniversary of their massacre? After 
all, our most cherished political ideals are those of inalienable 
rights and democratic self-rule. Unfortunately, however, we were unable 
to get the resolution cleared last night on the Democratic side. This 
objection prevented the Senate from making any statement in memory of 
the victims of Tiananmen Square on the ninth anniversary of their 
murder.
  I am pleased, however, to report today that the cold light of morning 
has helped bring some perspective to this issue and that the objection 
to my resolution has now been withdrawn. I am very grateful for the 
cooperation of the Democratic leader in resolving the issue on his 
side.
  I spoke at some length last night about the purpose of this 
resolution, so I will not repeat those remarks now. Let me merely say 
that it is deeply gratifying to see all of us join together in 
expressing our heartfelt commitment to democracy and human rights in 
China and in honoring the memory of those slain in the pursuit of these 
ideals. It may be 24 hours late, Mr. President, but history will not 
find the U.S. Senate to have been voiceless in remembrance of the 
victims in the Tiananmen Square massacre of June 4, 1989.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed 
to, the preamble agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon 
the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 244) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution (S. Res. 244), with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 244

       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 grief 
     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 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.

  Ms. COLLINS. Thank you, Mr. President.
  I thank the distinguished senior Senator from West Virginia for 
allowing me to precede him.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, what is the state of things at this point?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. We are in a period of morning business, with 
Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent, in view of the fact 
that my statement may require more than 10 minutes--it may not--that I 
may use as much time as I may consume, with the understanding that I 
will not use more than 15 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, and I shall 
not object, I wonder if the Presiding Officer might entertain a consent 
request that I be allowed to follow Senator Byrd.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator yield for that purpose?
  Mr. BYRD. Yes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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