[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 20, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S801-S802]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 27--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE 
        HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

  Mr. WELLSTONE submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                               S. Res. 27

       Whereas the annual meeting of the United Nations Commission 
     on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland, provides a forum for 
     discussing human rights and expressing international support 
     for improved human rights performance;
       Whereas according to the United States Department of State 
     and international human rights organizations, the Government 
     of the People's Republic of China 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;
       Whereas China is bound by the Universal Declaration of the 
     Human Rights and recently signed the International Covenant 
     on Civil and Political Rights, but has yet to take the 
     necessary steps to make the covenant legally binding;
       Whereas the Administration decided not to sponsor a 
     resolution criticizing China at the U.N. Human Rights 
     Commission in 1998 in consideration of Chinese commitments to 
     sign the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
     and based on a belief that progress on human rights in China 
     could be achieved through other means;
       Whereas the Chinese authorities have recently escalated 
     efforts to extinguish expressions of protest or criticism, 
     and detained scores of citizens associated with attempts to 
     organize a legal democratic opposition, as well as religious 
     leaders, writers, and others who petitioned the authorities 
     to release those arbitrarily arrested; and
       Whereas these recent crackdowns underscore that the Chinese 
     government has not retreated from its longstanding pattern of 
     human rights abuses, despite expectations from two summit 
     meetings between President Clinton and President Jiang, in 
     which assurances of improvements in China's human rights 
     record were made: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that at the 
     54th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in 
     Geneva, the United States should introduce and make all 
     efforts necessary to pass a resolution criticizing the 
     People's Republic of China for its human rights abuses in 
     China and Tibet.

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, today, I am submitting legislation to 
urge the President to sponsor a resolution condemning China's human 
rights record at the next session of the U.N. Commission on Human 
Rights this March and to begin immediately contacting other governments 
to urge them to cosponsor such a resolution.
  When President Clinton formally delinked trade and human rights in 
1994, he pledged, on the record, that the U.S. would ``step up its 
efforts, in cooperation with other states, to insist that the United 
Nations Human Rights Commission pass a resolution dealing with the 
serious human rights abuses in China.'' While the U.S. has claimed an 
intention at least to speak out on human rights, the substance of U.S.-
China relations--trade, military contacts, high level summits--go 
forward while Chinese leaders continue to crackdown on every last 
dissident in a country of over one billion people.
  The Chinese government continues to commit widespread abuses, and 
since

[[Page S802]]

the President's visit in June, has taken actions that flagrantly 
violate the commitments it has made to respect internationally 
recognized human rights. Recently, it sentenced three of China's most 
prominent pro-democracy advocates, Xu Wenli, Wang Youcai, and Chin 
Yougmin, to a combined prison term of thirty-five years. These 
disgraceful arrests were part of a crackdown by the government on 
efforts to form the country's first opposition political party. 
Further, a businessman in Shanghai, Lin Hai, is now being tried for 
providing E-mail addresses to a prodemocracy internet magazine in the 
United States. Another democracy activist, Zhang Shanguang, was 
convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison for giving Radio Free 
Asia information about protests by farmers in Hunan province. These 
events are occurring against a backdrop of growing repression, such as 
the adoption of strict new regulations on the formation of non-
governmental political and social organizations, and the imposition of 
tough new regulations on film directors, computer software developers, 
artists and the press if they ``endanger social order'' or attempt to 
``overthrow state power''.
  The arrested dissidents and their courageous supporters deserve our 
full backing, and the Administration's, in their historic struggle to 
bring democracy to China. At the June summit in Beijing, President 
Clinton engaged in a spirited debate on human rights with President 
Jiang Zemin. In light of this brutal, recent crackdown, I urge the 
Administration to bring a resolution at Geneva in March and to register 
its continuing deep concern on two issues President Clinton raised with 
President Jiang at the summit--the absence of freedom of expression and 
association, and the use of arbitrary detention in China. Past 
experience has demonstrated that, when the United States has applied 
sustained pressure, the Chinese authorities have responded in ways that 
signal their willingness to engage on the issue of human rights. This 
pressure needs to be exercised now. By sponsoring a resolution at the 
U.N. Human Rights Commission, the United States will demonstrate its 
commitment to securing China's adherence to international human rights 
standards..
  On October 5, 1998, China signed the International Covenant on Civil 
and Political Rights, but it has yet to take the necessary steps to 
make it legally binding. The Administration agreed early in 1998 not to 
sponsor a resolution criticizing China at the U.N. Human Rights 
Commission in consideration of Chinese commitments on human rights, 
including the signing of this important covenant. Yet, the recent acts 
of intimidation and detention underscore that the Chinese government 
has not retreated from its longstanding pattern of serious human rights 
abuses.
  It is time for the United States to provide the leadership which the 
people of China depend on. We must take action to submit a resolution 
on China in Geneva and build international support for its passage. The 
U.N. Human Rights Commission is the only international body which 
oversees the human rights conditions of all states. Even though the 
resolution may not pass, simply the debate of human rights in China and 
Tibet at the Commission will make an important difference.
  I have had the great honor of knowing and becoming friends with Wei 
Jingsheng this past year. Mr. Wei is a Chinese dissident who has spent 
most of his life in Chinese prisons for his pro-democratic political 
writings. In an article published shortly after his release, Mr. Wei 
stated, ``Democracy and freedom are among the loftiest ideals of 
humanity, and they are the most sacred rights of mankind. Those who 
already enjoy democracy, liberty and human rights, in particular, 
should not allow their own personal happiness to numb them into 
forgetting that many others who are still struggling against tyranny, 
slavery, and poverty, and all of those who are suffering from 
unimaginable forms of oppression, exploitation and massacres.''
  Mr. President, the United States must not take its freedom for 
granted. As Americans, we must take action and sponsor and lead the 
international effort to condemn the human rights situation in China and 
Tibet. I hope that my colleagues will join me in passing this 
resolution.

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