[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 39 (Thursday, March 11, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E402-E403]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENSE OF CONGRESS URGING CRITICISM OF PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA FOR 
  HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN CHINA AND TIBET AT ANNUAL MEETING OF UNITED 
                   NATIONS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

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                               speech of

                        HON. JOHN EDWARD PORTER

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 9, 1999

  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Con. 
Res. 28. Congress must strongly signal the administration in urging the 
United Nations to criticize China's human rights record.
  Let me start by thanking the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) for 
bringing this resolution to the floor, and so many of my other 
colleagues including the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), and the gentlewoman from California 
(Ms. Pelosi) for their efforts to focus the attention of this body on 
the human rights situation in China.
  China recognizes the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights as does this 
great Nation of ours. Unfortunately, China's recognition of this 
monumental document lives only on paper. China has proven through its 
repeated mistreatment of its citizens, its continuing genocide in 
Tibet, and the lack of fundamental freedom of religion and expression 
that it does not stand for the most basic of human rights. The United 
States must no longer accept China's defiance of the precepts of the 
U.N. Declaration on Human Rights, which the rest of the international 
community accepts and lives by.
  China is witnessing the worst crackdown on dissent since the days 
immediately following the Tiananmen Square massacre. Since this 
crackdown began in November, the United States along with the 
international community has done little to condemn China. When three 
prominent dissidents were given absurd prison sentences for their 
efforts to register the China Democracy Party, there was barely a sound 
from our administration. When a leading labor activist was arrested for 
giving an interview on Radio Free Asia, there was hardly a word. When a 
computer entrepreneur was arrested for selling e-mail addresses to a 
magazine which promotes democracy, the silence was deafening. While 
brave warriors for democracy sit in jail or labor in work camps, the 
administration has declined to stand up for these people and for the 
principle they embody. China's actions are indefensible; it is time our 
Nation stands up and shows China that its actions are unacceptable and 
the international community is watching.
  Promotion and preservation of basic human rights is an issue for the 
entire international community--it is not China's internal matter. I 
urge the administration to begin a genuine dialog with the Congress in 
order to demonstrate the sincerity of its desire to work with the 
Congress to address the very serious human rights problems in China.
  I ask all of you to join me in urging this administration to send a 
unequivocal message to China by having the United Nations criticize its 
human rights record. The United States must take the lead in preserving 
the most basic of rights for the people around the world and it

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must take a stand against the horrendous policies which China continue 
to live by.

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