[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 120 (Wednesday, September 15, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S10927]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            NGAWANG CHOEPHEL

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, it was 4 years ago that Nagwang Choephel, a 
Tibetan who studied ethnomusicology at Middlebury College in Vermont on 
a Fulbright Scholarship, was arrested in Tibet in 1995.
  After imprisoning him incommunicado for 15 months, on December 26, 
1996, Chinese officials sentenced Mr. Choephel to 18 years in prison on 
charges of espionage.
  Four years have passed and despite high level discussions about this 
case between the administration and Chinese officials, resolutions 
passed in both the Senate and the House on Mr. Choephel's behalf, and a 
number of worldwide letter writing campaigns, he remains incarcerated 
in a remote corner of Tibet for a crime he did not commit.
  The Chinese Government has never provided evidence to support their 
allegations that Mr. Choephel was sent by the Dalai Lama to gather 
intelligence and engage in separatist activities.
  The State Department has no evidence that he participated in any 
illegal or political activity.
  What is indisputable, however, is that Mr. Choephel traveled to Tibet 
with a donated video camera and recording equipment to document Tibetan 
music and dance--subjects he studied as a young man in India and as a 
Fulbright Scholar in Vermont.
  The sixteen hours of footage that Mr. Choephel sent out of Tibet 
before his arrest affirm this fact. It simply shows the traditional 
dancing and singing that is an integral part of Tibet's rich cultural 
heritage.
  I have spoken out many times about this tragic miscarriage of 
justice.
  I have twice discussed my concerns with Chinese President Jiang, once 
in Beijing and again in Washington. I and other Members of Congress 
have written letter after letter to the Chinese Ambassador in 
Washington and other Chinese officials seeking information about Mr. 
Choephel's whereabouts and his well-being. I have tried to arrange 
meetings with Chinese authorities here, to no avail.
  As we commemorate this sad anniversary, we know no more about Mr. 
Choephel's condition than we did 4 years ago.
  His mother, who has repeatedly sought permission from the Chinese 
Government to visit her only child, has not given up. She continues her 
tireless campaign for his freedom on the streets of New Delhi.
  I had hoped that Chinese authorities would have recognized by now the 
grave mistake they made in sentencing Mr. Choephel. International 
outrage over this case mounts with each additional year he spends in 
jail.
  Congress, the administration, and the international community must 
continue to do whatever it can to ensure that next year at this time we 
are celebrating this young man's release, and the release of the many 
other political prisoners who are being unfairly detained in Tibet and 
China.

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