[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 134 (Wednesday, October 6, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12099-S12100]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petitions and memorials were laid before the Senate and 
were referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM--361. A resolution adopted by the City Council of the 
     City of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin relative to the United Nations 
     Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination 
     Against Women; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
       POM--362. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     State of California relative to war crimes committed by the 
     Japanese military during World War II; to the Committee on 
     Foreign Relations.

                    Assembly Joint Resolution No. 27

       Whereas, Our nation is founded on democratic principles 
     that recognize the vigilance with which fundamental 
     individual human rights must be safeguarded in order to 
     preserve freedom; and
       Whereas, This resolution condemns all violations of the 
     international law designed to safeguard fundamental human 
     rights as embodied in the Geneva and Hague Conventions; and
       Whereas, This resolution vociferously condemns all crimes 
     against humanity and at the same time condemns the actions of 
     those who would use this resolution to further an agenda that 
     fosters anti-Asian sentiment and racism, or Japan 
     ``bashing,'' or otherwise fails to distinguish between 
     Japan's war

[[Page S12100]]

     criminals and Americans of Japanese ancestry; and
       Whereas, Since the end of World War II, Japan has earned 
     its place as an equal in the society of nations, yet the 
     Government of Japan has failed to fully acknowledge the 
     crimes committed during World War II and to provide 
     reparations to the victims of those crimes; and
       Whereas, While high ranking Japanese government officials 
     have expressed personal apologies, supported the payment of 
     privately funded reparations to some victims, and modified 
     some textbooks, these efforts are not adequate substitutes 
     for an apology and reparations approved by the Government of 
     Japan; and
       Whereas, The need for an apology sanctioned by the 
     Government of Japan is underscored by the contradictory 
     statements and actions of Japanese government officials and 
     leaders of a ``revisionist'' movement who openly deny that 
     war crimes took place, defend the actions of the Japanese 
     military, seek to remove the modest language included in 
     textbooks, and refuse to cooperate with United States 
     Department of Justice efforts to identify Japanese war 
     criminals; and
       Whereas, During World Was II, 33,587 United States military 
     and 13,966 civilian prisoners of the Japanese military were 
     confined in inhumane prison camps where they were subjected 
     to forced labor and died unmentionable deaths; and
       Whereas, The Japanese military invaded Nanking, China, from 
     December 1937 until February 1938, during the period known as 
     the ``Rape of Nanking,'' and brutally slaughtered, in ways 
     that defy description, by some accounts as many as 300,000 
     Chinese men, women, and children and raped more than 20,000 
     women, adding to a death toll that may have exceeded millions 
     of Chinese; and
       Whereas, The people of Guam and the Marshall Islands, 
     during the Japanese occupation from 1941-1944, were subjected 
     to unmentionable acts of violence, including forced labor and 
     marches, and imprisonment by the Japanese military during its 
     occupation of these islands; and
       Whereas, Three-fourths of the population in Port Blair on 
     Andaman Islands, India, were exterminated by Japanese troops 
     between March 1942 and the end of World War II; many were 
     tortured to death or forced into sexual slavery at `'comfort 
     stations,'' and crimes beyond description were committed on 
     families and young children; and
       Whereas, at the February 1945 ``Battle of Manila,'' 100,000 
     men, women, and children were killed by Japanese armed forces 
     in inhumane ways, adding to a total death toll that may have 
     exceeded one million Filipinos during the Japanese occupation 
     of the Philippines, which began in December 1941 and ended in 
     August 1945; and
       Whereas, At least 260 of the 1,500 United States prisoners, 
     including many Californians, believed to have been held at 
     Mukden, Manchuria, died during the first winter of their 
     imprisonment and many of the 300 living survivors of Mukden 
     claim to suffer from physical ailments resulting from their 
     subjection to Japanese military chemical and biological 
     experiments; and
       Whereas, The Japanese military enslaved millions of 
     Koreans, Chinese, Filipinos, and citizens from other occupied 
     or colonized territories during World War II, and forced 
     hundreds of thousands of women into sexual slavery for 
     Japanese troops; and
       Whaeras, The International Commission of Jurists, a 
     nongovernmental organization (NGO) in Geneva, Switzerland, 
     ruled in 1993 that the Government of Japan should pay 
     reparations of at least $40,000 for the ``extreme pain and 
     suffering'' caused to each woman who was forced into sexual 
     slavery by the Japanese military (referred by the Japanese 
     military as ``comfort women''), yet none of these women 
     have been paid any compensation by the Government of 
     Japan: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of 
     California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of 
     California urges the Government of Japan to finally bring 
     closure to concerns relating to World War II by doing both of 
     the following:
       (1) Formally issuing a clear and unambiguous apology for 
     the atrocious war crimes committed by the Japanese military 
     during World War II.
       (2) Immediately paying reparations to the victims of those 
     crimes, including, but not limited to, United States military 
     and civilian prisoners of war, the people of Guam and the 
     Marshall Islands, who were subjected to violence and 
     imprisonment, the survivors of the ``Rape of Nanking'' from 
     December 1937 until February 1938, and the women who were 
     forced into sexual slavery and known by the Japanese military 
     as ``comfort women''; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Legislature of the State of California 
     calls upon the United States Congress to adopt a similar 
     resolution that follows the spirit and letter of this 
     resolution calling on the Government of Japan to issue a 
     formal apology and pay reparations to the victims of its war 
     crimes during World War II; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Legislature of the State of California 
     requests that the President of the United States take all 
     appropriate action to further bring about a formal apology 
     and reparations by the Government of Japan to the victims of 
     its war crimes during World War II; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit 
     copies of this resolution to the Japanese Ambassador to the 
     United States, the President of the United States, the 
     President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives, and each California Member of the Senate and 
     the United States House of Representatives.
                                  ____

       POM-363. A resolution adopted by the Council of the City of 
     Cincinnati, Ohio relative to the proposed Medicaid primary 
     care safety net preservation legislation; to the Committee on 
     Finance.
       POM-364. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of 
     the State of California relative to the California film 
     industry; to the Committee on Finance.

                    Assembly Joint Resolution No. 23

       Whereas, The film industry is a major contributor to the 
     California economy. It was one of the main drivers of the 
     California comeback as the state recovered from the 
     protracted recession of 1991, however, other countries 
     aggressively promote incentives for filming outside of 
     California. This competition translates into a significant 
     share of tax revenue that is not directed to California. 
     According to published estimates by the Motion Picture 
     Association of America (MPAA), every one percent of 
     entertainment jobs in California represents about $9 million 
     in state tax revenue; and
       Whereas, The MPAA also notes that most forecasts predict 
     that the demand for motion picture, television, and 
     commercial products will increase. The issue is whether the 
     future economic activity that this growth may generate will 
     occur in California or elsewhere; and
       Whereas, The film industry has a significant effect on 
     other industries, including the multimedia industry, tourism, 
     toys, games, and industries that perpetuate the ``California 
     look'' in apparel and furniture manufacturing. This is part 
     of the residual effect of the film industry; and
       Whereas, The enormity of the film industry makes it an 
     important contributor of tax revenue to this state; and
       Whereas, While there is an abundance of available labor in 
     the film industry in the Los Angeles region, many below-the-
     line union workers are currently unemployed; and
       Whereas, Canada is enticing entertainment industry jobs out 
     of this country by offering significant tax credits to United 
     States production companies. This practice is resulting in 
     less work for American film crews as more and more movies, TV 
     series, sitcoms, mini-series, etc. are being relocated there; 
     and
       Whereas, A continued exodus of motion picture and 
     television production to foreign countries such as Canada 
     will not only eliminate thousands of well-paying jobs, it 
     will mean the United States will lose a growing and very 
     lucrative industry that it created: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of 
     California, jointly, That the Legislature respectfully 
     memorializes the President and the Congress of the United 
     States to evaluate the problems caused by relocating film 
     industry business to Canada and other foreign nations, to 
     evaluate the current state and federal tax incentives 
     provided to the film industry, and to promote trade-related 
     legislation that will persuade the film industry to remain in 
     California; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit 
     copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President 
     of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate of the 
     United States, and to each Senator and Representative from 
     California in the Congress of the United States.

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