[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 26, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S92-S93]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 78--CONCURRENT RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE 
 SENSE OF THE CONGRESS THAT THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF 
  CHINA SHOULD IMMEDIATELY RELEASE FROM PRISON AND DROP ALL CRIMINAL 
CHARGES AGAINST YONGYI SONG AND SHOULD GUARANTEE IN THEIR LEGAL SYSTEM 
FAIR AND PROFESSIONAL TREATMENT OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS AND CONDUCT 
                          FAIR AND OPEN TRIALS

  Mr. SPECTER (for himself, Mr. Biden, Mr. Santorum, Mr. Schumer, Mr. 
Baucus, Ms. Collins, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Kerry, and Mr. Wellstone) submitted 
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 78

       Whereas Yongyi Song, a researcher and librarian at 
     Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, was detained on 
     August 7, 1999 in Beijing, China while collecting historical 
     documents on the Chinese cultural revolution of the 1966-76;
       Whereas Mr. Song has lived in the United States for the 
     past ten years, has passed his United States citizenship 
     tests, and was scheduled to be sworn in as a United States 
     citizen in September of 1999;
       Whereas after five months of detention, Mr. Song was 
     formally ``arrested'' on Christmas Eve in China on charges of 
     ``the purchase and illegal provisions of intelligence to 
     foreign institutions'';
       Whereas the People's Republic of China claims that Mr. Song 
     violated Chinese criminal law by collecting historical 
     documents, yet the documents in Mr. Song's possession have 
     reportedly been previously published in newspapers, books and 
     other ``open'' sources;
       Whereas the historical material Mr. Song was gathering in 
     no way threatens the security of the Chinese government or 
     people;
       Whereas steps that China has taken to institute true legal 
     representation for criminal defendants are important 
     developments in China's internal modernization and in its 
     integration into the world community;
       Whereas despite these developments, criminal defense 
     lawyers in China, are subject to harassment and interference 
     and at times even arrest and imprisonment by Chinese 
     authorities while defending clients;
       Whereas criminal defense lawyers in China are often subject 
     to harassment from police, prosecutors and judges;
       Whereas in July, 1998 Liu Jian, a criminal defense lawyer 
     from Nanjing, China was imprisoned, subjected to beatings and 
     ``marathon'' interrogations after he represented a local 
     official accused of taking bribes;
       Whereas the legal system in the People's Republic of China 
     was greatly reformed in 1997, yet Chinese officials often 
     disregard the new laws; and
       Whereas in many cases judicial proceedings are closed to 
     public: Now, therefore be it:
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That the Congress calls on the Government of the 
     People's Republic of China to--
       (1) immediately release Yongyi Song from imprisonment and 
     drop all charges against him;
       (2) guarantee in the legal system in the People's Republic 
     of China fair and professional treatment for criminal defense 
     lawyers; and

[[Page S93]]

       (3) open more criminal proceedings in the People's Republic 
     of China to the public.

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