[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 7 (Wednesday, February 2, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S293-S294]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 252--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT REBIYA 
KADEER, HER FAMILY MEMBER AND BUSINESS ASSOCIATE, SHOULD BE RELEASED BY 
                     THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

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

                              S. Res. 252

       Whereas members of the Uighur minority population in 
     Xinjiang, China, are subject to ongoing repression and 
     violations of their internationally recognized rights of free 
     expression, association, and belief;
       Whereas on August 11, 1999, the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China arbitrarily detained Rebiya Kadeer, a 
     prominent and respected Uighur businesswoman well-known in 
     the United States;
       Whereas from 1993 to 1998, Ms. Kadeer was an elected member 
     of the Provincial People's Political Consultative Conference 
     in Xinjiang;
       Whereas in 1995, Ms. Kadeer was a delegate to the United 
     Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing;
       Whereas the police have detained Ms. Kadeer previously and 
     kept her under close surveillance, threatening her because of 
     the alleged separatist activities of her husband, who came to 
     the United States in 1996 and was granted political asylum 
     after publishing articles critical of the Chinese Government;
       Whereas on September 2, 1999, Chinese authorities formally 
     charged Ms. Kadeer with ``illegally offering state secrets 
     across the border'', and she is currently detained in Urumqi, 
     the capital of Xinjiang;
       Whereas Ms. Kadeer's son, Ablikim Abdyirim, and her 
     secretary, Kahriman

[[Page S294]]

     Abdukirim, were also arbitrarily detained by Chinese security 
     forces in August 1999 in Urumqi, without any justification or 
     evidence of their involvement in criminal activities of any 
     kind; and
       Whereas on November 20, 1999, Ablikim Abdyirim was sent for 
     2 years to the Wulabai Reeducation Through Labor School, 
     without charge or judicial review, in clear violation of 
     international human rights standards, and Kahriman Abdukirim 
     received a 3-year sentence in the same facility: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, that the President should express to the 
     representatives of the Government of the People's Republic of 
     China the sense of the Senate that Ms. Kadeer, her family 
     members and business associate, should be immediately and 
     unconditionally released.

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, China's terrible treatment of ethnic 
minority Uighurs, a Muslim community in the northwestern province of 
Xinjiang, has not received the same level of international attention as 
that of the Tibetans. The Uighurs are also subject to ongoing 
repression and violations of their internationally recognized rights of 
free expression, association and belief. The Chinese government is 
cracking down on a separatist movement in Xinjiang as part of its 
overall strategy of maintaining ``stability'' at all costs. According 
to human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human 
Rights Watch, over the past year China has used draconian measures 
including public sentencing rallies, long prison terms, and--
alarmingly--a rising number of executions of suspected ``splittists.''
  In an apparent attempt to stop the flow of information overseas about 
this crackdown, Chinese security officials arbitrarily detained a 
prominent Uighur businesswoman, Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, this past August in 
Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang. Her husband is a U.S. resident who 
broadcasts on Radio Free Asia and the Voice of America, championing the 
cause of his people.
  For years, Ms. Kadeer has been praised by the Chinese government for 
her efforts to promote development in Xinjiang, including a project 
helping Uighur women develop their own businesses. She has also been 
praised in the Wall Street Journal for her business savvy. She owns a 
department store in Urumqi as well as a profitable trading company.
  But now she has been put out of business, is being held in prison 
awaiting trial, charged last September with ``illegally offering state 
secrets across the border.'' Even worse, her son and her secretary were 
also detained and have already been sent to a labor camp. If Ms. Kadeer 
is convicted, she could be sent to prison for many years.
  Ms. Kadeer's case demonstrates that even business people in China are 
not safe from the arbitrary use of state power. As China tries to 
become a member of the World Trade Organization, this reality is 
crucial to bear in mind--both for Chinese and foreign investors.
  I urge my colleagues to call on the President to seek the immediate, 
unconditional release of Ms. Kadeer, her son, and secretary. Today I 
offer a sense of the Senate resolution urging their release, and hope 
it can be considered quickly and adopted unanimously by this body.

                          ____________________