[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 97 (Monday, July 24, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H6724-H6726]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 EXPRESSING SENSE OF CONGRESS CONCERNING RELEASE OF RABIYA KADEER, HER 
   SECRETARY AND SON BY GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

  Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur 
in the Senate concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 81) expressing the 
sense of the Congress that the Government of the People's Republic of 
China should immediately release Rabiya Kadeer, her secretary, and her 
son, and permit them to move to the United States if they so desire.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 81

       Whereas Rabiya Kadeer, a prominent ethnic Uighur from the 
     Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of the People's 
     Republic of China, her secretary, and her son were arrested 
     on August 11, 1999, in the city of Urumqi;
       Whereas Rabiya Kadeer's arrest occurred outside the Yindu 
     Hotel in Urumqi as she was attempting to meet a group of 
     congressional staff staying at the Yindu Hotel as part of an 
     official visit to China organized under the auspices of the 
     Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Program of the 
     United States Information Agency;
       Whereas Rabiya Kadeer's husband Sidik Rouzi, who has lived 
     in the United States since 1996 and works for Radio Free 
     Asia, has been critical of the policies of the People's 
     Republic of China toward Uighurs in Xinjiang;
       Whereas Rabiya Kadeer was sentenced on March 10 to 8 years 
     in prison ``with deprivation of political rights for two 
     years'' for the crime of ``illegally giving state information 
     across the border'';
       Whereas the Urumqi Evening Paper of March 12 reported 
     Rabiya Kadeer's case as follows: ``The court investigated the 
     following: The defendant Rabiya Kadeer, following the request 
     of her husband, Sidik Haji, who has settled in America, 
     indirectly bought a collection of the Kashgar Paper dated 
     from 1995-1998, 27 months, and some copies of the Xinjiang 
     Legal Paper and on 17 June 1999 sent them by post to Sidik 
     Haji. These were found by the customs. During July and August 
     1999 defendant Rabiya Kadeer gave copies of the Ili Paper and 
     Ili Evening Paper collected by others to Mohammed Hashem to 
     keep. Defendant Rabiya Kadeer sent these to Sidik Haji. Some 
     of these papers contained the speeches of leaders of 
     different levels; speeches about the strength of 
     rectification of public safety, news of political legal 
     organisations striking against national separatists and 
     terrorist activities etc. The papers sent were marked and 
     folded at relevant articles. As well as this, on 11 August 
     that year, defendant Rabiya Kadeer, following her husband's 
     phone commands, took a previously prepared list of people who 
     had been handled by judicial organisations, with her to 
     Kumush Astana Hotel [Yingdu Hotel] where she was to meet a 
     foreigner'';
       Whereas reports indicate that Ablikim Abdyirim was sent to 
     a labor camp on November 26 for 2 years without trial for 
     ``supporting Uighur separatism,'' and Rabiya Kadeer's 
     secretary was recently sentenced to 3 years in a labor camp;
       Whereas Rabiya Kadeer has 5 children, 3 sisters, and a 
     brother living in the United States, in addition to her 
     husband, and Kadeer has expressed a desire to move to the 
     United States;
       Whereas the People's Republic of China stripped Rabiya 
     Kadeer of her passport long before her arrest;
       Whereas reports indicate that Kadeer's health may be at 
     risk;
       Whereas the People's Republic of China signed the 
     International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on 
     October 5, 1998;
       Whereas that Covenant requires signatory countries to 
     guarantee their citizens the right to legal recourse when 
     their rights have been violated, the right to liberty and 
     freedom of movement, the right to presumption of innocence 
     until guilt is proven, the right to appeal a conviction, 
     freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, freedom of 
     opinion and expression, and freedom of assembly and 
     association;
       Whereas that Covenant forbids torture, inhuman or degrading 
     treatment, and arbitrary arrest and detention;
       Whereas the first Optional Protocol to the International 
     Covenant on Civil and Political Rights enables the Human 
     Rights Committee, set up under that Covenant, to receive and 
     consider communications from individuals claiming to be 
     victims of violations of any of the rights set forth in the 
     Covenant; and
       Whereas in signing that Covenant on behalf of the People's 
     Republic of China, Ambassador Qin Huasun, Permanent 
     Representative of the People's Republic of China to the 
     United Nations, said the following: ``To realize human rights 
     is the aspiration of all humanity. It is also a goal that the 
     Chinese Government has long been striving for. We believe 
     that the universality of human rights should be respected . . 
     . As a member state of the United Nations, China has always 
     actively participated in the activities of the organization 
     in the field of human rights. It attaches importance to its 
     cooperation with agencies concerned in the U.N. system . . 
     .'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress calls on the Government of the 
     People's Republic of China--
       (1) immediately to release Rabiya Kadeer, her secretary, 
     and her son; and
       (2) to permit Kadeer, her secretary, and her son to move to 
     the United States, if they so desire.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) and the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Sherman) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter).


                             General Leave

  Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on S. Con. Res. 81.

[[Page H6725]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Nebraska?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. BEREUTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Speaker, this Member stands in strong support of 
Senate Concurrent Resolution 81, which was introduced by the senior 
senator from Delaware, Senator William Roth, and approved by the Senate 
on May 2.
  On June 27, S. Con. Res. 81 was approved by the Subcommittee on Asia 
and the Pacific, which this Member chairs, and was subsequently 
approved unanimously by the Committee on International Relations on 
June 29.
  The resolution expresses the sense of the Congress that the People's 
Republic of China, PRC, should immediately release Rabiya Kadeer, her 
secretary, and her son, and allow them to move to the United States if 
they so desire.
  Rabiya Kadeer is a prominent ethnic Uigher from China, who was 
arrested as she was attempting to meet a congressional staff delegation 
visiting Urumqi as part of an official visit to China organized under 
the auspices of the Mutual Education and Cultural Exchange Program of 
the U.S. Information Agency.
  Subsequently, on March 10 of this year, Rabiya Kadeer was sentenced 
to 8 years in prison for the crime of ``illegally giving state 
information across the border.'' Previously, her son was sent to a 
labor camp for 2 years in November of 1999 for supporting Uighur 
separatism and her secretary was recently sentenced to 3 years in a 
labor camp. In Ms. Kadeer's case, the so-called ``state information'' 
appears to have consisted essentially of a collection of publicly 
available Chinese newspaper articles and speeches and a list of 
prisoners.
  As the resolution notes, this case appears to constitute a clear 
violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 
The Chinese Government's action in this case has been reprehensible and 
must be reversed. This resolution makes clear the strong sense of the 
Congress that Ms. Kadeer should be immediately released and allowed to 
join her family in the United States.
  Madam Speaker, approving S. Con. Res. 81 sends a strong message that 
while this body approves of improved trade relations, we are, 
nonetheless, mindful of the serious human rights problems that exist 
within the People's Republic of China.
  This is an entirely appropriate message to send, for the United 
States cannot turn a blind eye to the abuses that continue to exist in 
the PRC.
  Madam Speaker, this Member urges adoption of S. Con. Res. 81.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and 
commend the chairman of the Committee on International Relations (Mr. 
Gilman); the chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, my 
colleague here, the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter); and the 
ranking Democratic members, the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. 
Gejdenson) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), for their 
strong support.
  The subject of this resolution is Rabiya Kadeer, who is well-known as 
a Uighur businesswoman and known throughout China as ``the millionaire 
woman of Xinjiang.'' She is also a philanthropist of many programs 
designed to improve the lives of Uighur women and children.
  Her work led to her election as a member of a nationwide advisory 
body of the Chinese government from 1993 through 1997, and as a 
delegate to the United Nations Women's Conference in 1995. She has 
helped many Uighur women start businesses, and she has established 
English language classes for Uighur teenagers, several of whom she has 
sent to the United States for schooling.
  Rabiya Kadeer's husband, who is of Uighur descent, fled to the United 
States in 1996, and she was stripped of her government position when 
she refused to criticize him. Kadeer was arrested last year on her way 
to meet with congressional staff members, charged with providing 
information to foreigners, and sentenced to 8 years in prison.
  As my colleague from Nebraska pointed out, these charges were without 
merit. Unfortunately, it appears that Kadeer's real crime is that her 
husband now works for Radio Free Asia and he has been critical of the 
policies of the PRC toward Uighurs in Xinjiang. This situation is all 
the more troubling because Kadeer has five children and three sisters 
living in the United States in addition to her husband.
  This resolution before the House today calls on the Chinese to 
release Rabiya Kadeer, as well as her son, and secretary, arrested at 
the same time, and allow them to come to the United States.
  It is with regret that I note that this House passed a provision 
giving the People's Republic of China most favored nation status on a 
permanent basis, so the Chinese are free to ignore this resolution, 
without the slightest risk of losing a single penny of trade benefits 
with the United States, where they enjoy the largest trade surplus and 
one of the most lopsided trading relationships that one can imagine.
  So although I doubt this resolution will have much effect, given the 
fact that we have cut ourselves off from any way of really pressuring 
the Chinese government, it is the least we could do.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support Senate Concurrent 
Resolution 81.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Speaker, I urge support for the resolution.
  Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. Con. 
Res. 81, a resolution urging the Government of the People's Republic of 
China to release immediately and unconditionally the prominent Uighur 
businesswoman, Ms. Rebiya Kadeer.
  Madam Speaker, as co-chair of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus I 
have repeatedly voiced my deepest concern regarding Ms. Kadeer to the 
Chinese Government. Ms. Kadeer was detained by Chinese security forces 
in Urumqi, Xinjiang Province on August 11, 1999. A particularly 
disturbing circumstance is the fact that shortly before her arrest, her 
husband, Mr. Sidick Rozi, had testified to Members of Congress before 
the Congressional Human Rights Caucus on July 15, 1999, regarding human 
rights violations in Western China.
  As a prominent businesswoman, Ms. Kadeer is well known and respected 
in the United States. Her efforts to promote business enterprises by 
Uighur women have been recognized by Chinese authorities as 
contributing to the overall economic and social development of the 
Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. Until 1998, she even served as an 
elected official in the Provincial People's Political Consultative 
Congress.
  On September 2, 1999, however, according to press reports she was 
charged with the serious crime of ``illegally offering state secrets 
across the border.'' Ms. Kadeer was detained on August 11, 1999, while 
on her way to meet with a U.S. congressional staff delegation, whom she 
intended to give information about political prisoners in Xinjiang. She 
was convicted under Article 111 of the Chinese Criminal Law. According 
to Radio Free Asia, neither Kadeer nor her lawyer were allowed to speak 
at her trial.
  Chinese officials never produced evidence of criminal wrongdoing 
against Ms. Kadeer. She was nonetheless sentenced to 8 years in prison 
in a secret trial at the Urumqi City Intermediate People's Court in the 
capital of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. In addition, 
according to information we have received, she is currently detained at 
Liudaowan jail, a jail notorious for mistreatment of prisoners.
  In addition to Ms. Kadeer, her son, Ablikim Abyirim, and her 
secretary, Kahriman Abdukirim, were also detained in August and were 
administratively sentenced to 2- and 3-year terms, respectively, on 
November 26, 1999. They are currently being held at the Walabai 
Reeducation Through Labor School.
  Madam Speaker, the trial and the totally fabricated charges brought 
against Ms. Kadeer, her son, and her secretary are blatant violations 
of international judicial standards. As the other body prepares to 
consider PNTR for the Peoples Republic of China, it is my hope that our 
colleagues keep these outrageous human rights violations in mind. The 
Economist reports that China executed three Uighurs as recently as the 
first week of July of this year, and the harassment and the crackdown 
against Tibetans, the Falun Gong, and political dissidents continues 
unabated.

[[Page H6726]]

  Madam Speaker, it is high time to send the PRC a clear message. The 
resolution before the House sends a clear message. I urge my colleagues 
to support it.
  Mr. PORTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to support this resolution 
and join with my colleague in urging the Chinese authorities to release 
from Rebiya Kadeer, her secretary and her son, and permit them to move 
to the United States, if they desire.
  Ms. Kadeer is a well respected businesswoman who was once officially 
touted as an inspiration to her fellow members of the Uighur ethnic 
group. On March 10th, 2000, Ms. Kadeer was sentenced to 8 years in jail 
for ``giving information to separatists outside the country.'' Her 
efforts to business enterprises have been recognized by Chinese 
authorities as contributing to the overall economic and social 
development of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, one of the 
poorest regions throughout China.
  However, in 1997, Ms. Kadeer was stripped of her passport, and with 
it the right to freedom of movement as well as subjected to continual 
police harassments. These actions were clearly aimed at silencing her 
husband, Mr. Sidick Rozi, a former political prisoner who has been an 
outspoken critic of China's treatment of the Uighur minority in Western 
China. Mr. Rozi, now living in the United States, has made numerous 
statements on Radio Free Asia, Voice of America and testified last July 
before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus concerning the extremely 
harsh discriminations suffered by the Uighur minority. Ms. Kadeer was 
made a hostage in her own country, unable to join her husband and a 
number of her children in the United States, simply because of the 
political activities of her husband.
  On August 11th, 1999 Rebiya Kadeer was arrested while she was on her 
way to meet with a group of congressional staff visiting China. She was 
charged in September with ``providing secret information to 
foreigners.'' Ms. Kadeer does not have access to ``state secrets,'' she 
is a businesswoman, not a political activist. After 7 months of 
detention and the arrest and subsequent arbitrary sentencing of her 
secretary and one son, Ms. Kadeer was given a 4-hour trial. During this 
trial, neither she nor her lawyer were able to speak, none of her 
children were allowed to attend and the 300 Uighurs who had gathered at 
the courthouse were dispersed by Chinese police.
  If China wants to be a full partner in the international arena, it 
has to start abiding by international norms and living within the rule 
of law. Seven months of arbitrary detention and a trial where the 
defendant's lawyer is not allowed to speak is not an accepted practice 
within the international community and should not be an accepted 
practice in China.
  Ms. Kadeer was traveling to meet with congressional staff, official 
representatives of the U.S. Government, when she was detained. This did 
not seem to matter to the Chinese and it appears to be one of the 
factors for the timing of her arrest. Clearly, the Chinese were sending 
a signal: Any citizen who meets with or talks to U.S. citizens is 
risking detention, arrest and a prison sentence.
  Incidences such as this prove that now is not the time to ease the 
pressure on China. We in the United States, and around the world must 
never give up our ideals and belief in human freedom, and need to 
pressure dictators, oppressors and abusers around the world that lack 
the respect for the rule of law and for human life. Only if Ms. 
Kadeer's case is brought to the highest level of our administration and 
the Chinese Government is there any hope that Ms. Kadeer will not spend 
the next 8 years of her life in a Chinese prison--8 years she should be 
spending with her husband and 10 children--and for speaking up for the 
most basic human rights of her people, the Uighurs.
  Mr. NETHERCUTT. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the work of the 
International Relations Committee, particularly the Subcommittee on 
International Operations and Human Rights and the Subcommittee on Asia 
and the Pacific, in moving this important resolution forward. Today we 
are considering the Senate version of the resolution I introduced, H. 
Con. Res. 249, which has 11 cosponsors.
  As the chairman has noted, this resolution expresses the sense of 
Congress that the People's Republic of China should immediately release 
Rabiya Kadeer, her secretary and her son, and permit them to move to 
the United States.
  Kadeer is a 53-year-old entrepreneur from China's Xingjiang 
Autonomous Region. As a member of the Uighur minority, she emerged as a 
symbol of how minorities could succeed in China. However, her 
relationship with the Chinese Government deteriorated after her 
husband's emigration to the United States in 1997. Sidik Rouzi has 
become a prominent critic of China's Xingjiang policies and testified 
last summer before the House Congressional Human Rights Caucus.
  On August 11, 1999, Rabiya Kadeer, her secretary, and two of her sons 
were arrested in Urumqi, China and charged with ``illegally providing 
intelligence for foreign organizations.'' She was apparently arrested 
en route to a previously scheduled meeting with U.S. congressional 
staff. A member of my staff was part of this official delegation, 
organized under the auspices of the Mutual Educational and Cultural 
Exchange Program of the U.S. Information Agency.
  The arrest prior to a meeting with an official delegation was an 
affront to Congress. Members and staff should be allowed to travel 
internationally and conduct their official duties without fear that 
their visit will trigger retributive action by the host country. One 
purpose of this staff delegation was to encourage mutual understanding 
and cultural exchange--the arrest was clearly contrary to this purpose. 
Such intimidation should never accompany an official delegation visit.
  Even more troubling, Kadeer was convicted and sentenced to 8 years in 
prison for merely mailing copies of local newspapers to her husband in 
the United States. Apparently, her high crime was to mark and fold the 
newspapers in such a way that she was illegally revealing state 
information.
  In February, I received a letter from the Chinese Ambassador noting 
``Ethnic secessionism in Xingjiang and Tibet is a deep concern for us. 
I hope our American friends could put themselves in our shoes when 
approaching this issue.'' I do not believe that Chinese concerns about 
ethnic affairs merit a suspension of human rights.
  Indeed, this resolution merely calls for the People's Republic of 
China to adhere to International Covenant on Civil and Political 
Rights, which guarantees citizens the right to legal recourse when 
their rights have been violated and forbids arbitrary arrest and 
detention. Even though a Chinese court dismissed this case last 
November for lack of evidence, Kadeer was tried again. The second trial 
lasted all of two hours, and according to Human Rights Watch, neither 
she nor her attorney were permitted to even speak. China signed this 
Covenant in 1998 and has an obligation to respect the civil and 
political rights of all Chinese citizens, irrespective of their 
ethnicity.
  I urge my colleagues in the House to join the other body in passing 
this important resolution. China should immediately release Rabiya 
Kadeer, her secretary, and her son, and should allow them to move to 
the United States. Vote in support of this resolution and send a strong 
message to China that they must respect the political rights of all of 
their citizens.
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the chairmen and ranking 
minority members of the International Operations and Human Rights, and 
the Asia and Pacific Subcommittees for their work on this important 
resolution.
  Ms. Rabiya Kadeer, her son and secretary were arrested in Chinese-
occupied East Turkestan or the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region on 
August 11, 1999, as they were attempting to meet with a group of 
congressional staff. Ms. Kadeer's husband works for Radio Free Asia and 
has been critical of the Chinese occupation of his homeland. After 
their arrest, the three individuals were eventually accused of 
illegally giving Mr. Kadeer various news clippings and public speeches 
concerning the struggle in East Turkestan.
  Ms. Kadeer was sentenced to 8 years in prison, her son was sent to a 
labor camp for 2 years and her secretary to 3 years. The resolution 
calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to 
immediately release them and permit them to move to the United States 
if so they desire. I urge my colleagues to support the resolution.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) that the House suspend the rules 
and concur in the Senate concurrent resolution, S. Con. Res. 81.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate concurrent resolution 
was concurred in.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________