[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 48 (Wednesday, April 4, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H1467]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   OUR SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN IN CHINA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo Ann Davis) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address 
the situation developing in the People's Republic of China with respect 
to our servicemen and women.
  On April 1, one of our Navy's EP-3s was involved in a midair 
collision with a Chinese fighter craft. Tragically, it seems that the 
life of the Chinese pilot was lost when his fighter crashed into the 
sea. Our plane was forced to make an emergency landing in the People's 
Republic of China. What could simply have been an accident has now 
spiraled into an international incident because of the PRC's 
unreasonableness.
  Mr. Speaker, international law dictates that the PRC should not have 
entered our plane as it constitutes sovereign territory. This was 
ignored. Even after offering our regrets for the loss of their pilot 
and explicitly offering our assistance in the search, the PRC demands 
an apology.
  Mr. Speaker, we have offered our regrets. We have continually, over 
the past 8 years, time and again, shown patience with unreasonable 
demands put forth by the PRC. The time has come when we, as a House, 
should stand firm with the President and support his actions with 
respect to the PRC. No longer should we shrink at the prospect of 
standing for what is right.
  Mr. Speaker, the Chinese still are in possession of our pilots. It is 
time that they must do what is right. The PRC must release our 
servicemen now, before they are perceived as hostages of a foreign 
nation, for that is what they will be if they are not returned in a 
timely manner. Should the PRC wish to engage in a timely dialogue in 
the future, it must take constructive actions now. It must return our 
plane and return our servicemen and women.
  Mr. Speaker, politics should stop at the water's edge. We need to 
support our President.

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