[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 65 (Monday, May 20, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4569-S4571]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 114--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS 
REGARDING NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES WHO ARE DETAINED IN CHINA AND RETURNED 
  TO NORTH KOREA WHERE THEY FACE TORTURE, IMPRISONMENT, AND EXECUTION

  Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself and Mr. Kennedy) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 114

       Whereas the Government of North Korea is one of the most 
     oppressive regimes and was identified by the President of the 
     United States as one of the three countries forming an ``axis 
     of evil'';
       Whereas the Government of North Korea is controlled by the 
     Korean Workers Party, which does not recognize the right of 
     North Koreans to exercise the freedoms of speech, religion, 
     press, assembly, or association;
       Whereas the Government of North Korea imposes severe 
     punishments for crimes such as attempted defection, slander 
     of the Korean Workers Party, listening to foreign broadcasts, 
     possessing printed matter that is considered reactionary by 
     the Korean Workers Party, and holding prohibited religious 
     beliefs;
       Whereas at least 1,000,000 North Koreans are estimated to 
     have died of starvation since 1995 because of the failure of 
     the centralized agricultural system operated by the 
     Government of North Korea and because of severe drought;
       Whereas the combination of political, social, and religious 
     persecution, economic deprivation, and the risk of starvation 
     in North Korea is causing many North Koreans to flee to 
     China;
       Whereas between 100,000 and 300,000 North Korean refugees 
     are estimated to be residing in China without the permission 
     of the Government of China;
       Whereas the Governments of China and North Korea have 
     reportedly begun aggressive campaigns to locate North Koreans 
     who reside without permission in China and to forcibly return 
     them to North Korea;
       Whereas North Koreans who seek asylum in China and are 
     refused, are returned to North Korea where they have 
     reportedly been imprisoned and tortured, and in many cases 
     killed;
       Whereas the United Nations Convention Relating to the 
     Status of Refugees of 1951, as modified and incorporated by 
     reference by the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees 
     of 1967, defines a refugee as a person who ``owing to well-
     founded fear of being

[[Page S4570]]

     persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, 
     membership of a particular social group or political opinion, 
     is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, 
     owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the 
     protection of that country'';
       Whereas despite China's obligations as a party to the 
     United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 
     of 1951 and the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees 
     of 1967, China routinely classifies North Koreans seeking 
     asylum in China as ``economic migrants'' and returns the 
     refugees to North Korea without regard to the serious threat 
     of persecution they will face upon their return;
       Whereas the Government of China is party to the United 
     Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951 
     and the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees of 1967 
     and must respect the term of these agreements;
       Whereas in recent weeks, Chinese authorities have increased 
     security around diplomatic properties and reportedly have 
     stepped up detentions of North Koreans hiding in the country, 
     in response to 28 North Koreans seeking asylum who rushed 
     several foreign embassies;
       Whereas on May 9th, eight North Koreans seeking political 
     asylum rushed the United States and Japanese consulates in 
     the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang, including three 
     who scaled a wall and made it into the United States mission; 
     and
       Whereas Chinese police captured the other five, including a 
     toddler, allegedly by entering the Japanese Consulate 
     compound without permission, and dragging five people out, in 
     clear violation of the provisions of the Vienna Convention on 
     Consular Relations ensuring the inviolability of consular 
     missions: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress encourages--
       (1) the Government of China to honor its obligations under 
     the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of 
     Refugees of 1951, as modified and incorporated by reference 
     by the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees of 1967, 
     by--
       (A) making genuine efforts to identify and protect the 
     refugees among the North Korean migrants encountered by 
     Chinese authorities, including providing the refugees with a 
     reasonable opportunity to petition for asylum;
       (B) allowing the United Nations High Commissioner for 
     Refugees to have access to all North Korean asylum seekers 
     and refugees residing in China;
       (C) halting the forced repatriations of North Korean 
     refugees seeking asylum in China; and
       (D) cooperating with the United Nations High Commissioner 
     for Refugees in efforts to resettle the North Korean refugees 
     residing in China to other countries;
       (2) the Government of China to permit access to the United 
     Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in order to evaluate 
     the asylum claims and to facilitate the resettlement of the 
     North Korean refugees residing in China in other countries; 
     and
       (3) the United States Government to consider asylum claims 
     and refugee claims of North Koreans arising from a well-
     founded fear of persecution.

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Madam President, I appreciate the opportunity to speak 
a few minutes ahead of the Republican time. I want to draw my 
colleagues' attention to an issue Senator Kennedy and I are working on 
together and that is increasing in importance and focus. And that is 
what is taking place in North Korea and its border with China.
  We have in that area approximately 150,000 to 300,000 North Korean 
refugees who have fled North Korea and the very oppressive regime there 
and are now being hunted down and sent back to North Korea to prison 
camps, to, in some cases, death and other circumstances that are 
horrible that may be just short of death in North Korea.
  I want to outline what is taking place and a couple of action items 
this body can take up.
  If a picture is worth 1,000 words, this picture says it all. On May 
9, eight North Koreans were rushed inside the United States and 
Japanese consulates in Shenyang in northeastern China some 125 miles 
from the North Korean border. Five of those sought refuge in the 
Japanese consulate, including this 2-year-old girl who has the 
beautiful pigtails and in any other sitting you might think is cute--
she is cute in this one as well--sought refuge in the Japanese 
consulate. They were forcibly removed from inside the consulate 
compound by the Chinese paramilitary security forces--two of whom you 
see arresting this girl's mother and why she is crying--and placed in 
Chinese police detention.
  This morning's news came out that a Korean-American pastor had been 
detained by Chinese authorities for protecting 14 North Korean orphans 
in this same area.
  Pastor Joseph Choi, 47, an American citizen, was detained in Yanbian, 
northeastern China, on May 9 along with 14 North Korean children. He 
was protecting these 14 orphans and providing them food and shelter. He 
was arrested, and that news came out this morning.
  As you may know, the facts regarding this particular child and her 
family are at dispute, although the videotape of the incident, which I 
have reviewed, leaves no doubt that the Chinese authorities trespassed 
on the Japanese consulate compound. Chinese authorities allege that 
these five persons in Shenyang never made it inside the Japanese 
consulate compound. Once inside that compound, this is Japanese 
sovereign territory. They said the consulate had requested that the 
Chinese security forces remove the asylum seekers. Japanese consulate 
officials deny these allegations. A videotape filmed by a Japanese 
journalist documents their entry into the Japanese consulate compound 
and the forcible removal that took place.
  Tokyo has demanded that Beijing apologize, release the detainees, and 
assure safe passage for these asylum-seekers and a promise that such 
intrusions won't happen again. As of this morning, China continues to 
detain the five individuals including the 2-year-old child, including 
the pastor and 14 other orphans.
  A large-scale problem exists of North Koreans fleeing political and 
religious oppression and starvation and seeking refuge in northeastern 
China. There are an estimated 150,000 to 300,000 North Korean refugees 
living illegally in China. China has a treaty with North Korea under 
which China agrees to view these individuals as illegal immigrants or 
``economic migrants'' and to send them back, without consideration of 
the persecution they may face upon their return. The Chinese Government 
refuses to permit the UNHCR to screen fleeing North Koreans to 
determine whether they deserve political asylum. Furthermore, under 
Chinese law, anyone aiding a fleeing North Korean is subject to a fine, 
and bounties are paid to Chinese citizens who turn in North Koreans to 
the Chinese authorities--bounty hunting.
  Since the end of April, Chinese authorities have increased the use of 
the People's Armed Police, a paramilitary security force guarding 
foreign diplomatic properties, in order to thwart further asylum 
attempts. An estimated 312 North Koreans have defected to South Korea 
to date.
  The United States is the leading donor of food to North Korea, which 
cannot feed its 22 million people. American negotiators should insist 
on assurances that this aid is reaching those most in need.
  Since 1995, the United States has provided more than $500 million in 
food and other commodities to North Korea--up to 350,000 metric tons of 
food each year. This year this aid is down to 155,000 metric tons 
because of demands for aid in Afghanistan; other countries are also 
sending less to North Korea. But American deliveries of food and fuel 
remain critical to Pyongyang.
  More than 2 million North Koreans are reported to have died from 
starvation and related diseases between 1994 and 1998, and large 
pockets of hunger and starvation remain. At least 40 percent of 
children under 5 are malnourished, according to the World Food Program, 
a United Nations agency.
  No one really knows, however, how much donated food is diverted to 
the North Korean military, police, Communist Party officials, essential 
workers, and those loyal to the regime. The World Food Program argues 
that food aid is not going to the military because the military has the 
first cut from national harvests. But the agency has no evidence 
because there is no independent monitoring of donated food.
  In the coming negotiations, the United States should insist upon 
unrestricted access to all areas of the country where food is 
delivered. It should require lists of the actual institutions to which 
food and medicines are going and uncontrolled access for the World Food 
Program. It should press the North Korean Government to allow 
international aid groups to set up feeding stations of their own that 
are accessible to all hungry North Koreans.
  More importantly, the precarious situation of the North Koreans who 
have crossed into China should also be on

[[Page S4571]]

the table. These desperate people foraging for food are treated as 
illegal immigrants and hunted down. When forcibly returned to North 
Korea, they may face imprisonment or worse. And we should demand of the 
Chinese government to let these people go--let them go to a third 
country.
  The Government of Korea is one of the most repressive regimes in the 
world and was identified by the President as one of three countries 
forming an ``axis of evil.'' It is also an economic disaster in which a 
centralized agricultural system has led to millions starving to death. 
Yet it is flanked on all sides by some of the most successful economies 
in the world.
  This picture and the video tape that has been played continuously in 
Japan, Korea, and around the world has shocked the conscience of people 
everywhere. Yet, we should be reminded it was not so long ago that the 
world at times ignored similar pictures and stories--during World War 
II, Cambodia, and Kosovo, to mention just a few. In North Korea today, 
we are facing a similar evil.
  I am reminded of a story during World War II about a church along a 
railroad track that routinely carried people in trains on their way to 
the Nazi concentration camps. When members of the congregation could no 
longer ignore the cries for help from those trains, some insisted that 
they sing louder. I hope we will listen, learn and act. What we should 
be afraid of is not the deeds of ``evil'' but the conscience of the 
world. This child is watching us, judging us. I hope China does the 
right thing.
  At this time, I ask unanimous consent to submit a sense-of-the-Senate 
resolution, along with Senator Kennedy, my colleague and chairman of 
the Immigration Subcommittee, where I serve as the ranking member. The 
purpose of this resolution is simple and direct: under both 
international laws and on humanitarian grounds, China should release 
this girl and her family as well as the Korean American pastor and 14 
orphans immediately and provide them safe passage to a third country. I 
encourage my colleagues in joining Senator Kennedy and myself in 
supporting this resolution and getting quick passage so that we can 
send a strong message to China to let these people go.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered. The resolution will be received and appropriately referred.

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