[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 71 (Tuesday, June 4, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H3131-H3132]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             13TH ANNIVERSARY OF TIANANMEN SQUARE MASSACRE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, today we mark the 13th anniversary of one of 
this century's most brutal attempts to silence the voices of freedom 
and liberty. Thirteen years ago today, the Chinese regime shocked the 
world as it rolled out the tanks and crushed the pro-democracy movement 
taking shape in Tiananmen Square.
  The authoritarian leaders of China still do not acknowledge the 
massacre of those brave young souls. We have not forgotten those who 
lost their lives for the cause of freedom. We must not forget those who 
are still imprisoned. Imagine that, people are still in prison 13 years 
later for speaking out for freedom. They have lost their liberty and 
the pursuit of basic human rights.
  Today, we renew our call for the Chinese Government to acknowledge 
the massacre, free all of those who are in prison because of peaceful 
expression of their political and religious beliefs.
  China must also allow the return and free expression of those who 
have been forced into exile. Mr. Speaker, in China if one speaks out 
for freedom, they are either imprisoned or in exile. One of those 
imprisoned, Wenli, founder of the China Democracy Party, is serving a 
13-year sentence in a Chinese prison. Mr. Xu is one of China's bravest, 
most eloquent and most measured advocates of democracy. He is not 
calling for the downfall of the Communist Party; he is just asking for 
the establishment of a democratic party in China. Yet he remains behind 
bars, despite being gravely ill from hepatitis contracted in prison.
  Mr. Speaker, the brave men and women who demonstrated for democracy 
in Tiananmen Square are the legitimate heirs to the legacy of our 
Founding Fathers. They quoted Thomas Jefferson. They built a monument 
fashioned after our Statue of Liberty. They looked to the United States 
as a beacon of hope and freedom. We looked, and still look, to them for 
their courage, their idealism, and their dedication to the 
establishment of basic human rights.
  The spirit of Tiananmen Square lives on. The seeds of democracy sown 
in 1989 have taken root, and they will inevitably burst forth in full 
flowering. I really wish that we could help them.
  In 1989, when many of us were concerned about the plight of those who 
were killed or arrested at the time of Tiananmen Square and a couple of 
years after that, we tried to have the U.S. weigh in. We were told at 
the time that we could not weigh in in favor of human rights because 
trade was going to improve human rights in China. Part of our complaint 
was indeed China's blocking of our products going into China.
  At that time, the trade deficit with China was about $2 billion a 
year. We thought that gave us great leverage to free the prisoners. 
Today, it is nearly $2 billion a week. So for all of those who said 
trade was going to improve human rights in China, sadly it has not; but 
we really have given away the store when it comes to trade with China 
because they have now a nearly $100 billion trade deficit. Think of the 
leverage that would have given us.
  In addition to that, one of our other concerns was China's 
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Our main concern was 
China's proliferation of nuclear technology to Pakistan and China's 
transfer of missile technology for the delivery of such a weapon to 
Pakistan. The administration, Democrats and Republicans alike, told us 
that China was going to be helpful in defusing the nuclear issue in 
south Asia; but, indeed, that was not the case.
  Indeed, China helped build Pakistan's nuclear program. China has 
contributed to the explosive situation that exists in south Asia today; 
but at the time when we were asking for the U.S. to use its leverage to 
promote democratic values, to promote our exports by having fair trade 
policy and to use our leverage to stop China's proliferation of weapons 
of mass destruction, we were told that the status quo would make 
everything right. Certainly it has not.
  I want to get back to those who are in prison, some still because of 
Tiananmen Square and others for their activities since. As we look to 
those people in China and we talk about the promotion of democratic 
values being a pillar of our foreign policy, they have to wonder what 
it means about being a pillar of our foreign policy when it comes to 
China. I know that there are many people in our country who, despite 
the policy of our government, still believe that we are a great country 
and that we want to promote democratic values.
  Mr. Speaker, I wish I could tell my colleagues human rights in China 
have gotten better since 1989, but the sad fact is they have not. 
According to our own State Department report, authorities are still 
quick to suppress any person or group, whether religious, political or 
social, that they perceive to be a threat to government or to national 
stability, that is what they always say; and the citizens who sought to 
express openly dissenting political and religious views continue to 
live in an environment filled with repression.
  Mr. Speaker, I just want to tell my colleagues that, call attention 
of our colleagues, to the lone man before the tank. The world will long 
remember the lone man before the tank, but I want to say here tonight 
that as much as the Chinese authorities may say to those in prison that 
they have not been forgotten, we know that in the Congress of the 
United States and that this country of ours, those prisoners are long 
remembered, and they are remembered by name, and we will mention those 
names as long as they are being repressed by the Chinese regime.

[[Page H3132]]

                              {time}  1915

  So again, Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to observe 
the June 4 massacre in China.

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