[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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