[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 131 (Tuesday, September 23, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S11860]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S11860]]
   SENATE RESOLUTION 230--CALLING ON THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA 
IMMEDIATELY AND UNCONDITIONALLY TO RELEASE REBIYA KADEER, AND FOR OTHER 
                                PURPOSES

  Mr. LUGAR (for himself, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Biden, Mr. Dodd, 
and Mr. Brownback) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 230

       Whereas Rebiya Kadeer, a prominent businesswoman from 
     Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of 
     China, was arrested in September 1999, while trying to meet 
     United States Congressional staff;
       Whereas the Congressional staff was on an official visit to 
     China organized under the auspices of the Mutual Educational 
     and Cultural Exchange Program of the United States 
     Information Agency;
       Whereas Rebiya Kadeer was convicted at a secret trial and 
     sentenced on March 10, 2000, to 8 years in prison for 
     ``illegally giving state information across the border'';
       Whereas the newspapers she was carrying with her at the 
     time of her arrest were all available to the public;
       Whereas from 1993 to 1998, Rebiya Kadeer was elected as a 
     member of the Provincial People's Political Consultative 
     Conference in Xinjiang;
       Whereas in 1995, Rebiya Kadeer was a delegate to the United 
     Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing;
       Whereas Rebiya Kadeer's health is deteriorating in prison 
     and she is finding it difficult to perform her prison labor 
     due to sickness;
       Whereas Rebiya Kadeer is the mother of 10 children;
       Whereas the United States Department of State has 
     repeatedly expressed concerns about the continued 
     imprisonment of Rebiya Kadeer;
       Whereas United States Assistant Secretary of State for 
     Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Lorne Craner, visited 
     Xinjiang in December 2002 with the expectation that she would 
     soon be released;
       Whereas the day before Secretary Craner's visit to 
     Xinjiang, 3 of Rebiya Kadeer's children were taken into 
     custody and were released later with strict instructions not 
     to talk to anyone about their mother's case;
       Whereas Rebiya Kadeer's case was brought up before a 
     hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on 
     September 11, 2003, by T. Kumar of Amnesty International USA;
       Whereas Chinese authorities are ignoring repeated requests 
     from the United States Congress to release her; and
       Whereas President Bush is planning to attend the APEC 
     Conference in October 2003, in Thailand and is planning to 
     have meetings with the Chinese President, Hu Jintao, at the 
     Conference: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) condemns and deplores the detention of Rebiya Kadeer 
     and calls for her immediate and unconditional release;
       (2) urges President Bush to take urgent steps to secure the 
     release of Rebiya Kadeer as soon as possible; and
       (3) urges President Bush to demand Rebiya Kadeer's 
     immediate release when he meets with Chinese President Hu 
     Jintao at the APEC Conference.

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