[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 44 (Friday, April 7, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3396-S3397]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 88--URGING THE GOVERNMENT OF CHINA TO 
  REINSTATE ALL LICENSES OF GAO ZHISHENG AND HIS LAW FIRM, REMOVE ALL 
LEGAL AND POLITICAL OBSTACLES FOR LAWYERS ATTEMPTING TO DEFEND CRIMINAL 
 CASES IN CHINA, INCLUDING POLITICALLY SENSITIVE CASES, AND REVISE LAW 
  AND PRACTICE IN CHINA SO THAT IT CONFORMS TO INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

  Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself and Mr. Brownback) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committees on Foreign 
Relations;

                            S. Con. Res. 88

       Whereas, since November 2005, the Beijing Judicial Bureau 
     has shut down the law firm and suspended the license of Mr. 
     Gao Zhisheng, one of China's best known lawyers and legal 
     rights defenders;
       Whereas Mr. Gao has represented citizens of China in 
     lawsuits against various local and administrative 
     governmental bodies of the People's Republic of China over 
     corruption, land seizures, police abuse, and violations of 
     religious freedom;
       Whereas Mr. Gao wrote 3 open letters to President Hu Jintao 
     and Premier Wen Jiabao condemning the methods employed by the 
     Government of China in implementing its ban on ``evil 
     cults'', such as the Falun Gong and an additional letter 
     documenting severe persecution of Christians in Xinjiang 
     Uighur Autonomous Region;
       Whereas Mr. Gao's law practice filed a petition to appeal 
     the verdict against Cai Zhuohua, who was found guilty of 
     ``illegal business practices'' based upon his distribution of 
     Bibles and religious material;
       Whereas Mr. Gao's home has been constantly monitored by 
     agents from the Ministry of State Security and Mr. Gao was 
     prevented by the Public Security Ministry from meeting with 
     the representatives of the United Nations Special Rapporteur 
     on Torture during his November 2005 visit to Beijing;
       Whereas agents of the Public Security Bureau of China, 
     numbering between 10 and 20, have consistently monitored the 
     activities and whereabouts of Mr. Gao, his wife, and his 
     daughter since late November 2005;
       Whereas, on November 10, 2005, an open letter, signed by 
     138 organizations worldwide, was submitted to President Bush 
     calling on him to voice support of Mr. Gao and his legal 
     practice during the President's November 2005 visit to China;
       Whereas other human rights lawyers, collectively known as 
     ``rights defenders'', or Wei Quan, have also faced 
     harassment, arrest, and detention for their consistent and 
     vigorous activities to defend the fundamental rights of the 
     people of China, contrary to measures within the law of China 
     protecting human rights and rights of lawyers;
       Whereas Mr. Chen Guangcheng, a blind human rights lawyer 
     who has exposed cases of violence against women, including 
     forced abortion and forced sterilization perpetrated by 
     authorities of China under the 1-child policy, was beaten on 
     October 10, 2005, and currently remains under house arrest;
       Whereas law professor and People's Political Consultative 
     Congress Delegate, Xu Zhiyong, who advocates on behalf of 
     petitioners filing grievances with the Central government in 
     Beijing, was also beaten on October 10, 2005, when meeting 
     with Chen Guangcheng;
       Whereas Mr. Yang Maodong (also known as Guo Feixiong), a 
     lawyer representing villagers in Taishi village who attempted 
     to oust their village head in peaceful elections, has been 
     arbitrarily detained repeatedly and remains under consistent 
     surveillance by security agents;
       Whereas Mr. Tang Jingling, a Guangdong based lawyer also 
     working on the Taishi village elections case, has been fired 
     from his law firm and was beaten on February 2, 2006, after 
     attempting to meet with Yang Maodong;
       Whereas, according to the Department of State 2005 Country 
     Reports on Human Rights Practices, lawyers who aggressively 
     tried to defend their clients continued to face serious 
     intimidation and abuse by police and prosecutors, and some of 
     these lawyers were detained;
       Whereas the Constitution of China states that the courts 
     shall, in accordance with the law, exercise judicial power 
     independently, without interference from administrative 
     organs, social organizations, and individuals, but in 
     practice, the judiciary is not independent and it receives 
     policy guidance from both the Government of China and the 
     Communist Party, whose leaders use a variety of means to 
     direct courts on verdicts and sentences, particularly in 
     politically sensitive cases;
       Whereas the Criminal Procedure Law of China gives suspects 
     the right to seek legal counsel, but defendants in 
     politically sensitive cases frequently find it difficult to 
     find an attorney;
       Whereas the Lawyers Law of the People's Republic of China 
     states that a lawyer may ``accept engagement by a criminal 
     suspect in a criminal case to provide him with legal advice 
     and represent him in filing a petition or charge or obtaining 
     a guarantor pending trial'';
       Whereas according to Article 306 of the Criminal Law of 
     China, defense attorneys can be held responsible if their 
     clients commit perjury, and prosecutors and judges in such 
     cases have wide discretion in determining what constitutes 
     perjury;
       Whereas according to the All-China Lawyers Association, 
     since 1997 more than 500 defense attorneys have been detained 
     on similar charges, and such cases continued during the last 
     year despite promises made by the Government of China to 
     amend Article 306;
       Whereas the State Department's 2005 Annual Report on Human 
     Rights states that China's human rights record ``remained 
     poor'', that authorities of China quickly moved to suppress 
     those who openly expressed dissenting political views, and 
     that writers, religious activists, dissidents, lawyers, and 
     petitioners to the Central Government were particularly 
     targeted;
       Whereas directly following their August 2005 visit to 
     China, the United States Commission on International 
     Religious Freedom found that--
       (1) the Government of China actively seeks to control and 
     suppress the activities of unregistered religious 
     organizations;
       (2) China has outlawed unregistered religious organizations 
     and provides severe penalties for engaging in unregistered 
     religious activities;
       (3) leaders of unregistered Protestant organizations have 
     come under increased pressure to register their churches and 
     affiliate with one of the government approved organizations, 
     and those who refuse, for theological or other reasons, are 
     subject to harassment, detention, arrest, and closing of 
     their religious facilities;
       (4) groups determined by the Government of China to be 
     ``evil cults'', such as Falun Gong, are brutally suppressed; 
     and
       (5) practitioners of Falun Gong have experienced severe 
     persecution, including arrests, numerous detentions, torture, 
     irregular trials, imprisonment, and subjection to the 
     reeducation through labor system, whereby accused criminals 
     are subject to up to 3 years detention;
       Whereas despite questions raised by the Government of the 
     United States and others about the charges made against 
     Pastor Cai Zhuohua, the Government of China sentenced Pastor 
     Cai and other members of his family to 3 years in prison for 
     ``illegal business practices'' for their printing and 
     distribution of religious materials;
       Whereas, according to China's Regulations on Religious 
     Affairs, promulgated in March 2005, any religious 
     organization that carries out activities without registering 
     with the government is subject to civil punishment and to 
     criminal prosecution;
       Whereas since the promulgation of the Regulations on 
     Religious Affairs, the Government of China has stepped up its 
     efforts to eliminate unregistered religious activity, with 
     raids on ``house church'' Christian groups in several 
     provinces, resulting in detention of hundreds of leaders of 
     the house church, dozens of whom remain in custody; and
       Whereas the Government of China has, on several occasions, 
     stated a commitment to ratify the International Covenant on 
     Civil and Political Rights, but has delayed ratification 
     since signing the document in 1998: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That--
       (1) Congress--
       (A) commends ``rights defense'' lawyers and activists of 
     China for their courage and integrity, and expresses moral 
     support for

[[Page S3397]]

     this grass-roots ``rights defense'' movement in China;
       (B) urges the Government of the People's Republic of China, 
     at all levels, to cease its harassment of Mr. Gao Zhisheng, 
     overturn the suspension of his license to practice law, and 
     restore his legal right to represent the clients of his 
     choosing as protected by China's own Constitution, its 
     Criminal Procedure Law, and its Lawyers Law;
       (C) urges the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     to repeal Article 306 of the Criminal Code of China, which 
     provides penalties for lawyers whose clients are accused of 
     perjury and has been used to curtail the active legal defense 
     of individuals accused of political crimes;
       (D) urges the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     to undertake measures to further amend the Lawyers Law to 
     ensure lawyers' rights to investigate charges brought against 
     their clients, to provide a vigorous defense of their 
     clients, and to remain free of harassment and intimidation 
     throughout the course of representing clients, including 
     clients who are charged with offenses related to political or 
     religious activities;
       (E) urges the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     to respect fully the universality of the right to freedom of 
     religion or belief and other human rights;
       (F) urges the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     to ratify and implement in law the International Covenant on 
     Civil and Political Rights, and to adopt such legislative or 
     other measures as may be necessary to give effect to the 
     rights recognized in the Covenant;
       (G) urges the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     to amend or repeal Article 300 of the Criminal Code of China 
     so it is consistent with international law, and to halt its 
     crackdown on spiritual movements;
       (H) urges the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     to halt arrests, harassment, and intimidation of leaders of 
     unregistered religious organizations on the basis that their 
     organizations violated the law by not registering with the 
     Government of China;
       (I) urges the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     to Amend the Regulations on Religious Affairs to conform more 
     closely with the internationally recognized freedom of 
     thought, conscience, religion or belief and allow all 
     religious believers in China to practice their religion 
     without interference from the government or from government 
     sponsored ``patriotic religious associations'';
       (J) urges the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     to release Pastor Cai Zhuohua, his wife, and others 
     imprisoned with him, and to allow Pastor Cai to resume 
     religious activities and to resume leadership of his 
     congregation in Beijing; and
       (K) urges the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     to invite the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human 
     Rights on freedom of religion or belief to China as promised 
     according to an agreement between the Ministry of Foreign 
     Affairs of China and the Department of State of China in 
     March 2005; and
       (2) it is the sense of Congress that--
       (A) the Government of the United States should support 
     democracy and human rights programs that strengthen 
     protection of basic rights and freedoms, and should initiate 
     programs to train lawyers, judges, academics, and students in 
     China about international human rights law, to inform 
     citizens of China about international human rights norms, and 
     to build organizations and associations to promote these 
     priorities;
       (B) the Government of the United States should support 
     programs to promote legal protections and cultural awareness 
     of the right to the freedom of religion or belief in China; 
     and
       (C) the President should raise the issue of the Government 
     of China's harassment, arrest, detention, and persecution of 
     rights defense lawyers and activists and the need for the 
     Government of China to respect the basic human rights of its 
     citizens and the rule of law with Chinese President Hu 
     Jintao.

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