[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 169 (Tuesday, September 29, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5925-S5926]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Unanimous Consent Request--S. Res. 526
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, the Communist Party of China is
committing a genocide against the Uighur people. Let me say that again.
The Communist Party of China is committing a genocide against the
Uighur people.
Under General Secretary of the Communist Party Xi, 1 million Uighurs
have been placed in concentration camps simply because of their
religion. The Xi regime is reportedly performing forced abortions and
forced sterilization of Uighur women.
The Communist Party of China is harvesting organs from Uighurs and
members of the Falun Gong. The Communist Party assigns male Han Chinese
to regularly sleep in the same beds as the wives of Uighur men detained
in the camps.
In addition to these disgusting human rights abuses, the Communist
Party of China is stripping away the freedom and autonomy that the
people of Hong Kong were guaranteed. They are threatening Taiwan,
building up their military to compete with us, arresting and detaining
foreign journalists, and punishing anyone who disagrees with them.
General Secretary Xi has established a surveillance system in Beijing
that tracks every movement you make online and in person. The actions
of Xi and the Chinese Communist Party fly in the face of the
fundamental values that unite freedom-loving countries around the
world--values that the Olympic Games are meant to foster and promote.
Yet, in just 2 years, Communist China is slated to host the 2022
Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee's Charter states:
``The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the
harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a
peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.''
The host city contract the IOC adopted in 2017 requires that hosts
protect and respect human rights. Unfortunately, but not by accident,
the contract does not take effect until after the 2022 Beijing games.
Think about that. It was 56 years ago that the International Olympic
Committee took a historic step and stood up to the Government of South
Africa and its racist apartheid system and banned the country from
participation in the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. South Africa was also
excluded for the 1968 Mexico City games, and in 1970, the IOC
indefinitely expelled South Africa from Olympic competition.
Germany and Japan were banned from participating in the 1948 Olympic
Games for their roles in World War II. Afghanistan was banned in 2000
because of the Taliban's discrimination against women, and South Korea
was pressured by the IOC to enact democratic reforms before it hosted
the 1988 games.
Should Communist China, which places no value on human life or
freedom, be allowed to host the 2022 games? Absolutely not. Doing so
will threaten the safety of athletes and attendees and financially
reward the dictatorship responsible for its genocide against its Muslim
population.
My colleague from Massachusetts, Senator Markey, and I introduced a
bipartisan resolution calling on the International Olympic Committee to
rebid the 2022 games to a country that recognizes and respects human
rights. This isn't about a boycott. I am absolutely opposed to a
boycott, and it is not about politics. This is a fight about human
rights, which transcends politics.
Moving the Olympic Games out of Communist China doesn't hurt
athletes. It keeps them safe from Communist China's oppression. Last
year, the world watched while Communist China pressured the NBA to
sensor themselves over one tweet supporting Hong Kong citizens who were
fighting for their freedom. We saw the NBA cower to Communist China's
wishes. They even prohibited athletes who were in China at the time
from speaking with reporters.
If Communist China has the ability to sensor the NBA, an American
organization, from speaking anything about anything that may offend
General Secretary Xi, what will they do to athletes around the world?
Will this regime start censoring or restricting participating athletes?
What about the press? Will their broadcasts be censored to appease
General Secretary Xi?
We have to open our eyes to this threat, and we have to stand against
the genocide of the Uighurs and the political oppression of
Hongkongers. We also have to consider the safety of athletes and
spectators from all over the world. For the hundreds of millions who
will watch the games, we must again lead by example and refuse to give
Communist China a platform to whitewash its crimes.
I stand with the freedom-loving people of Hong Kong, the historically
persecuted people of Tibet, the peaceful community of Chinese Muslims,
including Uighurs, Falun Gong, and the journalists and political
dissidents in China. I hope that all of my colleagues will join me in
demanding that the IOC rebid the 2022 Olympic Games should China fail
to abandon its indefensible course
Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent
that the Committee on Foreign Relations be discharged from further
consideration and the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 526. I further ask
unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be
agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid
upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
The Senator from New Jersey.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, let me
first say that I want to be clear that my opposition that I will
announce briefly to moving this resolution by UC today is not by any
means because I disagree with the assessment of China's abhorrent human
rights record or the importance of the Olympics living up to the
highest standards of upholding human
[[Page S5926]]
dignity. The Olympic Charter states that the goal of Olympism is to
promote ``a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human
dignity.'' Beijing has not, by a long shot, earned the honor of hosting
the 2022 games.
Now, my record is crystal clear when it comes to calling out and
condemning China's horrific record on human rights and the threat it
poses to the United States and the rest of the international community.
As my colleagues know, during my years in Congress, I have introduced,
advocated for, and helped pass legislation on behalf of the people of
Xinjiang, Tibet, Chinese civil society dissidents, a democratic and
autonomous Hong Kong, and supporting democracy across the Indo-Pacific
region. Just recently, I introduced a comprehensive bill to strengthen
the United States across various sectors to best confront and counter
China's efforts. I also recently released a report about the necessity
of standing up against China's dangerous new digital authoritarianism.
There is no question that under Xi Jinping, China has taken a great
leap backward on human rights, establishing concentration camps in
Xinjiang, and instituting a surveillance state that not even George
Orwell could have imagined and crushing any thoughts and ideas that
deviate from the dictates of the party. China's rise, bringing hundreds
of millions out of poverty during the last century, is something the
Chinese people can be justly proud of. But Xi Jinping's dystopian
totalitarian vision, currently crushing the Chinese people, is one of
the century's great tragedies.
So I am very sympathetic to the goals of the resolution and the
sponsor of the legislation. However, I believe these issues merit
serious discussion in drafting of the appropriate language before the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee. I have been urging Chairman Risch
to hold a legislative markup for months to discuss the many pressing
pieces of legislation that Members on both sides of the aisle have had
pending for many months