[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 21]
[Senate]
[Pages 30910-30911]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



FREEDOM OF BELIEF, EXPRESSION, AND ASSOCIATION IN THE PEOPLES REPUBLIC 
                                OF CHINA

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 404, S. Res. 
217.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 217) relating to the freedom of 
     belief, expression, and association in the People's Republic 
     of China.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign 
Relations with amendments to the preamble, as follows:
  (The parts of the preamble intended to be stricken are shown in 
boldface brackets, and the parts of the preamble intended to be 
inserted are shown in italic.)

                              S. Res. 217

       Whereas the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human 
     Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political 
     Rights affirm the freedoms of thought, conscience, religion, 
     expression, and assembly as fundamental human rights 
     belonging to all people;
       Whereas the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human 
     Rights is a common standard of achievement for all peoples 
     and all nations, including the People's Republic of China, a 
     member of the United Nations;
       Whereas the People's Republic of China has signed the 
     International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights but has 
     yet to ratify the treaty and thereby make it legally binding;
       Whereas the Constitution of the People's Republic of China 
     provides for the freedom of religious belief and the freedom 
     not to believe;

[[Page 30911]]

       Whereas according to the Department of State and 
     international human rights organizations, the Government of 
     the People's Republic of China does not provide these 
     freedoms but continues to restrict unregistered religious 
     activities and persecutes persons on the basis of their 
     religious practice through measures including harassment, 
     prolonged detention, physical abuse, incarceration, and 
     police closure of places of worship; and
       Whereas under the International Religious Freedom Act, the 
     Secretary of State has designated the People's Republic of 
     China as a country of special concern;
       [Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     has issued a decree declaring a wide range of activities 
     illegal and subject to prosecution, including distribution of 
     Falun Gong materials, gatherings or silent sit-ins, marches 
     or demonstrations, and other activities to promote Falun Gong 
     and has begun the trials of several Falun Gong practitioners;
       [Whereas the National People's Congress of the People's 
     Republic of China on October 30, 1999, adopted a new law 
     banning and criminalizing groups labeled by the Government of 
     the People's Republic of China as cults; and
       [Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     has officially labeled the Falun Gong meditation group a cult 
     and has formally charged at least four members of the Falun 
     Gong under this new law:] Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate calls on the Government of the 
     People's Republic of China to--
       (1) release all prisoners of conscience and put an 
     immediate end to the harassment, detention, physical abuse, 
     and imprisonment of Chinese citizens exercising their 
     legitimate rights to free belief, expression, and 
     association; and
       (2) demonstrate its willingness to abide by internationally 
     accepted norms of freedom of belief, expression, and 
     association by repealing or amending laws and decrees that 
     restrict those freedoms and proceeding promptly to ratify and 
     implement the International Covenant on Civil and Political 
     Rights.

  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. President, I rise in support of S. Res. 217, 
which calls upon the Government of the People's Republic of China to 
release all prisoners of conscience, to end its persecution of people 
of faith, and to abide by internationally accepted human rights 
standards. This resolution is cosponsored by Senators Lott, Nickles, 
Mack, Coverdell, Collins, Feingold, Durbin, Leahy, Snowe, Gorton, and 
Wellstone.
  Mr. President, the crackdown in China is escalating. The most 
immediate target is Falun Gong--a movement which combines traditional 
breathing exercises with elements of Buddhism, Taoism and the beliefs 
of its founder. Since April, when more than 10,000 practitioners of 
Falun Gong shocked the Chinese government by gathering in front of the 
leadership compound in Beijing, the Chinese government has tried to 
systematically eradicate the practice.
  The Beijing regime rounded up thousands of practitioners, arrested 
its leaders, ransacked homes, confiscated and burned Falun Gong 
materials, and forced adherents to renounce their beliefs. The 
government then banned the practice of Falun Gong in July and 
officially labeled it a cult as part of a nationwide propaganda 
campaign to discredit practitioners. But this was not enough. On 
October 30, 1999, in a perverse maneuver, the National People's 
Congress raised the stakes of persecution by adopting a new law banning 
and criminalizing groups deemed by the Chinese government to be cults--
perverse because this is the Chinese government's way of legitimizing 
their abuses of human rights--perverse because the law is being applied 
retroactively.
  Protestors of this law faced police who beat, kicked, and yanked the 
hair of several elderly women protestors. Practitioners, mostly middle-
aged or senior citizens, sitting or standing in silent meditation were 
dragged away from Tiananmen square. But they remained peaceful.
  The Chinese government has wasted no time in arresting Falun Gong 
leaders and charging them under this law. As of November 9, 1999, 
according to Chinese officials, 111 people had been formally arrested 
on charges ranging from disrupting state security to stealing state 
secrets. Many more have been detained and sent to re-education programs 
or labor camps. Now, at least four leaders have been convicted, with 
sentences ranging from two to twelve years. Many more will be 
convicted.
  The truth of the matter is that the Chinese government is insecure 
and cannot tolerate any group that is outside of its control. That is 
why it is engaged in this crackdown. That is why it sentenced four pro-
democracy activists to jail terms ranging from four to 11 years. That 
is why it continues to persecute people of faith.
  In August, police detained a 65-year-old bishop of China's 
underground Roman Catholic Church in Hebei province and convicted seven 
lay members of the underground Catholic church in Jiangxi province.
  In October, in Guangzhou, some 200 police officers demolished a 
shelter used by House Church Christians. They detained, brutalized, and 
warned five House Church Christians against preaching or practicing 
their faith. I am extremely concerned about the well being of 
Christians who are suffering in detention for their faith, including 
Pastor Li Dexian, one of the Guangzhou House Church members, Zhang 
Ronglian from Henan, and Zheng Xinqi from Anhui.
  These incidents re simply anecdotal. They reflect a greater pattern 
of ongoing religious persecution.
  Mr. President, at the same time that the Chinese government is 
cracking down on its own citizens, at the same time it is authorizing 
harsher punishments for believing outside of government control, the 
Beijing regime is flouting international norms, and even tossing aside 
its own constitution, which supposedly provides for the freedom of 
religious belief and the freedom not to believe.
  The freedoms of thought, conscience, religion, expression, and 
assembly are not ``western values'' or ``American values'' that we are 
trying to impose on China. These values have been embraced by the 
international community. And it is up to the international community to 
uphold them when they are being trampled--to speak out in the face of 
injustice.
  This resolution is part of our responsibility. With this resolution, 
we urge the Chinese government to step back into the realm of 
international standards, to end its crackdown, and to release its 
prisoners of conscience. We urge the Chinese government to end its 
``campaign for stability,'' which has only caused far greater 
instability.
  Mr. President, I expect that this resolution will be adopted. I also 
expect that the Clinton Administration will not offer silence as a 
hidden concession for the WTO agreement signed with China but will 
instead use this statement by the Senate to strengthen its hand in 
advocating an end to persecution in China.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to, the amendments to the preamble be agreed to, 
the preamble, as amended, be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, and any statements relating to this resolution be 
printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 217) was agreed to.
  The amendments to the preamble were agreed to.
  The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, as amended, reads as follows:
  [The resolution was not available for printing. It will appear in a 
future edition of the Record.]
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I note that I am proud to be a cosponsor 
of this resolution which was introduced by our colleague, Senator 
Hutchinson of Arkansas, who has been a real leader on this issue.

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