[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18546]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                 CHINESE GOVERNMENT JAILED ZENG JINGMU

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bonior) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BONIOR. Madam Speaker, last week, as the other body was beginning 
its final dash toward passage of the China trade deal, the Chinese 
Government jailed yet another dangerous agitator, his name is Zeng 
Jingmu. He is 81 years of age. He is a Catholic bishop, and it is not 
the first time Bishop Zeng has been jailed.
  He was first imprisoned 42 years ago. In 1983, he was set free for 
about 30 days. Then they sent him to prison for 8 more years. In 1996, 
he was imprisoned once again, and he was sentenced to 3 years of forced 
labor.
  At the time, Bishop Zeng was 76 years of age.
  Why does the Chinese Government feel such bitter enmity toward the 
bishop? What crime did this 81-year-old man commit? Teaching the 
gospel.
  Madam Speaker, none of this should come as a surprise to us. A 
special commission appointed by the White House and this Congress found 
that religious persecution is business as usual in today's China.
  Over the course of this year's trade debate, advocates of normalizing 
trade with China repeatedly claimed it would strengthen the cause for 
human rights. But the jailing of Bishop Zeng tells us that if expanding 
trade improves human rights, someone forgot to tell the Chinese 
Government.
  In this Capitol, the citadel of liberty, we talk a lot about the rule 
of law, and we talk a lot about freedom, Madam Speaker. Yet when the 
topic turns to China, it seems the only law that matters is the law of 
supply and demand, and the only freedom that counts is the freedom to 
make a quick buck.
  Today an 81-year-old priest sits in a Chinese prison cell, and I know 
that God will hear his prayers, I only ask why this government cannot.

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