[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 11307-11313]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 CONDEMNING THE CRACKDOWN ON DEMOCRACY PROTESTORS IN TIANANMEN SQUARE, 
 BEIJING, IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ON THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF 
                          THAT TRAGIC MASSACRE

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 655) condemning the crackdown on 
democracy protestors in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, in the People's 
Republic of China on the 15th anniversary of that tragic massacre.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 655

       Whereas the United States was founded on the principle that 
     all men and women are created equal and entitled to the 
     exercise of their basic human rights;
       Whereas freedom of expression, assembly, association, and 
     religion are fundamental human rights that belong to all 
     people and are recognized as such under the United Nations 
     Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on 
     Civil and Political Rights;
       Whereas the horrific events of June 3-4, 1989, in Tiananmen 
     Square, Beijing, in the People's Republic of China, reminded 
     the world that these universal human rights are denied to the 
     citizens of the most populous nation on earth by the 
     Communist Party that rules in China;
       Whereas in recent days the Communist Government of China 
     has stepped up harassment of the relatives of people who lost 
     their lives in the 1989 crackdown on democracy protestors in 
     Tiananmen Square, in an apparent effort to control dissent 
     ahead of the 15th anniversary of that tragic massacre;
       Whereas in recent weeks China's Communist Party leaders 
     have been working to eliminate the residual influence of Zhao 
     Ziyang, who was purged as Communist Party chief for opposing 
     the 1989 crackdown on the Tiananmen protests, and are trying 
     to erase his name from history;
       Whereas Zhao was last seen in public on May 19, 1989, when 
     he tearfully begged student protesters to leave Tiananmen 
     Square, and was then promptly put under house arrest and 
     purged;
       Whereas the Communist Government of China declared martial 
     law the next day and troops backed by tanks crushed the 
     student movement on June 3-4, 1989;
       Whereas the demonstrations in Tiananmen Square were the 
     manifestation of a democratic movement that had begun to 
     spread across China following the death of the former General 
     Secretary of the Communist Party of the People's Republic of 
     China on April 15, 1989, and that had given rise to peaceful 
     protests throughout China calling for the establishment of a 
     dialogue with government and party leaders on democratic 
     reforms, including freedom of expression, freedom of 
     assembly, and the elimination of corruption by government 
     officials;
       Whereas after that date thousands of pro-democracy 
     demonstrators continued to protest peacefully in and around 
     Tiananmen Square in Beijing until June 3 and 4, 1989, when 
     Chinese authorities ordered the People's Liberation Army and 
     other security forces to use lethal force to disperse 
     demonstrators in Beijing, especially around Tiananmen Square;
       Whereas the report of the Chinese Red Cross on June 7, 
     1989, and the United States Department of State Country 
     Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1989, gave various 
     estimates of the numbers of people killed and wounded in 1989 
     by the People's Liberation Army soldiers and other security 
     forces, and it is now believed by many that thousands were 
     killed;
       Whereas 20,000 people nationwide suspected of taking part 
     in the democracy movement were arrested and sentenced without 
     trial to prison or reeducation through labor, and many were 
     reportedly tortured;
       Whereas the Communist Government of China continues to 
     suppress dissent by imprisoning pro-democracy activists, 
     journalists, labor union leaders, religious believers, and 
     other individuals in China and Tibet who seek to express 
     their political or religious views in a peaceful manner;
       Whereas credible sources estimate that the Communist 
     Government of China continues to imprison as many as 2,000 
     Tiananmen Square activists, such as Yang Jianli, and denies 
     such activists their basic human rights, such as access to 
     legal counsel, contact with their families, and trials within 
     reasonable times;
       Whereas security agents of the People's Republic of China 
     have detained Chinese citizens who were planning activities 
     to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square 
     massacre, including the preparation of a video for 
     presentation at this year's United Nations Human Rights 
     Commission meeting in Geneva on the deaths of their relatives 
     and other victims who perished in Tiananmen Square;
       Whereas coincident with the 15th anniversary of the 
     Tiananmen Square massacre, the Communist Government of China 
     has frustrated the efforts of Chinese citizens in Hong Kong 
     to establish a gradual and orderly process toward universal 
     suffrage and the democratic election of the legislature and 
     chief executive in Hong Kong as promised at the time of the 
     reversion of Hong Kong to China in 1997 and as envisioned by 
     the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region;
       Whereas despite an unprecedented public protest in Hong 
     Kong on July 1, 2003, reminiscent of protests in Beijing 
     shortly before June 4, 1989, the Standing Committee of the 
     National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China 
     declared on April 26, 2004, that universal suffrage would not 
     apply to the selection of the Chief Executive in Hong Kong in 
     2007 or to the selection of members of the Legislative 
     Council in Hong Kong in 2008; and
       Whereas June 4, 2004, is the 15th anniversary of the date 
     of the Tiananmen Square massacre: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) expresses sympathy to the families of those killed, 
     tortured, and imprisoned as a result of their participation 
     in the democracy protests of June 3-4, 1989, in Tiananmen 
     Square, Beijing, in the People's Republic of China, and to 
     all those persons who have suffered for their efforts to keep 
     that struggle alive during the past 15 years, and to all the 
     people of China who lack fundamental human rights;
       (2) commends all persons who are peacefully advocating for 
     democracy and human rights in China;
       (3) calls upon those nations participating in the 2008 
     Olympic Games in Beijing to use opportunities created by the 
     Games to urge China to fully comply with the United Nations 
     Declaration on Human Rights;
       (4) calls upon the Communist Government of China, its 
     National People's Congress, and any other groups appointed by 
     the Communist Government of China to honor its pledge of a 
     ``high degree of autonomy'' made at the time of the Hong Kong 
     reversion in 1997, by permitting immediate elections for the 
     Legislative Council of Hong Kong according to rules approved 
     by the Hong Kong people through an election-law convention, 
     referendum, or both, and by leaving all revisions of Hong 
     Kong law to a legislature elected by universal suffrage; and

[[Page 11308]]

       (5) condemns the ongoing and egregious human rights abuses 
     by the Communist Government of China and calls on that 
     Government to--
       (A) reevaluate the official verdict on the June 4, 1989, 
     Tiananmen pro-democracy activities and order formal 
     investigations into the reported killing, torture, and 
     imprisonment of democracy activists with the goal of bringing 
     those responsible to justice;
       (B) establish a June Fourth Investigation Committee, the 
     proceedings and findings of which should be accessible to the 
     public, to make a just and independent inquiry into all 
     matters related to June 4, 1989;
       (C) release all prisoners of conscience, including those 
     persons still in prison as a result of their participation in 
     the peaceful pro-democracy protests of 1989, provide just 
     compensation to the families of those killed in those 
     protests, and allow those exiled on account of their 
     activities in 1989 to return and live in freedom in China; 
     and
       (D) release Dr. Yang Jianli, an organizer of the Tiananmen 
     Square protests of 1989, who has been illegally detained 
     incommunicado by the Communist Government of China since 
     April 26, 2002, and whose wife and 2 children are United 
     States citizens, and put an immediate end to the harassment, 
     detention, and imprisonment of all Chinese citizens 
     exercising their legitimate freedoms of expression, 
     association, and religion.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the Democratic leader.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Lantos) for yielding me time and for his exceptional service and 
leadership as chair of the Human Rights Caucus of the House. I also 
want to acknowledge the great work and leadership of the gentleman from 
New Jersey (Mr. Smith). He has been a champion for human rights, and it 
has been my privilege to work with him over the years to promote 
international human rights. I thank him for his accommodation this 
evening.
  Mr. Speaker, the forward march of freedom has often been advanced by 
brave souls who defied the powers of their day to demand the liberties 
and human rights to which all people everywhere are entitled.
  This week the world pays tribute to the brave souls of Tiananmen 
Square who 15 years ago stood up for freedom, only to be met with a 
hail of bullet and a new era of repression.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join with my colleague, the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Cox), as well as the distinguished chairman, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), and our ranking member, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) in sponsoring this resolution 
that remembers and reaffirms.
  We remember the courage of the heroes of Tiananmen, and we reaffirm 
our Nation's commitment to the principles of freedom and democracy of 
which they dreamed. In doing so, this resolution keeps alive the spirit 
of Tiananmen Square. The spirit of Tiananmen lives in the hearts of all 
freedom-loving people.
  We remember how millions of ordinary students, workers and citizens 
marched in peace. How they raised the Goddess of Democracy and the 
image of our own Statue of Liberty. How they quoted our own Founding 
Fathers. We remember with sadness and outrage how the so-called 
People's Liberation Army was unleashed on its own defenseless people, 
slaughtering thousands and searing into our consciences forever one of 
the most enduring images of the 25th century, the picture of a lone man 
before a tank, bringing a line of tanks to a grinding halt.
  Fifteen springs later, the spirit of Tiananmen lives on in the prison 
cells across China. Today, we once again call on Beijing to release the 
thousands of Tiananmen activists held to this day and all the prisoners 
of conscience whose only crime was to demand their basic human rights. 
The spirit of Tiananmen lives on in the exiles who fled their beloved 
homeland and who today carry on the struggle. In San Francisco, which I 
have the privilege of sharing representation with the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lantos), we are proud that many of these talented young 
people have enriched our community. But even as we observe their 
celebrations to our Nation, we work for a day when they may return if 
they so choose to their own nation, a free and democratic China.
  For too long the United States has pursued a policy of trickle-down 
liberty. First, economic freedom and then they said political freedom 
will follow. The 15 years since Tiananmen have exposed this policy as 
the illusion that it is. For a billion Chinese, freedom remains a dream 
deferred. After all these years, journalists, activists, academics, 
workers and religious believers are still persecuted and, Mr. Speaker, 
tortured. As this 15th anniversary nears, Beijing is still harassing 
and arresting dissidents and families of the Tiananmen victims. 
Meanwhile, Chinese elites are enriched by global trade. And despite 
more than a decade of concessions from Washington, our trade deficit 
with China has grown from $2 billion a year to over $2 billion a week, 
to a dangerous $124 billion a year.
  The highest tribute we could pay on this anniversary would be to use 
our political and economic influence to advance the reforms advocated 
15 years ago.
  Finally, the spirit of Tiananmen lives on in the hearts of the 
Chinese people, especially those in Hong Kong who have tasted freedom. 
In taking to the streets to demand democracy, the brave people of Hong 
Kong have been a stirring example to the world. On this anniversary, 
U.S. resolve in facing Beijing would send a clear message to democratic 
reformers throughout Asia. Democracy in Asia is as crucial there as it 
is in the rest of the world.
  So it is that the spirit of Tiananmen endures and inspires. Tanks and 
troops may crush a protest, but they can never extinguish the flame of 
freedom that burns in every human heart.
  Mr. Speaker, on this day with this resolution we say to the people of 
China, including the people of Hong Kong and freedom-loving people 
everywhere, your cause is our cause. We will never forget. We will 
never forget. And in doing so we reaffirm our commitment to a common 
dream: the day when the world's most populous nation can at last be 
called the world's largest democracy.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her comments and for her 
leadership on this, and the prime sponsor of this resolution, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Cox). The Cox-Pelosi resolution before 
us is extremely important and very timely.
  Mr. Speaker, in December of 1996 here in Washington, at the 
invitation of President Bill Clinton, General Chi Haotian, the Defense 
Minister of the People's Republic of China, the general who was the 
operational commander of the soldiers who slaughtered pro-democracy 
demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square in June of 1989, said, 
``Not a single person lost his life in Tiananmen Square.'' According to 
General Chi, the Chinese Army did nothing more violent than, and I 
quote him, ``pushing of people.''
  General Chi not only met with Mr. Clinton in the White House but was 
accorded full military honors, including a 19-gun salute and visits to 
military bases. Rather than getting the red carpet, Mr. Speaker, I 
would respectfully submit that General Chi should have been held to 
account for his crimes against humanity.
  Mr. Speaker, to counter the big lie that he proffered right here in 
Washington, D.C., I quickly put together and chaired a hearing of 
eyewitnesses to Tiananmen Square, to the massacre, including several 
Chinese, a former editor of the People's Daily, and Time Magazine's 
Beijing bureau chief. We also invited General Chi or anyone else to 
testify before our committee from the government of China. They were no

[[Page 11309]]

shows, although we left a chair for them.
  One of our witnesses, a man by the name of Xuecan Wu, the former 
editor of the People's Daily, was singled out by Li Peng for punishment 
and got 4 years in prison for trying to tell the truth to his readers 
in Beijing. Mr. Wu called General Chi's lie about no one being killed 
``shameless'' and told my subcommittee that he personally saw at least, 
and I quote him here, ``at least 30 carts carrying dead and wounded 
people.''
  Eyewitness Jian-Ki Yang, Vice President of the Alliance for a 
Democratic China, testified, and I quote, ``I saw trucks of soldiers 
who got out and started firing automatic weapons at the people. Each 
time they fired the weapons, three or four people were hit, and each 
time the crowd went down to the ground. We were there for about an hour 
and a half. I saw 13 people killed. We saw four tanks coming from the 
square, and they were going very fast at a very high speed. The two 
tanks in front were chasing students.''
  Imagine that, Mr. Speaker, tanks chasing students.
  He went on to say, ``They ran over the students. Everyone was 
screaming. We counted 11 bodies.''
  Mr. Speaker, Time Magazine's David Aikman, another eyewitness said, 
and I quote, ``Children were killed holding hands with their mothers. A 
9-year-old boy was shot seven or eight times in the back, and his 
parents placed the corpse on a truck and drove through the streets of 
northwest Beijing on Sunday morning. `This is what the government has 
done,' the distraught mother kept telling crowds of passersby through a 
makeshift speaker system.''
  Mr. Aikman went on to say in his testimony that ``officials at the 
Chinese Red Cross reported 2,600 people dead, but then they too were 
ordered to keep silent and to deny that they had ever given out such 
figures.''
  Today, Mr. Speaker, 15 years after Tiananmen Square, after a brutal 
massacre, the Chinese government perpetuates General Chi's Orwellian 
fabrication that no one died. It is now clear that thousands died and 
approximately 7,000 were wounded. Fifteen years after Tiananmen Square, 
some 2,000 people remain incarcerated for peacefully advocating human 
rights. To be jailed by the Chinese, as we all know, means torture, 
humiliation, and severe deprivations.
  Mr. Speaker, in the early 1990s, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Wolf) and I visited Beijing Prison Number 1, a bleak gulag where 40 
Tiananmen Square prisoners were being unjustly detained. We saw 
firsthand the price paid by brave and tenacious individuals for 
peacefully petitioning their government for freedom. And it was not 
pretty. They looked like the walking skeletons of Auschwitz.
  Mr. Speaker, we do not know how many of those are still languishing 
in prison. Some, perhaps all of them, are still there; but of the 
20,000 originally arrested and detained, like I said, approximately 
2,000 continue in the gulags and in the Laogai of China.
  Mr. Speaker, let me say that, despite the hopes and expectation of 
some that robust trade with China would usher in at least a modicum of 
respect for human rights and fundamental liberties, the simple fact of 
the matter is that the dictatorship in China oppresses, tortures and 
mistreats millions of its own citizens. Moreover, China is the land of 
the one-child-per-couple policy, a barbaric policy that makes brothers 
and sisters illegal. Forced abortion, force sterilization and ruinous 
fines are routinely deployed to ensure compliance with this Draconian 
and utterly cruel family planning policy.
  Mr. Speaker, according to the U.S. Department of State, the 
government's human rights record remains poor. They start off with that 
in this year's report. And the government continues, the State 
Department goes on to say, to commit numerous and serious abuses. The 
Country Reports of Human Rights Practices also went on to say that 
there was backsliding. It was already bad and now it is even getting 
worse, and the word backsliding was used. And abuses including killing, 
torture, mistreatment of prisoners and forced confessions are among 
those that have gotten worse.
  Finally, let me say in April the Chinese government openly gloated 
over the defeat once again of a U.S.-sponsored resolution at the U.N. 
Human Rights Commission. I would say parenthetically, given the makeup 
of the Commission, the outcome came as no surprise. Rogue nations 
proliferate and are all over that Commission. They make a beeline for 
that Commission to mitigate human rights adherence and enforcement and 
bringing rogue nations to confront these abuses.
  In one stunningly absurd statement, Chinese Ambassador Sha Zukang 
said the U.S. proposal and the resolution was done out of, and this is 
his words, ``disappointment and jealousy.''
  I would just like to say to the Chinese government and to Ambassador 
Sha Zukang, we proposed it because we care and we are in solidarity 
with the oppressed and we want to hold the oppressor to account. 
Disappointment and jealousy? I do not think so. This is all about 
trying to help those who are under the cruel boot of the Chinese 
dictatorship.
  Mr. Speaker, I participated in the meetings in Geneva, and I 
confronted the Chinese leadership in an open forum. I have to say they 
were amazingly inept, and they were unprofessional. All they could do 
during the course of the debate was to deny, to deny, and to deny and 
to question our motives. And then, when things were not going well for 
them, they abruptly ended the meeting.
  Mr. Speaker, someday the good and honorable people of China will live 
in freedom; and I believe the martyrs of Tiananmen who have suffered 
unspeakable horrors at the hands of a government and were jailed and 
were wounded and murdered will be even more revered and honored for 
their sacrifice than they are today. This resolution honors those 
courageous champions of freedom and democracy. I urge its passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1845

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Let me first pay tribute to my good friend, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Smith), who has been such an indefatigable fighter for 
human rights across the globe and particularly with respect to China 
and Tibet.
  Let me also recognize the enormous contributions to this fight of the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the Democratic leader, my 
friend and neighbor and colleague, representing San Francisco, and our 
distinguished colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox).
  Listening to my friend from New Jersey, I am reminded of a picture I 
have in my office as one enters, and that picture, one of the most 
precious photos of all times, shows a lone young Chinese man standing 
up to a line of tanks, defying totalitarian tyranny with courage and 
devotion to the principles that our Constitution was built on.
  Mr. Speaker, 15 years ago today, China's senior leaders huddled 
behind the walls of their compound near the Forbidden City. They had a 
critically important decision to make, whether to reach out to the 
students and workers gathered in Tiananmen Square and address their 
concerns about party corruption and lack of democracy or seek to squash 
the movement with force, if necessary.
  Sadly for the cause of freedom and justice and for the lives of 
thousands of young Chinese citizens, the leadership of China made the 
wrong decision. Instead of entering into a meaningful dialogue with 
those gathered in the Square, they launched a brutal crackdown on the 
democracy movement, killing thousands and imprisoning many more.
  China's leaders hoped that the world would forget the tragedy of 
Tiananmen Square, but fortunately for the cause of truth the victims of 
Tiananmen had mothers, mothers who have kept alive the memory of their 
slain children and demanded an apology from their government.

[[Page 11310]]

  For the past 10 years, Mr. Speaker, the Tiananmen Mothers Campaign 
has worked to document the brutal 1989 crackdown by collecting the 
names of real victims and recording their individual stories. In the 
face of enormous pressure from the Chinese Government, the Tiananmen 
Mothers have respectfully requested a government investigation into the 
massacre and a formal apology for this gross violation of human rights. 
For their bravery alone, these women deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, 
which I earnestly urge the Nobel Committee to award them.
  The Chinese Government has responded by putting the Tiananmen Mothers 
under house arrest and prohibited them from marking the June 4 
anniversary in an appropriate manner. Once again, the government has 
made a shortsighted decision, repression, not dialogue.
  I am proud, Mr. Speaker, that the Congress of the United States 
stands today united with the victims of the Tiananmen massacre and with 
the families of the victims who will one day be feted as heroes in a 
free and democratic China. I wish that Europe would stand with the 
Tiananmen victims as well.
  Instead, the European Union is running headlong towards lifting the 
arms embargo it imposed on China, along with the United States, after 
the Tiananmen killings. In their desperate quest to earn some euros 
from the arms trade, France and Germany are pressuring the rest of the 
European Union to open the floodgates of weapons sales to China.
  Mr. Speaker, the weapons that the Europeans will sell to the Chinese 
will be used to intimidate those who wish to speak out for freedom and 
to kill those who refuse to be intimidated. These weapons may also be 
used against American forces some day if we are ever called on to 
defend Taiwan against an unprovoked attack by the mainland.
  Mr. Speaker, the member states of the European Union appear to have 
lost their moral compass; and they have forgotten that developed, 
democratic nations must make policy decisions which benefit human 
rights and international security but may harm mercantile interests 
back at home. It is my hope that this June 4th the European Union 
remembers those who were sacrificed in and around Tiananmen Square 15 
years ago and will refuse to yield to Chinese pressure.
  With passage of our resolution, we will tell those who continue to 
battle for truth, justice and freedom in China that we have not 
forgotten their cause. I strongly support the passage of this 
resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of our time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox), the chairman of the 
Select Committee on Homeland Security. He is the prime sponsor of this 
resolution, and we appreciate his leadership on this issue and on human 
rights in China.
  Mr. COX. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the time.
  I thank the gentleman from California and the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Pelosi), who is the cosponsor of this resolution 
commemorating the 15th anniversary of Tiananmen Square.
  That day in June of 1989 is, of course, remembered for the tragedy, 
but it should also be remembered as one of the high points in the 
progress towards democracy in human rights in the People's Republic of 
China. Because prior to the troops crushing the demonstrators and their 
message, the message had already spread all over China, and looked at 
in a grander scale of time, there is no question what ultimately can 
and must happen here. The troops may have won the battle that day 
against the Chinese people, but they will not win the war so long as we 
remember, and we will never forget. So we are today commemorating this 
anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
  At the same time, we are supporting the people of China in their 
struggle for human rights. These democracy demonstrations that began in 
Beijing in April of 1989 spread quickly to other major cities and 
provinces throughout China. They were an inspiration to the world.
  As Communist regimes were falling in Russia and East Germany and 
Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, across Eurasia, 
the people of China were also seizing the moment to move to the next 
step in the development of their astounding civilization.
  The statue of the Goddess of Democracy showed the world that China's 
glorious civilization and their extraordinary and wonderful culture for 
which we all owe a great debt of gratitude would advance still further 
in the 21st century so that the Chinese people would have a form of 
government worthy of that culture and that civilization. Finally, after 
centuries of feudalism, colonialism and foreign interference, the 
people of China would have genuine human rights, the freedom of 
association, the freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, freedom of 
religion, and the freedom to choose their own leaders.
  When the Chinese Army injured or killed hundreds of unarmed 
civilians, some people insisted that this showed the true face of 
China, but, of course, it did not. The true face of China was shown in 
the statue of the Goddess of Democracy. The true face of China was 
shown in those demonstrations throughout the provinces and all the 
major cities in the country.
  We want China to become a trustworthy member of the international 
community; and in some respects, certainly compared to cultural 
revolution and the reign of terror under Mao, things in China are much 
improved.
  Yet contrary to the drumbeat sounded by some advocates of engagement, 
this resolution warns that China's willingness to engage in the world 
economy has not yet translated into evolution toward democracy nor even 
an improvement in the Chinese people's religious, human or worker 
rights.
  I will never forget the audience I had with Jiang Zemin in the Great 
Hall of the People when I asked him, because they were then advertising 
the village elections that they were having as a step on the road to 
democracy, when might we have elections in China for a mayor or a city 
council. He said to me, not for at least 20 years. I still do not know 
to this day whether that is exactly what he said, because he might just 
as well have said not in my lifetime. It would have been literally a 
correct translation.
  Here we are many years later, and there have been no steps towards 
that kind of authentic democracy. In fact, in Hong Kong, where that 
kind of democracy under the one-country, two-systems model is eminently 
possible and achievable and where the people of Hong Kong wish devoutly 
to achieve that result, Beijing has just insisted, in violation of 
their guarantee in 1997 of the high degree of autonomy to the people of 
Hong Kong, that there will not be universal suffrage and free elections 
for the chief executive or for a legislative council in 2007 and 2008.
  With this resolution, Congress shows we remember and we will not 
forget. We insist that our country's China policy promote freedom, 
human rights and the rule of law, religious and political freedom, free 
expression, free trade and free markets.
  Our long-standing friendship with China can only reach its full 
potential when the Chinese people enjoy these freedoms. These freedoms 
increasingly flourish along China's borders. Peace and security for the 
Chinese people and all their neighbors are essential preconditions for 
true political, social and economic progress.
  Mr. Speaker, the PRC cannot seek a spirit of cooperation between our 
governments, as they claim to want during a recent visit by Vice 
President Cheney, and at the same time so horribly mistreat their own 
people. Americans, as friends of the people of China, are happy to hear 
words about the PRC's government's commitment to human rights. We are 
happy to see their proposal of new amendments to their constitution 
further guaranteeing these human rights, but unless these words are 
reflected in deeds, they are meaningless.
  The reflections published in the Wall Street Journal today by Wang 
Dan, one

[[Page 11311]]

of the leaders of the 1989 Chinese democracy movement, were poignant. 
He said, ``It is clear to me as never before that the Tiananmen 
massacre was an unavoidable step in the long path to a free China and 
that true political reform can never come from within the Communist 
Party.''

                              {time}  1900

  He lamented that ``Communist leaders, be they conservatives or 
reformists, are all wedded to retaining the current political system, 
complete with its problems such as corruption and lack of 
accountability. And far from easing its iron grip on all forms of 
political dissent, the new leadership now seems intent on extending it 
to Hong Kong.''
  It is striking, with all of the progress that we have seen in other 
areas, that the current Communist Party leaders in China have 
repudiated nothing that happened 15 years ago. As Wang Dan points out, 
that is because they understand ``that reevaluating the official 
description of the 1989 movement as counterrevolutionary would shake 
the foundations of the Communists' grip on power.''
  Is it not a terrible irony that the current leaders of the People's 
Republic of China have their power because of the system that was 
enforced through these brutal means in 1989.
  One of the demonstrators, one of the organizers of what happened in 
Tiananmen Square, a student at the time, is now Dr. Yang Jianli. He and 
his wife and his two children have lived here in America for many years 
because he suffered under the punishment, as so many Chinese freedom 
fighters, democracy activists do of exile. It is a horrible form of 
punishment. You can never go back to your own country again. So he was 
banished and lived here in America.
  He decided that he wanted to go back to China; and when he set foot 
in the country, he was arrested. He has been in jail, held 
incommunicado, held without access to legal counsel or any of the legal 
rights guaranteed him even under PRC law, for the last 2 years. His 
children have not seen their father. His wife, Christina Fu, is well 
known to many of us here because she has helped us enact resolutions 
that this Congress has passed in a show of support for the basic human 
rights that any human being, and certainly this American resident, is 
entitled to. His crime, of course, was supporting freedom and 
democracy. It has been nearly a year since the House of Representatives 
enacted House Resolution 199 by a unanimous vote of 412 to nothing.
  This legislation condemned and deplored the detention of Dr. Yang 
Jianli and the lack of due process afforded him. It called on the 
Government of the People's Republic of China to release him immediately 
and unconditionally. The Bush administration has made the release of 
Dr. Yang one of its most important priorities, and the Vice President 
raised this at his recent summit. Yet the PRC has continued to violate 
its own law and to act without regard to international condemnation.
  In 2003, the United Nations, through its Working Group on Arbitrary 
Detention, which I should point out is a group that includes Algeria, 
France, Paraguay, Hungary, and even Iran, a very diverse group, 
concluded that in this case continuing to hold Dr. Yang is a violation 
of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the International 
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The U.N. working group clearly 
and specifically declared that Yang Jianli's detention was illegal.
  It is not just that he is being detained; it is that he is being 
abused. He is being virtually deprived of his human rights even as a 
prisoner. Not only was he arbitrarily placed for lengthy periods in 
solitary confinement; he was handcuffed for so long that his wrists 
bled. He was denied access even to books, newspapers, not to mention a 
lawyer.
  Releasing Dr. Yang would be a small, but important, gesture that the 
Communist Government had learned something since Tiananmen Square. No 
such gesture, Mr. Speaker, has come.
  As we remember Tiananmen Square, we must remember that there are 
many, many cases like Dr. Yang's. In fact, there are many, many cases 
of those who were murdered, tortured, and who are still in prison 
today. We must remind the dictators of the world yet again that 
individual freedom of expression is no mere internal affair of a 
government. It is a human right shared by all peoples and recognized by 
all civilized nations.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the passage by this House of this 
important resolution marking this sad anniversary, but this joyful 
anniversary that eventually will see freedom in China.
  Article 19 of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human 
Rights explicitly guarantees the freedom to ``receive and impart 
information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers.''
  According to Amnesty International, a growing number of Chinese 
people are being detained or sentenced for peacefully expressing their 
views or downloading information on the Internet. The detained include 
students, political dissidents, Falun Gong practitioners, workers, 
writers, lawyers, teachers, civil servants, former police officers, 
engineers, and businessmen.
  Signing online petitions, calling for reform and an end to 
corruption, planning to set up a pro-democracy party, publishing 
``rumours about SARS,'' communicating with groups abroad, opposing the 
persecution of the Falun Gong and calling for a review of the 1989 
crackdown on the democracy protests are all examples of activities 
considered by the PRC's dictatorial regime to be ``subversive'' or a 
danger to ``state security.'' Such charges almost always result in 
prison sentences.
  China is also renowned for aggressive censorship of the Internet. Web 
sites of human rights organizations, and numerous international news 
sites are regularly blocked by government-controlled routers.
  There is a role for the United States to play in this fight for free 
expression. We can promote the exchange of ideas and disseminate 
accurate information. Our efforts to do so behind the Iron Curtain were 
instrumental in empowering citizens living under Soviet Communist rule. 
It is now time to focus our efforts on a different Communist regime and 
a new technology.
  The ability of people around the world to freely access news and 
information via the Internet may be the greatest threat to tyranny and 
the most powerful weapon possessed by free people that we have seen in 
our lifetimes. Indeed, Internet access is rapidly expanding in China. 
According to official statistics, the number of Internet users had 
risen to 79.5 million by December 2003 from 59.1 million users in 
December 2002--an increase of 34.5 percent.
  But, just as Communist governments during the Cold War sought to keep 
uncensored news from their people by jamming Radio Free Europe and 
Radio Liberty, the government of China today retains strict control 
over the information Chinese citizens can access on the Internet. 
During the past few years, Beijing has passed sweeping regulations that 
prohibit unauthorized news and commentary on Internet sites, and 
officials arrest and imprison those who violate these laws. Authorities 
in China routinely block websites they believe a danger to their hold 
on power, including those of dissident groups and foreign news 
organizations, like the Washington Post, the New York Times, the BBC, 
and the Voice of America.
  Dictatorial regimes like China have been aggressively blocking access 
to the Internet with technologies such as firewalls, filters, and so-
called black boxes. In addition, these oppressive governments monitor 
Internet, email, and message boards for key words. They also develop 
lists of users who visit particular sites, and when they believe that a 
web user or publisher is a threat to their power, they don't hesitate 
to act on this information.
  According to Human Rights Watch, Chinese web publisher Huang Qi, 
after enduring a 3-year detention, was finally sentenced last summer to 
5 years in prison for the crime of subversion. What was he publishing? 
The online equivalent of our milk carton notices about missing persons. 
He had dared to create a website at which people could share 
information about missing friends and family members and he actually 
helped rescue several young girls who had been abducted and sold into 
marriage. Because his site also featured criticism of several state-run 
agencies, he now spends his days in prison.
  The U.S. private sector is developing a number of technologies to 
combat Internet blocking. Unfortunately, the U.S. government has 
contributed few resources to assist these efforts and to put the new 
technologies to use.
  That is why I joined Congressman Tom Lantos, Senator Jon Kyl, and 
Senator Ron

[[Page 11312]]

Wyden in authoring H.R. 48, the Global Internet Freedom Act, which 
would create a new Office of Global Internet Freedom within the 
International Broadcasting Bureau. The Office would develop and 
implement a global strategy to combat state-sponsored and state-
directed Internet jamming and persecution of those who use the 
Internet. The Foreign Relations Authorization Act, which passed the 
House on July 16, 2003 but has been stymied by the other body, 
authorizes $8 million per year for the Office of Global Internet 
Freedom.
  With the Global Internet Freedom Act, within the larger State 
Department bill, Congress can authorize $8 million annually to the 
proposed Office of Global Internet Freedom so that the U.S. can devote 
more resources to ensuring worldwide access to information and give 
those who strive for true freedom the tools they need to outwit the 
thought police.
  The Chinese people certainly still need these tools, because the 
thought police in Beijing have obviously not learned from the SARS 
tragedy. While some might have hoped that this deadly lesson would lead 
to greater openness on the part of the regime--and perhaps some 
restraint in its ongoing campaign to block the free exchange of 
information via the Internet and other media--recent events suggest 
that the tyrants of Beijing are moving in the other direction.
  Despite the early release of several high-profile Tibetan dissidents, 
suppression of political dissent and restrictions on religious freedom 
continue throughout Tibet and neighboring areas of the PRC. According 
to the Tibet Information Network, those early releases were quickly 
off-set by further arrests of Tibetan dissidents in other Chinese 
provinces. For instance, a popular singer was detained in March 204 
because of the political content of his songs, and in February, a young 
monk was arrested at his monastery for possessing a photograph of the 
Dalai Lama.
  Meanwhile, in northwest China, the international war against 
terrorism is used to justify harsh repression in Xinjiang, home to 
China's mainly Muslim Uighur community. Several mosques have been 
closed, use of the Uighur language has been restricted and certain 
Uighur books and journals have been banned. The crackdown against 
suspected ``separatists, terrorists and religious extremists'' 
intensified following the start of a renewed security crack-down in 
October 2003. Arrests continue and hundreds of dissidents remain in 
prison.
  Members of unofficial spiritual or religious groups, including some 
Qi Gong groups and unregistered Christian groups, continue to be 
arbitrarily detained, tortured and ill-treated. Detained Falun Gong 
practitioners, including large numbers of women, are at risk of 
torture, including sexual abuse, particularly if they refuse to 
renounce their beliefs.
  It is fitting that, as we debate this resolution, the Victims of 
Communism Memorial is nearing construction on Capitol Hill. The 
Memorial, which will commemorate this struggle by paying tribute to 
more than 100 million victims of Communist atrocities around the world, 
will prominently feature a replica of the Goddess of Democracy statue 
created by pro-freedom activists in Tiananmen Square, in addition to an 
eternal flame to the victims of Communism and bronze panels with quotes 
from heroes of the Cold War.
  Wang Dan said, ``The 1989 student movement played an invaluable role 
in pointing out the path to democracy in China. Without it, we would 
still be clinging to the myth that a small group of enlightened 
Communist officials could rescue China from totalitarian rule. Instead 
we have learned from our mistakes that year, and realized that China's 
democratization must be a bottom-up process, driven by forces outside 
the Communist system.''
  Today, on a bipartisan basis, Congress stands united in support of 
freedom for the people of China. Fifteen years ago, Tiananmen Square 
marked not only a tragedy, but a decisive turning point in the fight 
for freedom. People's Liberation Army troops won the battle against the 
Chinese people that day, but they will surely lose the war to imprison 
the human spirit--because we will never forget. The day will soon come 
when all of the Chinese people will have the right to speak and debate 
freely. The hope symbolized by the Goddess of Democracy will ultimately 
triumph.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield such time as he may 
consume to my good friend, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lantos) for yielding me this time.
  I want to thank, first of all, the sponsor of the resolution, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Cox), for a very eloquent statement, and 
my good friend and colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Lantos), for his very eloquent statement and for a long-standing 
commitment to human rights in China, as well as everywhere else in the 
world where those rights are abridged.
  I just want to make a couple of points very briefly. I would hope 
that every Member, and I am sure they will by the time this is voted 
upon with a recorded vote, probably tomorrow, to read, those who have 
not read the full text. And I commend the maker of this resolution, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Cox), for being so comprehensive not 
just in the whereases but in the operative clauses.
  He mentioned, I think a moment ago, about the Tiananmen mothers. They 
sent videos to Geneva to the U.N. Human Rights Commission. And because 
they presented a video to those who were there supposedly gathering 
information about human rights abuses anywhere and everywhere in the 
world where there is abuse, for that these Tiananmen mothers were not 
only arrested, and were subsequently, we understand, let go, but they 
now are being watched.
  These are the mothers who have lost loved ones, sons or daughters, in 
Tiananmen Square and the days that followed. And the burden they carry 
having lost their loved ones is only exacerbated by the cruelty of the 
mothers now being harassed by the dictatorship in Beijing.
  The resolution also calls for the release of Dr. Yang Jianli, another 
veteran of the Tiananmen Square protest of 1989, who has been illegally 
detained in China for over 2 years, so that he may be reunited with his 
wife and two children in the United States. It is time to let Dr. Yang 
go, and I hope that the Chinese get that message very, very quickly 
from what I hope will be a very bipartisan support for this resolution.
  It also calls upon nations participating in the 2008 Olympics to use 
the opportunities created by the games to urge China to fully comply 
with the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. I would remind my 
colleagues that when the Chinese wanted the Olympics 2000, they let out 
some very prominent dissidents, including Wei Jingsheng. I happened to 
be in Beijing on a human rights trip when he was let out. I met with 
him. When they did not get the Olympics, they went back and rearrested 
him and put him back into the Laogai and into the gulag in China. A 
very cynical approach.
  This time they got the Olympics, and they did nothing whatsoever to 
deserve them. So, hopefully, the venue of the 2008 Olympics will be 
used by those who care about human dignity and human rights to raise 
these issues very substantively.
  There is also the issue of asking for the establishment of a June 4 
investigation committee. There has been an absolutely absurd whitewash 
of what happened the day of June 4 and the days that subsequently 
followed as a result of the Tiananmen Square massacre and all of the 
killings that occurred afterwards. The Chinese Government has made part 
of their three noes, or nonmentionables, the idea you cannot even 
mention Tiananmen Square; and if you do, you will suffer their 
brutality.
  This is a very, very important resolution. Again, I want to thank the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for his graciousness in yielding 
this additional time to me. We have no further speakers, and I yield 
back to the gentleman.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  This Congress always does its best work when it stands united. On 
this issue, my colleagues, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) 
and the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox) and the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Pelosi), and I stand shoulder to shoulder in striking a 
blow for freedom for the Chinese people.
  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, over the past couple of months, I have been 
working with the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation as they and 
the National Park Service have searched for a suitable location for the 
Victims of Communism Memorial here in our Nation's Capital. The 
memorial, authorized by P.L. 103-199, will honor over 100 million 
victims of communist atrocities around the world.

[[Page 11313]]

  With a death toll greater than that of all of the wars of the 20th 
century combined, communism has cast a shadow of terror from Berlin to 
Beijing, from Hanoi to Havana. The struggle of men and women against 
communism in these and other places must not be forgotten. As the 
world's leader in challenging Communist oppression, the United States 
cannot afford to forget the cost of communism and the reason for our 
struggle against it.
  The Victims of Communism Memorial will commemorate this struggle by 
paying tribute to those who have lost their lives to Communist tyranny. 
An enduring reminder of their sacrifice, the memorial will stand as a 
testimony to future generations of Americans, a solemn remembrance of 
the lives lost to Communist oppression and of the purpose of our 
Nation's fight against communism and for the cause of freedom.
  This story is not only an international story but also an American 
story. An estimated 26 million Americans trace their origins to former 
Communist countries.
  The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation has designed a memorial 
featuring a replica of the Goddess of Democracy statue created by pro-
freedom activists in Tiananmen Square, including an eternal flame to 
the memory of the victims of communism and bronze panels with quotes 
from heroes of the cold war. This design is still pending approval of 
federal commissions.
  The Chinese Embassy recently contacted the National Park Service to 
express objection to the design's use of the Goddess of Democracy 
statue, stating that it is an ``anti-China sign.'' This week, as we 
remember the fifteenth anniversary of the tragic events in Tiananmen 
Square and the democracy protestors who stood their ground there, we 
remember the importance of that statue--not as a symbol that is ``anti-
China'' but as one that is pro-democracy and pro-freedom. That statue 
represented the hopes of a people for democracy and freedom in their 
land. Their courage and sacrifice in standing firm in these hopes have 
inspired people around the world. A replica of their Goddess of 
Democracy statue will be a fitting element of the memorial 
commemorating the millions who have struggled against communism and for 
freedom.
  H. Res. 655 condemns the crackdown of those who stood for these 
freedoms in Tiananmen Square. With the Victims of Communism Memorial, 
we look to honor all who have suffered as they stood for freedom in the 
face of Communist tyranny. I urge my colleagues to support these 
efforts.
  We here have the great blessing of living in a country built on the 
ideals of democracy. We do well to remember that there are others in 
the world who have not enjoyed the same freedoms. May we never forget 
their suffering nor take for granted the ``land of the free'' in which 
we live.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Feeney). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 655.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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