[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 10801-10805]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING THE 17TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MASSACRE IN TIANANMEN SQUARE

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 794) recognizing the 17th anniversary 
of the massacre in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, in the People's Republic 
of China, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 794

       Whereas freedom of expression, assembly, association, and 
     religion are fundamental human rights that belong to all 
     people and

[[Page 10802]]

     are recognized as such under the United Nations Declaration 
     of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and 
     Political Rights;
       Whereas the demonstrations in Tiananmen Square were the 
     manifestation of a peaceful democratic movement 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;
       Whereas on June 3-4, 1989, 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 independent observers report that hundreds, perhaps 
     thousands, were killed and wounded in 1989 by the People's 
     Liberation Army soldiers and other security forces;
       Whereas 20,000 people throughout China 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 credible sources estimate that the Communist 
     Government of China continues to imprison hundreds, and 
     perhaps thousands, of Tiananmen Square activists, such as 
     United States permanent resident Yang Jianli, and denies such 
     activists their basic human rights;
       Whereas the Communist Government of China undertakes active 
     measures to deny its citizens the truth about the Tiananmen 
     Square massacre, including the blocking of uncensored 
     Internet sites and weblogs, and the placement of misleading 
     information on the events of June 3-4, 1989 on Internet sites 
     available in China, often with the collusion and cooperation 
     of United States Internet companies such as Yahoo, Google, 
     Microsoft, and Cisco;
       Whereas the Communist Government of China continues to 
     suppress dissent by imprisoning pro-democracy activists, 
     lawyers, journalists, labor union leaders, religious 
     believers, members of ethnic minority rights organizations, 
     and other individuals in China and Tibet who seek to express 
     their political or religious views in a peaceful manner;
       Whereas the Communist Government of China kidnapped long-
     time democracy activist Dr. Wang Bingzhang, a United States 
     permanent resident, and sentenced him to life imprisonment 
     for espionage and terrorism;
       Whereas the Communist Government of China continues its 
     extraordinarily brutal persecution of the peaceful spiritual 
     movement of Falun Gong;
       Whereas the Communist Government of China continues its 
     reprehensible policies of organ harvesting of executed 
     prisoners; maintenance of hundreds, perhaps thousands of 
     slave labor camps; coercive sterilization and forced 
     abortions resulting in sex-selective abortions, female 
     infanticide, and trafficking in persons; and forcible 
     repatriation of thousands of refugees to North Korea to face 
     persecution, imprisonment, and death in violation of its 
     international commitments; and
       Whereas June 4, 2006, is the 17th anniversary 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 17 years, and to all the 
     people of China who lack fundamental human rights;
       (2) commends all peaceful advocates for democracy and human 
     rights in China;
       (3) calls upon those nations planning to participate in the 
     2008 Olympic Games in Beijing to insist that China comply 
     with the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights; and
       (4) condemns the ongoing and egregious human rights abuses 
     by the Communist Government of China and calls on that 
     Government to--
       (A) 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 and put an 
     immediate end to the harassment, detention, and imprisonment 
     of all Chinese citizens exercising their legitimate freedoms 
     of expression, association, and religion;
       (B) end its censorship of legitimate free speech on the 
     Internet, and its persecution of Internet dissidents;
       (C) end its persecution of Falun Gong;
       (D) end organ harvesting and ensure that its organ donor 
     programs proceed only on a purely voluntary and non-
     commercial basis;
       (E) end its coercive one-child policy;
       (F) grant the United Nations High Commission on Refugees 
     access to all refugees, and end forcible repatriations of 
     refugees, particularly to North Korea;
       (G) close its ``re-education through labor'' camps, respect 
     the rights of workers, and end police detention without 
     trial;
       (H) release United States permanent resident Dr. Yang 
     Jianli, a participant in the Tiananmen Square protests of 
     1989, who has been illegally detained by the Communist 
     Government of China since April 26, 2002, and whose wife and 
     two children are United States citizens; and
       (I) release United States permanent resident Dr. Wang 
     Bingzhang, long-time peaceful democracy activist, who was 
     abducted in June 2002, and illegally imprisoned for life on 
     false charges of espionage and terrorism, and whose sister, 
     son, and daughter are United States citizens.

  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 of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe that every one of us remembers the events that 
occurred in Tiananmen Square on June 3 and June 4, 1989. We may be hazy 
on the dates, but the images are as fresh today as they were then. We 
all remember the Chinese version of the Statue of Liberty being erected 
by thousands of peaceful, well-behaved demonstrators, mostly students.

                              {time}  1430

  We remember peaceful protests in Beijing and throughout China calling 
for the establishment of a dialogue with the government and party 
leaders on democratic reforms, including freedom of expression, freedom 
of assembly, and respect for workers' rights and the elimination of 
corruption by government officials.
  All over the Communist world, from Berlin to Beijing, there was a 
tremendous outpouring of hope that year, hope that freedom and 
democracy would soon triumph. Exhausted, obsolete, and morally bankrupt 
Communist regimes were turning on the people in the last desperate 
effort to retain their control and the enormous privileges such control 
gave them and to the party elites.
  Later that year, the Berlin Wall, symbol of the physical, mental, and 
moral prisons that held over a billion people in chains, fell. We all 
remember the incredible joy felt throughout the world when this 
happened.
  Also burned for all time in our memory is the image of the lone 
protestor on Tiananmen Square who held up the tanks sent to crush the 
demonstrators. Yet we also remember that the police grabbed that heroic 
figure and swept him away, like so many others, to an unknown fate. 
Those tanks, under orders of the Communist government of China, then 
crushed under their treads the movement for democracy in China. The 
Communist government killed, tortured and imprisoned thousands for 
daring to question its illegal monopoly on power. Hundreds, perhaps 
thousands, are still imprisoned and persecuted for exercising the 
rights guaranteed to them by their Constitution and the rules of all 
civilized societies. While millions in Europe now enjoy freedom, that 
right is still denied to Chinese people.
  Right after Tiananmen Square, Mr. Speaker, Frank Wolf and I went to 
Beijing and visited Beijing Prison No. 1, a prison where some 40 
Tiananmen Square prisoners were being held. They were like modern-day 
Nazi concentration camps, and these victims with their heads shaved 
were asking peacefully that the government allow some basic liberties 
that we all take for granted in the U.S. and in many other nations of 
the world. They were hunted down, tortured and jailed.
  China declared war not only on the protestors but on history itself. 
The Communist government undertakes active measures to deny its 
citizens the truth even today about what happened in Tiananmen Square. 
In December of 1996, Mr. Speaker, 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 1989, said, ``Not a single 
person lost his life in Tiananmen Square.'' According to General Chi, 
the Chinese Army did nothing more violent than the ``pushing of 
people.''

[[Page 10803]]

  To counter that big lie, I quickly put together and chaired a hearing 
of eyewitnesses to Tiananmen who definitively refuted General Chi's 
brazen lies, but then again, what did he care? General Chi got the red 
carpet treatment at the Clinton White House and full military honors. I 
believe he should have been charged with crimes against humanity.
  Most Chinese today, Mr. Speaker, unfortunately have no accurate 
knowledge of what happened in Tiananmen Square. China blocks even today 
uncensored Internet sites and Web logs and places misleading 
information on Internet sites available in China, often with the 
collusion and cooperation of U.S. Internet companies such as Yahoo and 
Google. As part and parcel of its Tiananmen Square cover-up, the 
Communist government sentenced journalist Shi Tao to 10 years in 
prison, using information provided by Yahoo, for using his Yahoo e-mail 
account to send foreigners a copy of a Chinese Government memo warning 
of possible trouble during the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square 
massacre.
  We all know that torture does not stop with those who demand 
political freedoms. It is appropriate on this occasion to remember and 
seek freedom for all prisoners of conscience, all believers, democrats, 
and human rights activists who will one day triumph in China, but who 
now suffer grievously. There is ongoing aggressive repression of those 
who want to practice their faith as they see fit.
  Matter of fact, it has gotten worse in the last few years. Falun Gong 
practitioners, for example, are routinely rounded up and beaten and 
abused, and hundreds have been tortured to death while held in 
captivity. Catholics loyal to the Pope and members of the Protestant 
house church movements are harassed, tortured and imprisoned. The 
Communist government of China subjects Buddhist Tibetans and Muslim 
Uighurs to cultural and physical genocide.
  China also makes brothers and sisters illegal. China's coercive one-
child-per-couple policy not only subjects millions of women to forced 
abortions and sterilizations; it has encouraged a massive increase in 
sex-selective abortions and female infanticide. The result is up to 100 
million missing girls or women and one of the worst human trafficking 
problems now in the world. Matter of fact, it has been said by one 
China demographer that by the year 2020 as many as 40 million men will 
be looking for wives in China and will not be able to find them as a 
direct result of the one-child-per-couple policy.
  Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Mao Hengfeng, a long-time activist to end this evil 
policy, was rearrested just a few days ago as part of a new crackdown 
on pro-democracy protests related to the Tiananmen Square anniversary. 
The Chinese Communists know, even if many Westerners still do not 
understand it, that democracy and the right to life are intrinsically 
connected. I held a hearing a year and a half ago on Mrs. Mao, and I 
continue to admire her incredible courage. Today, I pray for her and 
her family and will work again for her early release.
  Two other prisoners, Madam Speaker, especially Dr. Yang Jianli and 
Dr. Wang Bingzhang, deserve special recognition as well today. They are 
both American permanent residents. Their families are U.S. citizens, 
and they have for many years peacefully worked for freedom and 
democracy in the People's Republic of China. In a country with 
thousands of prisoners, their cases are particularly egregious examples 
of China's human rights violations. This bill calls for their immediate 
release, as well as the immediate release of all prisoners of 
conscience.
  Madam Speaker, we cannot forget these people. Had the hopes of the 
Tiananmen Square been realized, we would not need to pass such a 
resolution as we do today. The more than 25 hearings that I have held 
on this subject would not have been needed and many resolutions, 
including two more that will follow this one to make a record three 
resolutions on China's egregious human rights abuse being considered on 
the House floor today.
  Alas, all of this is necessary until China agrees to observe the 
fundamental human rights that belong to all people and are recognized 
as such under the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. We must 
not collaborate with the Chinese Communists to erase history. We must 
honor the memory of those who protested and did so so valiantly.
  This amendment in the nature of a substitute that we offer today has 
been updated to more tightly focus on the denial of fundamental human 
rights in China symbolized by the Tiananmen Square massacre.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance our time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. May I 
express my deep respect for my friend and colleague from New Jersey 
(Mr. Smith) for his indefatigable fight for human rights in China.
  I hope, Madam Speaker, you will have occasion to visit my office, 
because in the reception room you will find a large poster of a young 
unarmed Chinese student facing down a row of Chinese tanks on Tiananmen 
Square. This poster and this image is the indelible record of what 
happened at Tiananmen Square 17 years ago.
  That day, 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, like the one 
who is depicted in my poster, to the students and to the workers 
gathered in Tiananmen Square and address their concerns about party 
corruption and the lack of democracy, or whether they would seek to 
quash the movement with violent and vicious 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 choice. 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.
  The Chinese leadership hoped that the world would soon forget the 
Tiananmen Square massacre. Our job in Congress is to ensure that we 
never forget those who lost their lives in Tiananmen Square that day or 
the pro-democracy cause for which they fought.
  While the list of ongoing human rights violations in China is long, 
today I would like to focus on the Chinese Government control of the 
Internet.
  Despite its enormous power and wealth, China's ruling elite remains 
absolutely petrified that the free flow of information will undermine 
its political legitimacy, particularly among China's younger 
generation. The rulers in Beijing reason that if an average Chinese 
person can find out the truth about the Tiananmen massacre or the 
repression of the Falun Gong with a few key strokes on the computer, it 
is only a matter of time before the Chinese public will demand 
fundamental change in China.
  So rather than face the bitter truth, China has placed severe 
restrictions on the Internet and enlisted America's high-tech companies 
as their Internet police.
  In America's open and democratic system, based on our constitutional 
guarantee of freedom of expression, these high-tech firms have thrived 
and their founders have amassed enormous wealth, running into the 
billions, great influence and prestige.
  But instead of using their power and creativity to bring greater 
openness and democracy to China, they have yielded to Beijing's 
outrageous demands simply for the sake of profits. Google, Microsoft 
and Yahoo should be developing new technologies to bypass government 
sensors and barriers to the Internet; but instead, they agreed to guard 
the gates themselves.
  Let me start with Yahoo. As we meet today, a Chinese citizen who had 
the courage to speak his mind on the Internet is in prison because 
Yahoo chose to share his name and address with the Chinese Government. 
It is bad enough

[[Page 10804]]

that Beijing is so petrified of dissent that it throws dissidents 
behind bars for years on end and blacklists their families; but it is 
simply beyond comprehension, Madam Speaker, that an American company 
would play an active role in the Chinese suppression apparatus.
  Yahoo insists that it has no choice but to follow national laws and 
cites its adherence to modern German laws that prohibit neo-Nazi 
propaganda. This argument literally sickens me. Germany is a mature 
democracy, and its freely elected leaders have determined that they 
wish to prohibit the most severe forms of hate-mongering.
  China has a rubber-stamp parliament; and the Chinese Government 
places severe, far-reaching restrictions on freedom of speech and 
religious liberty. For an American firm such as Yahoo to comply 
willingly with laws that send someone to jail for simply expressing his 
views is unconscionable.

                              {time}  1445

  Google and Microsoft similarly argue that they must comply with 
Chinese laws that prohibit on-line discussions and searching of certain 
``sensitive'' subjects. So they have elected to become surrogate 
government censors, removing content and blocking information that 
offends the political sensitivities of the ruling elite in Beijing.
  They apparently have no moral problems with censoring the Tibetans 
and Falun Gong, both persecuted minorities in China. Do these companies 
have any standards at all? If Iran demands that Google block all 
information related to Jews except anti-Semitic propaganda, will it 
comply? What about a Sudanese request to censor information on the 
ongoing genocide in Darfur?
  Madam Speaker, several pieces of legislation have been introduced to 
stop American complicity with China's crackdown on the Internet. We 
must move forward with these bills expeditiously not only because it is 
good policy but because it would honor the memory of those who died in 
Tiananmen Square 17 years ago today, Madam Speaker, and I urge my 
colleagues to support this resolution.
  I yield back the balance of my time.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution now under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Miss McMorris). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 
794, recognizing the 17th anniversary of the massacre in Tiananmen 
Square.
  I would like to thank Chairman Henry Hyde, Ranking Member Tom Lantos 
and Congressman Chris Smith of the House International Relations 
Committee, as well as the International Relations Committee staff, for 
their work on this bill.
  House Resolution 794 rightfully commends all persons who are 
peacefully advocating for democracy and human rights in China. The 
resolution condemns the ongoing human rights abuses by the government 
of the People's Republic of China, and calls on that government to 
cease the inhumane treatment of pro-democracy activists, prisoners of 
conscience, minorities, and religious groups.
  The resolution includes language regarding Dr. Wang Bingzhang, a 
family member of constituents from the great city of La Puente, CA. In 
June of 2002, Dr. Wang was abducted in Vietnam by Chinese authorities 
and held in solitary confinement in China for six months, during which 
time the Chinese government denied any knowledge of his whereabouts. In 
December of the same year, the Chinese government reversed itself and 
acknowledged he had been in their custody. Dr. Wang was then issued a 
life sentence after a closed, half-day trial.
  Dr. Wang has been refused a fair trial, and the Chinese government 
has refused to release any evidence to substantiate Dr. Wang's alleged 
crimes. Dr. Wang is currently being held in Shaoguan prison in 
Guangdong Province, where he is on a hunger strike. Prison authorities 
continue to deny Dr. Wang access to Western medicine which he needs for 
his serious health issues.
  I thank the Members of the International Relations Committee who 
supported this bipartisan resolution. I look forward to the committee's 
continued work to end the deplorable, appalling and unjust treatment of 
dissidents by Chinese authorities.
  My staff and I will continue to work on this critical issue, and I 
look forward to Dr. Wang's release and return to his family.
  Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, it has been 17 years since the Chinese 
government unleashed the People's Liberation Army on its own 
defenseless people in Tiananmen Square. Today, the House of 
Representatives pays tribute to the brave souls who stood up for 
freedom, only to be met with a hail of bullets and a new era of 
repression.
  The forward march of freedom has often been advanced by people who 
defied the powers of their day to demand the liberties and human rights 
to which all people everywhere are entitled.
  We remember how Chinese students, workers, and citizens marched in 
peace; how they raised a Goddess of Democracy in the image of our own 
Statue of Liberty; how they quoted our own Founding Fathers.
  Seventeen years later, almost every independent organization 
monitoring human rights believes the situation in China has not 
significantly improved.
  In fact, we know the Chinese government is becoming even more 
sophisticated, using new technology to monitor and apprehend those who 
criticize the regime or worship freely. Web service providers are 
required to censor information. Sadly, they are complying instead of 
using their leverage to push for change.
  Religious believers continue to be a target of the Chinese 
government, subjected to harassment and detention for only practicing 
their faith.
  Chinese authorities require Tibetans to denounce the Dalai Lama as 
their spiritual leader and imprison individuals for simply owning 
pictures of the Dalai Lama.
  Bush Administration officials say they hope China will become a 
``responsible stakeholder'' in world affairs. We should avoid wishful 
thinking about the intentions of the Chinese government.
  In addition to the deplorable human rights conditions, the Chinese 
government is providing military technology to countries that threaten 
international security including Iran and North Korea, threatening 
Taiwan with a military attack, and violating its trade agreements.
  Certainly we need to engage China, but it should be sustainable 
engagement that enables us to sustain our values, sustain our economic 
growth, and sustain our national security.
  Today, we once again call on Beijing to release the thousands of 
prisoners whose only crime is to demand their basic human rights.
  We call on the Chinese government to open up the Laogai prison system 
to the International Red Cross so the world can see what really is 
going on.
  The spirit of Tiananmen endures and inspires. Tanks and troops may 
crush a protest, but they can never extinguish the flame of freedom 
that bums in every human heart.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 794, 
Recognizing the 17th anniversary of the massacre in Tiananmen Square, 
Beijing, the People's Republic of China, and for other purposes. The 
People's Republic of China has a long record of human rights 
violations. By supporting H. Res. 794, we call upon the People's 
Republic of China to adopt desperately needed democratic reforms. In 
addition, by supporting this resolution, we honor individuals who have 
endured imprisonment, torture, and sometimes even death to advance the 
cause of democracy in China.
  The United States is a country founded on the principle that each 
individual is entitled to basic human rights. We must pressure China to 
improve its human rights record and to abide by internationally agreed 
upon standards for human rights. Additionally, we must pressure China 
to adopt democratic reforms.
  The United States has an obligation to aid in the progressive 
struggle to topple oppression and to sow the seeds of democracy 
worldwide. The disturbing events of June 3-4, 1989 in Tiananmen Square 
revealed the opposition of the Communist regime to political expression 
by the people of China, a most basic human freedom. The People's 
Republic of China's denial of universal suffrage in Hong Kong, despite 
the massive protests in 2003, its imprisonment of perhaps thousands of 
pro-democracy activists like Yang Jianli, and its brutal persecution of 
peaceful Falun Gong practitioners are further representative of the 
regime's oppression of its people.
  H. Res. 794 calls upon the People's Republic of China to refrain from 
oppressing its people. Additionally, the United States reaffirms its

[[Page 10805]]

commitment to the promotion and advancement of democratic principles in 
China by recognizing the 17th anniversary of the massacre in Tiananmen 
Square.
  I strongly support this resolution. I urge my colleagues' support.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I urge support of the 
resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. 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. 794, as amended.
  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. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam 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 question will 
be postponed.

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