[House Report 105-305]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 1st Session                                                    105-305
_______________________________________________________________________


 
                 POLITICAL FREEDOM IN CHINA ACT OF 1997

_______________________________________________________________________


October 6, 1997.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Gilman, from the Committee on International Relations, submitted 
                             the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2358]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on International Relations, to whom was 
referred the bill (H.R. 2358) to provide for improved 
monitoring of human rights violations in the People's Republic 
of China, having considered the same, report favorably thereon 
with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
    The amendments (stated in terms of the page and line 
numbers of the introduced bill) are as follows:
    On page 3, line 5, strike ``state' and'' and insert 
``state' or''.
    On page 3, line 8, strike ``[n]on-approved'' and insert 
``[n]onapproved''.
    On page 3, line 12, strike ``Zinjiang,'' and insert 
``Xinjiang,''.
    On page 3, line 22, strike ``residents'' and insert 
``dissidents''.
    On page 4, line 2, strike ``1996,'' and insert ``1995,''.
    On page 5, strike lines 18-23.

                         background and purpose

    H.R. 2358, the ``Political Freedom in China Act of 1997,'' 
authorizes to be appropriated to State Department additional 
funds to support personnel to monitor political repression in 
the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the United States 
Embassy in Beijing, as well as the American consulates in 
Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, Chengdu, and Hong Kong, 
$2,200,000 for fiscal year 1998 and $2,200,000 for fiscal year 
1999.
    The China section of the State Department Country Reports 
on Human Rights Practices for 1996 states that ``[o]verall in 
1996, the authorities stepped up efforts to cut off expressions 
of protest or criticism. All public dissent against the party 
and government was effectively silenced by intimidation, exile, 
the imposition of prison terms, administrative detention, or 
house arrest. No dissidents were known to be active at year's 
end.''
    Testimony and reports from both private non-governmental 
organizations (NGOs) and the Administration called attention to 
the importance of having more State Department personnel 
assigned solely to monitor human rights of the people living 
under the rule of the Government of the People's Republic of 
China. H.R. 2358 attempts to address this need and the 
important question of whether the cornerstone of our foreign 
policy should be the promotion of American values--that is, the 
protection and advancement of fundamental human rights of 
people around the world.
    The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor has 52 
employees and a budget of a little over $6 million. It is 
disturbing that the Public Affairs office is approximately 
twice as large, with 115 employees and a budget of over $10 
million. In addition, the Protocol office has 62 employees, ten 
more than the whole Human Rights bureau. Moreover, each of the 
six regional bureaus has an average of about 1500 employees. In 
many instances, these are the bureaus the Human Rights bureau 
has to contend with in ensuring that human rights is given a 
prominent role against competing concerns, and they have a 
combined budget of about a billion dollars, or about 160 times 
the budget of the Human Rights bureau.
    State Department regional bureau officials based in 
Washington enhance their expertise by traveling to the regions 
in which they specialize. Officials in the Human Rights Bureau 
below the rank of Deputy Assistant Secretary have very little 
funds at their disposal for such important trips.

                            committee action

    The Subcommittee on International Operations and Human 
Rights during the 104th and 105th Congresses held the following 
hearings or markups related to the human rights problems of 
individuals living under the rule of the Government of the 
People's Republic of China:
          1. February 2, 15, 1995--Country Reports on Human 
        Rights Practices for 1994
          2. March 16, 1995--Human Rights and Democratization 
        in Asia
          3. April 3, 1995--Chinese Prison System, ``LAOGAI''
          4. July 18, 1997--Beijing Conference on Women
          5. August 2, 1995--Beijing Conference on Women
          6. September 8, 1995--Expereinces of Harry Wu as a 
        Political Prisoner in the People's Republic of China
          7. December 7, 1995--Resolution Concerning Writer, 
        Philosopher, Human Rights Advocate Wei Jingsheng
          8. December 18, 1995--Trial, Conviction, and 
        Imprisonment of Wei Jingsheng: How Should it Affect 
        U.S. Policy?
          9. February 15, 1996--Persecution of Christians 
        Worldwide
          10. March 26, 1996--Country Reports on Human Rights 
        Practices for 1995
          11. June 18, 1996--China MFN: Human Rights 
        Consequences
          12. December 18, 1996--Was There a Tiananmen 
        Massacre?
    On September 25, 1997, the Subcommittee on Human Rights and 
International Operations met in open session and agreed by 
voice vote to favorably report H.R. 2358 to the full Committee 
for consideration.
    On September 29, 1997, the full Committee adopted by voice 
vote an amendment offered by Representative Bereuter to strike 
the provision in the bill that stated that there is only one 
State Department official in the PRC who is assigned to 
monitoring human rights. An amendment by Representative 
Campbell to strike the findings section of the bill was 
defeated by voice vote. Finally, on September 29, 1997, the 
Committee adopted by voice vote a motion to report favorably 
H.R. 2358, as amended, a quorum being present.

                      committee oversight findings

    In compliance with clause 2(l)(3)(A) of rule XI of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee reports 
the findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on 
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

         committee on government reform and oversight findings

    No findings or recommendations of the Committee on 
Government Reform and Oversight were received as referred to in 
clause 2(l)(3)(D) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives.

               new budget authority and tax expenditures

    The Committee adopts the cost estimate of the Congressional 
Budget Office, set out below, as its submission of any required 
information on new budget authority, new spending authority, 
new credit authority, or an increase or decrease in the 
national debt required by clause 2(l)(3)(B) of rule XI of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives.

                       Federal Mandates Statement

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal 
mandates prepared by the Congressional Budget Office pursuant 
to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this 
legislation.

                Applicability to the Legislative Branch

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

                   Constitutional Authority statement

    In compliance with clause 2(l)(4) of rule XI of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee cities the 
following specific powers granted to the Congress in the 
Constitution as authority for enactment of H.R. 2358 as 
reported by the Committee: Article I, section 8, clause 3 
(relating to the regulation of commerce with foreign nations 
and among the several states); and Article I, section 8, clause 
18 (relating to making all laws necessary and proper for 
carrying into execution powers vested by the Constitution in 
the government of the United States).

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    In compliance with clause 2(l)(3)(C) of rule XI of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth 
with respect to H.R. 2358 as reported by the Committee the 
following estimate and comparison prepared by the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office under section 403 of the Budget 
Act of 1974:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                   Washington, DC, October 3, 1997.
Hon. Benjamin A. Gilman,
Chairman, Committee on International Relations,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2358, the 
Political Freedom in China Act of 1997.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Sunita 
D'Monte.
            Sincerely,
                                         June E. O'Neill, Director.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 2358--Political Freedom in China Act of 1997

    H.R. 2358 would authorize appropriations of $2.2 million 
each year in 1998 and 1999 to fund additional personnel at 
diplomatic posts in China to monitor human rights. Assuming 
appropriations of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates that 
enacting the bill would raise outlays in each year by the 
amount of the authorization. Because H.R. 2358 would not affect 
direct spending or receipts, pay-as-you-go procedures would not 
apply. The bill does not contain any intergovernmental or 
private-sector mandates as defined by the Unfunded Mandates 
Reform Act of 1995 and would not affect the budgets of state, 
local, or tribal governments.
    The authorization in this bill would be in addition to 
amounts provided in other legislation. H.R. 1757, as passed by 
the House of Representatives on June 11, 1997, would authorize 
$1,747 million each year in 1998 and 1999 for diplomatic and 
consular activities. Together H.R. 2358 and H.R. 1757 would 
raise annual funding for comparable activities by $47 million 
over the amount provided in 1997.
    The estimate was prepared by Sunita D'Monte. This estimate 
was approved by Paul N. Van de Water, Assistant Director for 
Budget Analysis.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

Section 1. Short title

    Provides that the Act may be cited as the ``Political 
Freedom in China Act of 1997.''

Section 2. Findings

    Sets forth relevant findings of Congress. In particular, 
Congress concurs in many of the conclusions of the Department 
of State in its 1996 human rights report with respect to the 
People's Republic of China, including that China is ``an 
authoritarian state''; that the government of China has 
``continued to commit widespread and well documented human 
rights abuses''; that ``[a]buses include torture and 
mistreatment of prisoners, forced confessions, and arbitrary 
and incommunicado detention''; that the number of persons 
detained ``are believed to number in the thousands''; and that 
``[o]verall in 1996, the authorities stepped up efforts to cut 
off expressions of protest or criticism. All dissent against 
the party and government was effectively silenced by 
intimidation, exile, the imposition of prison terms, 
administrative detention, or house arrest. No dissidents were 
known to be active at year's end.'' Among those dissidents who 
have been arrested are Wang Dan (sentenced to 11 years in 
prison); Li Hai (sentenced to 9 years in prison); Liu Nianchun 
(sentenced to 3 years of ``re-education through labor''); Wei 
Jingsheng (sentenced to 14 years in prison); Gao Yu (sentenced 
to 6 years in prison); and Chen Longde (sentenced to 3 years of 
``re-education through labor'').

Section 3. Authorization of appropriations for additional personnel at 
        diplomatic posts to monitor human rights in the People's 
        Republic of China

    Authorizes the appropriation of $2,200,000 in fiscal year 
1998 and $2,200,000 in fiscal year 1999 to support personnel at 
the U.S. embassy in Beijing and at the U.S. consulates in 
Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, Chengdu, and Hong Kong to 
monitor Chinese political repression.

                                
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