[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 153 (Wednesday, November 5, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H10080-H10094]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROVIDING FOR CERTAIN MEASURES TO INCREASE MONITORING OF PRODUCTS OF
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA MADE WITH FORCED LABOR
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 302, I call up
the bill (H.R. 2195) to provide for certain measures to increase
monitoring of products of the People's Republic of China that are made
with forced labor, and ask for its immediate consideration in the
House.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hastings). The bill is considered read
for amendment.
The text of H.R. 2195 is as follows:
H.R. 2195
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Laogai Slave Labor Products
Act of 1997''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The People's Republic of China operates and maintains
an extensive forced labor camp system--the Laogai.
(2) The Laogai is made up of more than 1,100 forced labor
camps, with an estimated population of 6,000,000 to 8,000,000
prisoners.
(3) In one part of the Laogai system, known as laojiao, or
reeducation-through-labor, Chinese citizens can be detained
for up to 3 years without any judicial review or formal
appearance in the judicial system.
(4) The Laogai is an integral sector of the export economy
of the People's Republic of China and is engaged in the
export to the United States of the goods made by forced
labor.
(5) The Government of the People's Republic of China
actively promotes the forced labor camps by employing a
system of dual names for the camps to deceive the
international community.
(6) The United States Customs Service has taken formal
administrative action banning the importation of 27 different
products found to have been made in the Laogai.
(7) Despite the fact that the People's Republic of China
has entered into binding agreements with the United States
(the 1992 Memorandum of Understanding on Prison Labor, and
the 1994 Statement of Cooperation on the Implementation of
the Memorandum of Understanding on Prison Labor) to allow
inspections of its forced labor camps to determine the
origins of suspected Laogai imports to the United States, the
People's Republic of China has frustrated the implementation
of these agreements.
(8) The State Department's Human Rights Country Reports in
1995 and 1996 each stated, ``Repeated delays in arranging
prison labor site visits called into question Chinese
intentions regarding the implementation of'' the two
agreements referred to in paragraph (7).
(9) Concerning the ability of the United States Customs
Service to identify Communist Chinese products that originate
in the Laogai, Commissioner of Customs George J. Weise stated
in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on
May 22, 1997: ``We simply do not have the tools within our
present arsenal at Customs to gain the timely and in-depth
verification that we need.''.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION FOR ADDITIONAL CUSTOMS AND STATE
DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL TO MONITOR EXPORTATION OF
SLAVE LABOR PRODUCTS BY THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC
OF CHINA.
There are authorized to be appropriated for monitoring by
the United States Customs Service and the Department of State
of the exportation by the People's Republic of China to the
United States of products made with slave labor, the
importation of which violates section 307 of the Tariff Act
of 1930 or section 1761 of title 18, United States Code,
$2,000,000 for fiscal year 1998 and $2,000,000 for fiscal
year 1999.
SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENT ON EXPORTATION OF SLAVE LABOR
PRODUCTS BY THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.
(a) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter,
the Commissioner of Customs and the Secretary of State shall
each prepare and transmit to the Congress reports on the
manufacturing and exportation of products made with slave
labor in the People's Republic of China.
(b) Contents of Report.--Each report under subsection (a)
shall include information concerning the following:
(1) The extent of the use of slave labor in manufacturing
products for exportation by the People's Republic of China,
as well as the volume of exports of such slave labor products
by that country.
(2) The progress of the United States Government in
identifying products made with slave labor in the People's
Republic of China that are destined for the United States
market in violation of section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930
or section 1761 of title 18, United States Code, and in
stemming the importation of those products.
[[Page H10081]]
SEC. 5. RENEGOTIATION OF THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON
PRISON LABOR WITH THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF
CHINA.
It is the sense of the Congress that, since the People's
Republic of China has substantially frustrated the purposes
of the 1992 Memorandum of Understanding with the United
States on Prison Labor, the President should immediately
commence negotiations to replace the current Memorandum of
Understanding on Prison Labor with one providing for
effective monitoring of forced labor in the People's Republic
of China, without restrictions on which prison labor camps
international monitors may visit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 302, the
committee amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in the bill
is adopted.
The text of the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute is
as follows:
H.R. 2195
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The United States Customs Service has identified goods,
wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or
manufactured under conditions of convict labor, forced labor,
and indentured labor in several countries.
(2) The United States Customs Service has actively pursued
attempts to import products made with forced labor, resulting
in seizures, detention orders, fines, and criminal
prosecutions.
(3) The United States Customs Service has taken 21 formal
administrative actions in the form of detention orders
against different products destined for the United States
market, found to have been made with forced labor, including
products from the People's Republic of China.
(4) The United States Customs Service does not currently
have the tools to obtain the timely and in-depth verification
necessary to identify and interdict products made with forced
labor that are destined for the United States market.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR ADDITIONAL CUSTOMS PERSONNEL TO
MONITOR THE IMPORTATION OF PRODUCTS MADE WITH
FORCED LABOR.
There are authorized to be appropriated for monitoring by
the United States Customs Service of the importation into the
United States of products made with forced labor, the
importation of which violates section 307 of the Tariff Act
of 1930 or section 1761 of title 18, United States Code,
$2,000,000 for fiscal year 1999.
SEC. 3. REPORTING REQUIREMENT ON FORCED LABOR PRODUCTS
DESTINED FOR THE UNITED STATES MARKET.
(a) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of
Customs shall prepare and transmit to the Congress a report
on products made with forced labor that are destined for the
United States market.
(b) Contents of Report.--The report under subsection (a)
shall include information concerning the following:
(1) The extent of the use of forced labor in manufacturing
products destined for the United States market.
(2) The volume of products made with forced labor, destined
for the United States market, that is in violation of section
307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 or section 1761 of the title
18, United States Code, and is seized by the United States
Customs Service.
(3) The progress of the United States Customs Service in
identifying and interdicting products made with forced labor
that are destined for the United States market.
SEC. 4. RENEGOTIATING MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING ON FORCED
LABOR.
It is the sense of the Congress that the President should
determine whether any country with which the United States
has a memorandum of understanding with respect to reciprocal
trade which involves goods made with forced labor is
frustrating implementation of the memorandum. Should an
affirmative determination be made, the President should
immediately commence negotiations to replace the current
memorandum of understanding with one providing for effective
procedures for the monitoring of forced labor, including
improved procedures to request investigations of suspected
prison labor facilities by international monitors.
SEC. 5. DEFINITION OF FORCED LABOR.
As used in this Act, the term ``forced labor'' means
convict labor, forced labor, or indentured labor, as such
terms are used in section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930.
Amend the title so as to read: ``A bill to provide for
certain measures to increase monitoring of products that are
made with forced labor.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 302, the
gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Crane] and the gentleman from California
[Mr. Matsui] each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Crane].
General Leave
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have
5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous material on H.R. 2195.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Illinois?
There was no objection.
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2195, a bill to authorize $2
million of appropriations for fiscal year 1999 for the U.S. Customs
Service to increase the monitoring and interdiction of products made
with forced labor.
The funds authorized by H.R. 2195 will allow the Customs Service to
enforce two important provisions in the law regarding forced labor
products. The Tariff Act of 1930 prohibits the importation of goods,
wares, articles, and merchandise which are produced, mined, or
manufactured with the use of forced, convict, or indentured labor.
Title 18 provides criminal penalties for those who willfully violate
these prohibitions.
It has been long-standing U.S. policy to prohibit the importation of
merchandise made under conditions of forced labor. To show that there
is no doubt about our resolve to enforce this prohibition, H.R. 2195,
as amended, would reemphasize U.S. policy by authorizing additional
resources for the U.S. Customs Service to identify and interdict
products made with forced labor by providing a new mechanism for
monitoring compliance with the law and by enhancing enforcement of
international agreements.
Customs already has in place teams of special agents on our borders
working actively to prohibit the importation of forced labor products.
Customs also has 76 special agents and 26 embassies and consular
offices abroad, including three attaches assigned to the U.S. embassy
in Beijing. The investigations conducted by these teams have led to
criminal proceedings, more than 20 detention orders, and 6 findings of
prohibited forced labor importations relating to chain hoists, tea,
electric fans, machine presses, zinc-coated wire, artificial flowers,
and malleable iron pipe.
H.R. 2195 will authorize additional resources for Customs to conduct
these investigations and is consistent with our country's historically
strong position on this issue. This approach is consistent with
historical U.S. trade policy objectives. And on that basis, I urge my
colleagues to support the bill, as amended.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2195, as amended and reported
by the Committee on Ways and Means by voice vote. I was a cosponsor of
the amendment proposed by the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Archer] to
authorize an additional appropriation of $2 million in fiscal year 1999
for the Customs Service to monitor importation of products made with
forced, indentured, or convict labor.
The bill, as amended, also requires Customs to report to Congress
within 1 year on products made with forced labor destined for the U.S.
market and on the efforts by Customs to prevent their importation.
Importation of products made by convict, forced, or indentured labor in
any country is prohibited under trade law in effect since 1980. The
issue is not whether the United States permits importation of products
made with forced labor. Customs has actively pursued and taken actions
against attempted importation of products made with forced labor,
including products from China. However, identification, verification,
and interdiction of products made with forced labor is not an easy
task.
H.R. 2195, as amended, addresses concerns that Customs has
insufficient resources to enforce the import prohibition adequately.
The bill treats this problem in a balanced, generic way by applying the
additional resources through enforcement of existing laws against
imports made by forced labor wherever they may originate rather than
targeting one country as in the bill as introduced.
Finally, this bill, as amended, expresses the sense of the Congress
that the President should determine whether any country with which we
have a memorandum of understanding regarding trade involving goods made
with
[[Page H10082]]
forced labor is frustrating the implementation of that memorandum of
understanding. If that is the case, the President should negotiate a
new MOU that provides effective monitoring procedures.
H.R. 2195, as amended, is very worthwhile, Mr. Speaker, and it
addresses a very serious problem. I urge its passage.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New
York [Mr. Gilman].
(Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of this
important measure introduced by our colleague the gentleman from New
Jersey [Mr. Smith], as modified and reported out of the Committee on
Ways and Means.
For the past half century, the import of convict made goods has been
banned under our laws, yet products made in China's vast network of
slave labor camps, the infamous Laogai, continue to flow into our
country. This measure authorizes $2 million in additional funds for
Customs Service personnel to monitor the import of slave labor products
from these camps and strengthen our monitoring procedures for
international visits to these camps.
Laogai survivor, Harry Wu, has estimated that some 50 million Chinese
men and women have passed through these camps, of whom some 15 million
are thought to have perished. Today, between 6 to 8 million people are
captive in 1,100 camps of the Laogai, forced to work under degrading
and inhuman conditions.
Mr. Speaker, according to Mr. Wu, this slave labor system operates
some 140 export enterprises selling to over 70 nations, including our
own Nation. These camps produce a wide range of key commodities as well
as a huge array of consumers goods, including toys, flowers, and yes,
even Christmas lights.
Despite several binding agreements entered into with China in 1992
and 1994, international monitors have been denied access to these camps
and their exports have been disguised using false names and invoices.
In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on May 22,
1997, Customs Commissioner George Weise stated that, ``We simply do not
have the tools within our present arsenal of Customs to gain the timely
and in-depth verification that we need of these camps.''
Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to support this measure and give
the Customs Service the tools and resources it needs to police and
monitor the imports of goods for this Chinese gulag and slave labor
camps.
Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Massachusetts [Mr. Neal].
Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from
California [Mr. Matsui] for yielding me the time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2195, legislation to provide
for the increased monitoring of products made with forced labor. The
Committee on Ways and Means has made several improvements to the bill.
This legislation provides certain measures to increase the ability of
the U.S. Customs Service to identify, monitor, and interdict products
made with forced labor that are headed for the United States market. It
authorizes $2 million of appropriations for fiscal year 1999 for
Customs to monitor and interdict products made with forced labor.
This legislation also requires Customs to report within 1 year after
the date of enactment on the extent of the use of forced labor in
products destined for the U.S., the volume of products, and the
progress made by Customs in identifying these products.
Also, this legislation includes a sense of Congress that the
President should determine whether any country with whom the United
States has a memorandum of understanding on forced labor is frustrating
implementation of the memorandum of understanding. If the President
determines that the memorandum of understanding is not being
implemented, it is the sense of Congress that the President should
renegotiate a new memorandum of understanding.
This legislation addresses all prison labor in China. The United
States should not allow goods made by prison labor to be available in
the United States market. This legislation also would provide Customs
with the resources to detect and interdict prison goods. The United
States should continue to be a leader on human rights issues. And by
adopting this legislation, we are sending a strong message that
products made by forced labor are not acceptable for sale in the United
States.
I realize the original focus of this bill and other bills that we
will be debating today remain on China. However, it is important to let
all countries know that we will not tolerate prison labor. We should
not just enforce this standard for China.
I urge support for this bill in order to eliminate products made by
forced labor that are imported into the United States.
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to our distinguished
colleague the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Burton].
Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from
Illinois [Mr. Crane] for yielding me the time.
Mr. Speaker, I want to start off by congratulating my good friend the
gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Smith] for all of his efforts in the
area of human rights. He is one of the finest Members we have in this
body, and he really cares about his fellow man.
Mr. Speaker, Laogai, or ``reform through labor,'' as it translates
from Chinese, should not be a practice by nations that surprises this
Congress. But it should be shocking. We have seen it throughout
history, signs on the front of Nazi prison camps that, when translated
read ``labor makes you free.'' And now Chinese slogans in their camps
read ``labor makes a new life.''
The same gulags that Stalin was so proud of inspired Chairman Mao to
launch the oppression of generations of innocent Chinese citizens,
through a system of what we know now to be 1,100 labor camps, slave
labor camps. As the world at one time turned its back on the victims of
the Holocaust, so have they looked away from the prisoners of
conscience, political dissidents, and religious believers in China.
They are subjected to routine brainwashing, torture, and are forced to
work for nothing in factories by the communist elite.
{time} 2000
Look around at the rubber-soled shoes that we buy, the boots, the
kitchenware, toys and sporting goods in this country. These are
products Americans use every day, and they are produced in the Chinese
gulags by slave laborers.
If it were not for a great man named Harry Wu, who knows how long
this cruel injustice would have gone unexposed. Mr. Wu knows firsthand
what it is like to be a prisoner in these gulags. He spent 19 years in
the system and has devoted his life to exposing the slave labor camps.
In Mr. Wu's book Troublemaker, he gives us a glimpse of his life
during the darkest days:
``I knew things were bad when they first transferred me to Camp 585,
reserved for the most unhealthy inmates. The unmarked burying field of
586 was adjacent so they would not have to carry us far when we died.
When prisoners at 585 grew too weak to go out to the fields and work,
they would lie on the floor, a pail on one side for food, a pail on the
other side for human waste. The cook would come by with a large pail of
something resembling soup and would dole it out with a ladle, being
careful not to spill a drop.''
Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Subcommittee on International
Operations Human Rights, I believe that the United States should link
trade and economic cooperation with human rights. The United States is
the world's preeminent superpower, arguably the only Nation on Earth
with both the economic might and the moral legitimacy to make the
observance of human rights a pillar of its foreign policy. The
unfortunate peoples of the world whose basic human rights are
suppressed either by tyrants or failed economic experiments turn to the
United States for hope and not cheap imports. From China to India, the
people who suffer under such regimes understand that if America joins
their struggle by sacrificing short-term economic gain for long-term
justice and freedom, these regimes will die.
[[Page H10083]]
This administration chose again this year to grant China MFN trading
status and would rather, quote, engage China, believing that human
rights follows trade. Every year since 1980, when President Carter
first extended MFN to China, his supporters have been saying the same
thing.
Mr. Speaker, it has failed. A Clinton administration official has
even confessed recently that, quote, frankly, on the human rights
front, the situation has deteriorated. They are rounding up more
dissidents and harassing them more.
Add to this the recent revelation by Harry Wu and the ABC
newsmagazine PrimeTime Live on the harvest and sale of human organs
from executed prisoners, forced abortions and persecution of religious
believers, and we must ask ourselves how could anyone morally conduct
business with a partner like that.
And if the morality does not strike you, what about China's sale of
nuclear material to Iran or the purchase of American-made
supercomputers which could design nuclear warheads for missiles capable
of reaching the United States, or possible attempts to influence our
1996 Presidential election?
Some estimate our trade deficit with China to be about $60 billion on
an annual basis. I would submit that is due to China's slave labor
camps. It is difficult to compete against cheaper products produced by
slaves of the Chinese dictatorship so that these goods we import from
China become a threat to the free and fair trade of our own country.
This administration has chosen to stand up to China only on one issue
in the past 3 years, intellectual property rights. When the Chinese
were faced with trading sanctions over this issue, they backed down. If
this type of muscle from the administration is justified for the music
industry, then it is justified for persecuted Christians, political
dissidents, murdered infants and nuclear proliferation.
The President's policy is not just one of engagement, it is a ``see
no evil'' strategy. Mr. Speaker, it is time to put away the carrots and
break out the sticks.
Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from
Mississippi [Mr. Taylor].
Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, earlier today I made an
analogy between the measures that are going on tonight dealing with the
People's Republic of China and a chapter of a book entitled 365 Days,
written by Dr. Glasser, who was a surgeon in a burn ward dealing with
Vietnam veterans. In one of those chapters he refers to the medics of
Vietnam who, on their own, discovered that for those soldiers who were
so horribly wounded that they were not going to live, and there was not
anything that the medics could do for them, they started giving them
SweeTarts. They told them it was for the pain. The amazing thing was
that it seemed to lessen their pain. It did not save their lives, it
did not make them any better, but it seemed to lessen their pain.
That is kind of what we are doing tonight. The world's greatest
Nation is doing business with the world's greatest totalitarian regime.
That totalitarian regime has a $40 billion trade surplus with our
Nation. Our Nation, because we gave them most-favored-nation status,
allows their goods, many of which are made with the slave labor
described by the previous speakers, to come into our Nation either
totally tariff-free or at a 2 percent tariff. One of the places they
compete with is a glove factory in south Mississippi. That is not fair.
In turn, when we try to sell products in their Nation, they either do
not allow them in, or they charge anywhere from a 20 to 40 percent
tariff on American goods. That is not fair.
All the things we are doing tonight are very much like those
SweeTarts. They do not save the persons we are trying to save and in
reality do not even make them feel better. It just makes them think
that they feel better.
Mr. Speaker, I intend to support the bill of the gentleman from
California [Mr. Cox] because at least it does make us feel a little bit
better, and I intend to offer at the proper time a motion to recommit
to include portions of a bill that I have introduced, H.R. 2814, which
would on a quarterly basis require our Secretary of the Treasury to
review what the People's Republic of China is charging Americans who
seek to do business in China as far as tariffs, and on a quarterly
basis change that amount so that we charge them what they charge us.
If Members truly believe in free trade, like some members of both
parties espouse, then there is only one way to get the Chinese
attention, and that is to say we will do unto others as you do unto us,
because the present situation of letting them have a $40 billion trade
surplus with our Nation, unlimited access to our markets, unlimited
access to our enemies, and let me remind the American people that the
Silkworm missile that came within 100 yards of hitting one of our
battleships in the Gulf War was made in China, the only way we are ever
going to get their attention is to start hitting them in the
pocketbook, where it will make a difference.
Mr. Speaker, I am not given a whole lot of time to talk about this. I
am sorry to say that many of my colleagues for one reason or another
are not on the floor. They are probably being moved to say, well, that
is not germane to the bill, but guess what. One of the ways you get on
the Committee on Ways and Means is you sign some sort of a blood oath
to be a free trader. It means you do not believe in tariffs. It means
that other people can abuse us as much as they want to.
This is the only opportunity the 435 Members of this House are going
to have this year to address this horrible trade inequity and horrible
unfairness. We all beat our brains out to get here. I do not think the
people on the Committee on Ways and Means should have a monopoly on
deciding trade issues. As long as we say to them that only those things
that you think are right will come to this floor, then we will continue
to be given limited opportunities to adjust the gross inequities in
America's trade laws.
Members will have that chance tonight. I hope for once we will stand
up for the world's greatest Nation, for the voice of democracy and
against this voice of totalitarianism.
Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. I yield to the gentleman from California.
Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
What I see in his bill is essentially what I offered, I think, with
respect to Japan back in 1982, which is a two-way street bill, that we
let the other side control the level of tariffs, and if they want to
raise the wall, they raise it; if they want to lower it, they lower it.
So they are motivated to be free traders or to be open traders with the
United States and develop a two-way street with a Nation that enjoys a
$30 billion trade surplus over the United States and that rather
arrogantly insists on their 30 percent barriers while we pull our
barriers down to zero. I support the gentleman's initiative.
Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. I want to thank the chairman of the
Subcommittee on Military Procurement of the Committee on National
Security, someone who is more aware than most of the threat that the
Chinese pose to our Nation, of the threatening remarks they have made
about their missiles being able to land in our country, and all we are
asking is for some sense of fairness in America's trade laws.
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New
Jersey [Mr. Smith].
(Mr. SMITH of New Jersey asked and was given permission to revise and
extend his remarks.)
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for
yielding me this time.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2195, which has now 27 cosponsors from both sides
of the aisle, represents a modest but important first step toward
enforcing already existing U.S. law regarding slave-made products.
First it authorizes $2 million in fiscal year 1999 for additional
monitoring by the United States Customs Service for products made with
slave labor. Second, it requires the Commissioner of Customs to report
to Congress on the manufacture and export of products made with slave
labor. Finally, it expresses the sense of Congress that the President
should determine whether China is frustrating implementation of the
memorandum of
[[Page H10084]]
understanding, and if the answer is affirmative, then he should begin
negotiations for a new MOU with effective monitoring procedures.
I can say parenthetically, that cannot start a moment too soon,
because I have been watching this as chairman of the Subcommittee on
International Operations and Human Rights for a number of years, and we
know that despite some action that has been taken, the MOU and its
follow-on document was flawed.
Mr. Speaker, the bill is directed, as we know, primarily toward
China. This is not because we are unfairly singling out China, but
because China is far and away the biggest source of slave-made goods.
In the words of George Weise, the Commissioner of the U.S. Customs
Service, ``China is currently by far the country most frequently
associated with the export of prison labor-made goods to the United
States.''
As a matter of fact, in the first 60 years of the existence of
section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 as amended, which provides U.S.
Customs with its primary authority concerning the importation of
convict or forced labor, the United States took action twice against
products produced in a Soviet gulag and in a Mexican prison. Since
September 1991, however, the U.S. Customs Service has banned nearly 2
dozen Chinese products. These just represent the tip of the iceberg.
For the Record I will submit those couple of dozen at the appropriate
time, Mr. Speaker.
Let me just also point out, Mr. Speaker, we have had a number of
hearings in the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human
Rights. As a matter of fact, back in 1995, April 3, we had the first
hearing ever on survivors of the Laogai. We heard from Harry Wu,
Catherine Ho; we heard from Tang Boiqiao, who was one of the protesters
at Tiananmen Square, and they describe in absolutely riveting and
nauseating detail what actually goes on day in and day out in the
Laogai. It is horrific.
They talked about using cattle prods. As a matter of fact, the
Tibetan monk who testified before our committee, Palden Gyatso, could
not get through Rayburn security when he came in with a cattle prod,
and then he told us what they do with the cattle prod. We had to go
down and escort him through. He said, this is commonplace. His teeth
are ruined. The genitals often get inflicted with this terrible and
hideous device, and they do that on women and on men.
Catherine Ho talked about as a Catholic how she had been mistreated,
and to read the words are to make you sick. That this goes on day in
and day out, and they make products that do end up on our shelves.
There are those who may disagree, who think this is hyperbole. Look
at the list, and the list will grow if we demand enhanced enforcement.
This legislation is just a modest step in demanding some additional
enforcement.
The gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Wolf] and I have been in gulags. We
were in a Beijing prison camp where we saw jelly shoes and socks being
made for export. Yes, the Chinese authorities shut down that one, but
for every one that is shut down, there are another thousand plus that
are operating and littering the countryside of China where these things
are made.
{time} 2015
We saw 40 Tiananmen Square activists, men and women, these were men
in this case, who put their lives on the line for democracy, who were
slaving away for these products that were going to be sent overseas to
the United States.
Let me also point out, Mr. Speaker, that the lack of vigorous
enforcement of U.S. laws against slave-made goods does not merely
support repression within China, it also hurts American manufacturers.
For example, at a May 22, 1997, hearing of my subcommittee, we
received testimony from a man by the name of Peter Levy, an American
manufacturer of office supplies. Mr. Levy, who was curious about how
one of his competitors was able to sell certain products at such low
prices, launched his own investigation. It led him to a prison compound
in Nanjing, China, where his competitor's products were being assembled
by prisoners at a Chinese gulag in Laogai, and I understand because of
what Mr. Levy did, the United States Customs Service has now taken that
case and is investigating that case for, hopefully, some prompt action.
This legislation is modest, I hope everyone can support it, and I
thank the gentleman from California [Mr. Matsui] and my good friend
from Illinois [Mr. Crane] for their support as well.
Chinese Convict Labor Issuances as of May 31, 1996
Detention Orders
Date, products and producers:
1. 10-03-91--Wrenches--(Shanghai Laodong Machine Works).
2. 10-03-91--Steel Pipe--(Shanghai Laodong Steel Pipe
Works).
3. 10-25-91--Hand Tools--(Shanghai Laodong Machine Works).
4. 10-29-91--Socks--(Beijing Qinghe Knitting Mill).
Cancelled 12-13-93.
5. 11-06-91--Planing Machines--(Xiangyang Machine Tool
Works).
6. 11-14-91--Diesel Engines--(Yunnan Jinma Diesel Engine
General Works).
7. 12-02-91--Machine Presses--(Xuzhou Forging and Pressing
Machinery Plant).
8. 01-07-92--Diesel Engines & Textile Machines--(Dezhou
Shengjian Machine Works).
9. 02-25-92--Galvanized Pipes--(Shandong Laiyang Heavy
Machine Works).
10. 02-25-92--Tea--(Guangdong Red Star Tea Farm). Cancelled
09-30-94.
11. 05-22-92--Grapes--(Beijing Qinghe Farm). Cancelled 01-
07-94.
12. 05-22-92--Sheepskin & Leather--(Qinghai Hide & Garment
Factory).
13. 06-24-92--Hand Tools--(amends #1 and #2).
14. 06-26-92--Cast Iron Items--(Wang Tsang Coal & Iron
Works).
15. 06-26-92--Tea--(Miao Chi Tea Farm).
16. 07-15-92--Auto Parts--(Sichuan Yaan Auto Parts Works).
17. 07-15-92--Drilling Machines--(Sichuan Zi Gong Machine
Works).
18. 07-17-92--Sulfuric (Sulphuric) Acid--(Dawei Chemical
Factory).
19. 08-03-92--Electric Fans & Zinc-Coated Wire--(Sichuan
Xinsheng Laodong Tool Works).
20. 08-14-92--Asbestos--(Sichuan Hsinkang Asbestos Mine).
21. 07-08-93--Hoists--(Hangzhou Wulin Machine Works).
22. 08-06-93--Hoists--(Wuyi Machine Works).
23. 09-01-93--Surgical Gloves, Condoms, Rain Coats, Rubber
Boots--(Shenyang Xinsheng Rubber Factory).
24. 09-03-93--Rubber Vulcanizing Accelerators--(Shenyang
Xinsheng Chemical Works).
25. 12-24-94--Artificial Flowers--(Guangdong No. 1 Laojiao
Camp).
26. 04-27-95--Tea--(Nanhu Laogai Camp-Nanhu Tree Farm).
27. 10-06-95--Malleable Iron Products--(Tianjin Malleable
Iron Plant).
28. 03-06-96--Iron Pipe Fitting--(Tianjin Tongbao Fitting
Company).
____
Hearing Testimony on Chinese Prison System
statement of tang boiqiao, former student leader of 1989 democracy
movement
Mr. Tang. My name is Tang Boiqiao and I am a former student
of Hunan Teachers' College. In July 1989, I was arrested by
the Communists because of my organizing and participating in
the Hunan student movement. I was held until July 1990 before
finally being sentenced to 3 years' detention. My crime was
called counterrevolutionary propagandizing and incitement.
In October of that year, I was transferred to the Hunan
Province Longxi Prison for reform through labor. In January
1991, I was unexpectedly released from prison.
After my release, I was again arrested because of my
continued involvement in the popular movements and human
rights activities. Following the summer of 1991, I fled
China. In April 1992, I entered the United States and sought
political asylum.
My reason for coming here today is to share with you my
experiences while in the Laogai.
I was first arrested in July 1969 in Guangdong Province,
after which I was held in three different detention centers
where I was forced to labor with my fellow prisoners. While
at Guangdong No. 1 Detention Center, I made toys which had
the words ``Made in China'' in English written on them. I was
allowed to eat only twice a day.
Next, I was transferred to Changsha in Hunan and spent more
than a year at the Changsha No. 1 Detention Center. During
this time I suffered through the darkest and most hopeless
existence. For more than 4 months straight, I was questioned
about my case an average 10 hours a day in what the
Communists call exhaustive tactics. This Laogai forced its
prisoners to produce match boxes. There were no labor rewards
but every month the cellmates, which had the highest
production numbers, were given one cheap cigarette a day. The
police or officials forced the prisoners to work day and
night so that they could report increased production output
and receive cash incentives. We would work for at least 12
hours per day. The longest day was one when we worked 23\1/2\
hours with a half-hour food break.
Because I would refuse to work, the public security police
would often arrange for the other prisoners to abuse and beat
me. One day I was beaten three different times by seven or
eight young prisoners, two of which were convicted murderers.
The first time, because I was unwilling to be forced to
labor,
[[Page H10085]]
they beat me until I bled from the eyes, ears, nose, and
mouth. The second time, because I resisted when they tried to
force me to kneel down, they used anything they could find in
the cell to beat me, including a wooden stool, heavy wooden
sticks and metal cups and bowls. The last time they beat me
while I could not move and lay on the floor hunched over.
At this, the public security police were still not
satisfied, so that evening they held a struggle session and
ordered every prisoner in the Laogai to viciously beat me.
That night I developed a fever of 104 degrees, which
persisted for more than a week. I was unable to even sit
upright.
While there were many methods used in torturing people at
this Laogai, the most often used tools were the electric
police baton and shackles. There were more than 10 kinds of
shackles, including thumb shackles, so-called earth shackles,
all kind of wrist shackles, chain shackles, chain-link
shackles, door frame shackles, heavy shackles and others. The
most simple method was to conduct a political study class
where the prisoners needed to attend for long periods of time
while shackled. I personally experienced electric shocks and
many kinds of shackles.
The Laogai prisons used different types of abuse and
control than those of the detention centers. After I was
transferred to the prison, when I was first assigned to a
prison brigade, we were shown the three unforgettable phrases
that were written on the wall of the prison entrance. ``Where
are you? What are you? What are you to do here?''
Later in the daily political study classes, we needed to
follow these questions with the responses, ``This is a
prison. I am a criminal. I am here to receive reform through
labor.'' We also had to sing three songs at the beginning of
every political study class. The songs were ``Socialism is
Good,'' ``Without the Communist Party There Would be no New
China'' and ``Emulate Lei Feng.'' Lei Feng was a 1950's
Chinese Communist martyr.
The kind of billboard you see above the prison there has
these three slogans that the prisoners see when they enter
the prison, ``Where are you? What are you? And what are you
doing here?'' And the other sign there says, has the slogans,
``Labor production is the way, reform is the main goal.''
The words ``Socialism is good'' begins ``Socialism is good.
Socialism is good. Everyone in a socialist society is
improved.'' The lyrics of ``Without the Communist Party,
there would be no new China'' are ``Without the Communist
Party, There Would be no New China, the Communist Party is
united for the people. The Communist Party is united to save
China.''
The meaning of the last song is that we should all be like
the Communist hero Lei Feng. That is, ``Loyal to the
revolution, loyal to the party, standing in the field erect
and unwavering, Communist thinking emits knowledge.'' I
realized that this was how they would force us to reform our
thinking, so I refused to sing the three songs.
The police used many methods to try to intimidate and
coerce me into cooperating, and in the end, I was sent to the
prison of prisons, solitary confinement. Its length and
height are barely enough to hold a man, and it has solid
walls with only a tiny slit in the door. It very easily makes
men think like animals in a cage.
These are only some of the stories of my time in the
Laogai, yet all of the mistreatment and abuse I suffered in
the Laogai is just a drop of water in a great river. When you
think of all the abuses of the millions of Chinese citizens
still condemned in the Laogai, my story is just the tip of
the iceberg.
Thank you very much.
Mr. Smith. I want to thank you for your very eloquent
testimony and for bringing the horrors, however succinctly
you described them, to the attention of this subcommittee. I
know that many of the members will be reading this transcript
and will be reading your description of what you went through
personally and what others have gone through with a great
deal of empathy and the sense of horror. And I think we lose
that sometimes in Congress when we are so far removed from it
and we make policy in some-what of a vacuum and, again, to
know what we are a part of and complicit in when we are
dealing with the Chinese economic system and products
manufactured in Laogai like what you made could be well
finding our ways onto to our own shores, makes us--should
make us act more responsibly and to bend over backwards not
to be complicit in that kind of horror.
So I thank you.
What I thought we might do in the subcommittee is ask all
of our witnesses to testify first and then to ask members of
the subcommittee to pose questions at that time.
I would like to call to the witness chair Catherine Ho.
Mrs. Ho is a Catholic who was accused of counterrevolutionary
crimes. She spent 21 years in the Chinese Gulag system.
And I would ask you to proceed however you may wish. Your
full statement will be made a part of the record.
statement of catherine ho, catholic nun
Ms. Ho. My name is Catherine Ho.
One of the goals of the Laogai camps is to break the human
spirit through torture of the body. But even worse than the
bodily abuses is the unceasing assault of the prisoner's
thoughts and individual will. This is especially true of the
suffering endured by the millions of women condemned to the
Laogai.
I was born into a well-educated family in Shanghai. My good
parents sent me to an excellent Catholic high school. There I
became a Catholic. I studied very hard and should have had a
bright future. Instead, I was arrested and imprisoned by the
Communist government before I was even 18 years old. I was
arrested on September 8, 1955, as was our bishop in Shanghai,
Cardinal Kung. Kung is now in the United States receiving
medical care.
Between 1953 and 1955, the church-run schools and hospitals
in Shanghai were taken over by the Communists. The church's
charitable institutions were simply closed. The foreign
missionaries had already been expelled as imperialists. The
Chinese priests and the bishops were all targets of the
Communists and were either killed or arrested one after
another.
Most of the Christians were forced to go through
brainwashing. They faced losing their jobs or educational
opportunities. And they also faced being sent to the Laogai
camps or prisons to suffer because of their faith. Religious
people were continuously persecuted by Communists.
We did not oppose the government. We only wanted to
practice our religion but the Communists said it was a crime
against China. The only reason I was put in jail was because
I was an active Christian. I was a member of the Legion of
Mary, which is a devout missionary organization. And I did
missionary works. I refused to renounce our church and did
not want to be a part of the Communist-controlled church.
Because of my faith, they put me in jail. They isolated me
from the outside world. They tried to confuse me with all
their propaganda. But I knew they told lies. I could not go
against my conscience. I could not deny my faith. I could not
give up my faith, which is such a precious gift that many
Christians were willing to die for it.
At first they sentenced me to 7 years in the Laogai Prison
in the labor camp as a counterrevolutionary. I was not
allowed legal representation. I did not even have a trial.
When they found out that I had still not changed my mind
after my 7 years, they would not let me go. They kept me in
the Laogai camp for 21 years.
The Chinese Communists cannot tolerate religion, especially
the Christian religion. They have a hatred for everything
which involves believing any god above or beyond human kind.
To this day, they are still persecuting and imprisoning
religious believers.
I would like to now give you some examples of the
systematic abuse and the persecution of the Laogai camps.
These Laogai camps are in no way like the prisons we know of
in this country. No way. Words are not enough to convey the
horrible day-to-day realities of the prisoners in the Laogai.
Physically we were always hungry, tired, and filthy. The
women were forced to do heavy labor, like plowing the desert,
raising cattle, or running a tea farm. The physical torture
of our body was so extreme that many women's menstruation
ceased in many of the women in the Laogai camp. This put
great strain on both a women's body and her mind. There were
never any medical treatments of this or other sicknesses.
Despite these exhaustive and grueling conditions, we were
forced to produce high-level products. For example, I was in
a Laogai camp tea farm for about 10 years. This is the Laogai
tea farm.
The women prisoners were forced to plant the trees, take
care of the plants, and then process the tea leaves into red
or green tea. I spent another 4 years weaving silk and cloth
in Laogai factory. On the surface, it was a textile factory
in Hangzhou, but the workers were all women prisoners doing
forced labor. In the factory, there were two constant
pressures upon us. First was the physical fatigue. I was
forced to work very hard for 14 hours a day. I had to fight
exhaustion just to keep from falling into the machines.
Second was the constant supervision. Since we were told that
the products we made were for export to foreign countries,
they watched our every move to be sure we made no mistakes.
If there were mistakes or someone did not appear to be
working hard, we were severely punished. They used ankle
fetters, handcuffs, solitary confinement, and other means to
punish us.
Today I often wonder if the tea I drink or the silk I wear
comes from Laogai camps and is made by all those poor Laogai
slaves still suffering in China.
Daily we were assaulted mentally. We were continually
brainwashed. We were not allowed to say our prayers or to
read bibles. I remember clearly my first day in the detention
center. I kneeled down on the muddy ground, bowed my head,
and begged for the Lord to give me the strength. The warden
immediately scolded me, ``Who told you to kneel down? Even at
the door of death, you keep up your superstitions. This is a
counterrevolutionary activity.''
In the Laogai, we were not allowed to hear and read
anything but the Communist propaganda. We had to spend 2
hours everyday reading Mao's book and reciting the prison
regulations. I remember one 60-year-old sister who made a set
of small rosary beads out of thread so it will not be
discovered and confiscated by the guards.
The continuous brainwashing helped destroy all human love
and was a denial of all basic human rights.
Spiritually, it was a constant struggle. We faced constant
despair and always heard the
[[Page H10086]]
discouraging and threatening comments of the authorities. A
prisoner had to confess her crime everyday, which meant
scolding oneself and accusing oneself of being guilty of the
greatest of crimes against the people and the government.
Every prisoner was degraded. They minimized their own value
of being human. They were separated from their families and
society. They were tortured in a dark hell that had no
foreseeable end. They fought the despair and hopelessness of
thinking that they were to spend the rest of their lives as
slaves in the Laogai.
One woman refused to work on Sundays. She would say prayers
instead of singing revolutionary songs in front of Mao's
portrait. One day she was dragged out to the field where we
were working and beaten to death in front of all of us.
I said the Communists' aim is to torture the body and break
the human spirit in every possible way and at every possible
opportunity. When the warden told me my beloved sister had
died, he simply said, ``The People's Government acted
humanely. It is all over now. You should not cry because that
is against the rules. And it would have a bad effect on the
feelings of the others about thought reform.'' They did not
let us laugh. They even did not let us cry.
They succeeded to the point where to many it looked like
there was no future, no hope. The prisoners in the Laogai
camp were always in a deep depression. I myself prayed to God
to let me die. I wanted to die more than I wanted to live
because the circumstances were too horrible. Even if you did
not want to continue living under this condition, they would
not let you die. There was a constant suicide watch.
God sustained us nevertheless. My faith preserved me. God's
grace helped me live through this nightmarish journey.
Finally my prayers were answered. After my parents had
written many, many letters to the Government from Hong Kong,
my husband, my son and I were allowed to leave the Laogai in
December 1978.
Today, I sit before you, which I had never dreamed 20 years
ago. I sit before you to take this opportunity to tell you
the truth, to tell you the facts as I have myself
experienced. But I speak not for myself but for the thousands
of brothers and sisters who are still living this terrible
existence.
Thank you for listening to me tell my story. I hope that
you may better understand the realities of the Laogai through
my account of it. Thank you.
Mr. Smith. Mrs. Ho, I want to thank you for your very
moving testimony and just observe that there is a conference
on women slated for Beijing in the fall of this year and the
voice and the testimony, the witness that you have made today
is something that needs to be heard at that conference.
Unfortunately, it is most likely going to be a conference
that has more of a Western-oriented focus and issues of the
abuse of women in the Laogai probably will not get mentioned
at all. But I think it behooves us, and I know from my
position as chairman of this subcommittee I will push hard to
try to ensure that you and people who have the kinds of
experiences that you have had at the hands of your jailers
get an opportunity to make your voice known at that very
important conference.
And I do want to thank you for your witness and certainly
your courage under such extreme pressure and your witness for
faith and the grace that surely had to have been within you
to preserve you during that very difficult time. It is very,
very inspiring indeed. So I thank you for that testimony.
I would like to--and again at the conclusion of our
witnesses, I would ask my subcommittee colleagues and myself
to--we will pose questions to our fine witnesses.
I would like to ask Father Cai if he would come to the
witness table at this time.
Father Cai is a Catholic priest. He was accused of
counterrevolutionary crimes and for that spent 35 years in
the Chinese Laogai. A remarkable man who has persevered and
who has had perseverance under such extreme situation, and
who is here to give us an account of what went on.
And I would ask, Father, if you would proceed as you would
like. Your full statement will be made a part of the record.
STATEMENT OF CAI ZHONGXIAN, CATHOLIC PRIEST
Mr. Cai. My testimony of my Laogai is that of a labor-camp
life. My name is Cai Zhongxian. I am a Catholic priest of the
Society of Jesus.
I was ordained in 1940. I was arrested and charged as a
counterrevolutionary in 1953 because of my refusal to
cooperate with the Communist authority and denounce the Roman
Catholic Church.
I was unexpectedly released without explanation in 1956. It
turned out that the Communist hoped that the leniency showed
to me would convince me to collaborate with the Party to
persuade other Catholics to become members of the officially
sanctioned Patriotic Catholic Church. This Patriotic Catholic
Church is nothing more than a Communist puppet organization.
When I refused to cooperate, I was once again arrested. So I
was detained twice for a total of 7 years at the Shanghai
Detention Center without charge or trial until I was finally
sentenced to a 15-year term in 1960.
I was then sent to a Laogai camp in Jiangxi Province, which
served as a brick factory. A lot of people avoided dying of
starvation mostly because they supplemented the rationed food
by eating frogs, snakes, and rats.
In 1962, four other priests and I were confined in a 6 by
12 foot windowless room that was filled with an inch of
standing water. Despite this ill treatment and the other
inhumane conditions, I continued my services as a Catholic
priest. I even successfully converted some of the guards who
were charged to watch us.
At the completion of my sentence, I was 62 years old. But I
was not fully released at that time. The Government forced me
to accept forced job replacement in the Laogai labor camp
because I was originally charged with the
counterrevolutionary crime.
I knew that a forced-job replacement assignment means a
life sentence laboring at the Laogai labor camp. I labored at
the Nanchang No. 4 prison for 11 years as a forced-job
replacement worker.
In 1981, at the age of 74, I was again arrested for my
continued activity as a Catholic priest. I was sentenced to
serve another 10-year term as a Laogai slave.
In 1988, I was released fully and unexpectedly. I was 81
years old at the time of my release. I served a total of 35
years in the labor camp. I cannot begin to tell you how many
people, among them many of my friends and my disciples
disappeared completely for every one that survived.
Thank you for inviting me here. I hope I have helped you
gain an understanding of the Communist government's
willingness to use the Laogai to destroy its citizens' human
rights. There are still priests in the Laogai camp.
Thank you.
Mr. Smith. Thank you, Father, very much for that moving
testimony as well. I am 42 years old, and when I think that
you have spent 35 of your years in the Laogai simply because
of your faith in Christ, it is truly moving and I know every
member of this subcommittee will take and remember your
testimony.
The Chinese Communists obviously do not discriminate when
they repress, and all people of faith who follow the lead of
God as they believe it is leading, are equally repressed. And
to give a unique perspective as it relates to the suffering
of the people of Tibet, we are very pleased to welcome Palden
Gyatso, a Tibetan monk, who spent, like Father, 32 years of
his life in the Chinese Laogai, and will give the insights
that he got from that and will recount and give witness to
the suffering and cruelty that was imposed upon him.
Please proceed.
statement of palden gyatso, tibetan monk
Mr. Gyatso. My name is Palden Gyatso.
Mr. Kelsang. I am Kelsang, who will be the translator for
him today.
Mr. Gyatso. I have longed for this moment most of the last
36 years and it is like a dream come true, and I would like
to thank the chairman and the other members of the committee
for giving me this opportunity to be here today. And consider
it not only as an honor but also a responsibility to inform
the U.S. Congress about the abuses that Tibetans are
suffering today in Tibet.
I have been in prison for 24 years and for 8 years I was in
a Chinese labor camp and during my days in prison, the
Chinese never fed us enough and we were forced to rummage
through the food that was meant for the pigs. And we were
also driven to eat things like leather, bones, and grass, and
it could be any bones, human as well as animal.
So since food was not enough, we were forced to eat leather
that we wore, and we also had to resort to eating things like
worms and, as I said, grasses.
And a lot of people died due to starvation, and I was
around 30 years old then, and some of the other things that
went on during my stay in prison, along with not getting
enough food, we were also made to work in the fields. We were
substituted for cows in plowing the field.
The reason why the Chinese put me in prison was because I
had called for more freedom and I had demanded more rights,
and the Chinese considered that to be engaging in
revolutionary activities, and these instruments that you see
before me today are some of the tools that were used to carry
out the torture on me.
Now, this is a piece of the electric baton that was used
and forced through my mouth and what happened was since this
had electric shocks, it totally damaged my teeth.
And I also saw Chinese prison officials inserting this into
a woman's vagina, and even today I know of women who have
difficulty in going to the bathroom because of the damage
that they suffered.
And I still bear today on my body some of the marks that
were inflicted because of this torture. For instance, because
of the self-tightening handcuff here, even today I have scars
on both my hands and they do not function properly. And some
of the other things that the Chinese did was keeping me
suspended in the air, and then beating with rifle butts and
piercing me with bayonets and pouring hot water over my body.
And as a result, I have injury marks on my head and on my
hands.
And I was even a witness to a couple of people who were
sentenced to death. As soon as the Chinese announced that
someone was to be sentenced to death, what they did was they
would force that political person of engage in singing songs
and dancing. The bullets that were used to kill someone, as
well as the ropes that were used to hang someone, even the
expenses involved for that would be deducted from the
convicted person.
[[Page H10087]]
These practices that go on in Chinese prisons and labor
camps in Tibet reflect the overall abuses going on today. And
in this regard, I would sort of especially like to mention
the trip by Ambassador Lilley in April 1991.
And I have kept this diary to this day, and this is a diary
that I kept while I was in prison.
Mr. Gyatso. And I have a slide of the day and the month
when then Ambassador Lilley visited Drapchi Prison in Lhasa.
That is the site of the Utritu prison in Lhasa where I spent
9 years.
That is a shot of Sangyip prison where I spent 10 years.
That is a shot of Drapchi prison where I spent 7 years.
And that is a map of Lhasa and the ones in red, they show
the detention facilities in Lhasa and they number about eight
today. And the ones in yellow and orange are military and
police complexes. And the ones in green are really what is
left of the traditional Tibetan area in Lhasa today.
In April 1991, then ambassador James Lilley, along with two
American officials, visited the Drapchi prison. And what
Palden Gyatso and his other friends in prison did was they
tried to present to Ambassador Lilley a petition detailing
the Chinese abuses in prison. But what happened was
ambassador Lilley--he was shaking his hands with one of the
prisoners and on his other hand he had the petition, but then
one of the Chinese guards just snatched away the petition and
after Ambassador Lilley left, the petition was given to the
warden of the prison, and because after he left, the Chinese
officials called in the Army. They had to go through a really
hard time.
And the other aspect of the visit was that every time when
such a delegation does visit any Tibetan prisons, the Chinese
put on a very different show. The prisons are cleaned up and
more food is provided. Just to give the impression that the
prisoners are healthy and that there is nothing wrong with
them.
And two of the individuals connected with presenting the
petition to Ambassador Lilley, Lobsang Tenzin and Tenpa
Wangdak, were detained in solitary confinement because of the
action.
The prisoners were then transferred to Nepal Tramo labor
camp close to Lhasa. After that the army came in and then
they started beating us up and started torturing us.
These are only a few instances of the various atrocities
committed by the Chinese on the Tibetans, and whatever I have
told you today is true and I am really glad that I have had a
chance to come here today and inform you all about this. And
please remember that there are still people inside Tibet
today who are going through similar experiences that I
have gone through.
Thank you very much.
Mr. Smith. Mr. Gyatso, I thank you for your, again, very
moving testimony and by actually visually displaying the
implements used to repress people and to torture them. You
bring an additional dimension to our understanding, feeble as
it is, to what it must be like to live under the horrors of
this terrible Gulag system.
And, you know, what we have been hearing so far, and I know
my colleagues and I all feel this, and that is you are
witness, and Father Cai, you as well, to unspeakable horrors.
And to think that this Government, the U.S. Government, and
many other Western governments, continue to trade and to do
business with the dictatorship in Beijing as if none of this
is going on, or as if it can be put in a compartment and all
other trade and commerce and diplomatic niceties can occur
with all of these unspeakable horrors going on baffles me and
angers me, and I think it does you as well.
Again, I think on this committee and among Members on both
sides of the aisle who care so deeply, our hope is to raise
human rights to the level that it deserves. It ought to be
central in our relationship with the Peoples Republic of
China and any other country of the world, not a sub-issue.
Regrettably it is a subissue at the current time.
I would like to ask Mr. Frank Wolf, Congressman Wolf, if he
would like to join us. Mr. Wolf is a leader in human rights
and has been very active, particularly on the issue of China
and the use of Gulag labor and the importation of those
products, and religious freedom as well.
I would like to call our final panel before going to
questions to appear before the subcommittee. And the first to
speak will be Mr. Liu, who is the son of a
counterrevolutionary, a man who was first imprisoned at the
age of 13. A man who, because of the affiliations of his
father, who was in the prior government, was targeted for
this mistreatment, and then spent a total of 25 years in the
Chinese Laogai.
Mr. Liu, if you could present your testimony, and your full
statement will be made a part of the record, and you may
proceed as you care to.
statement of liu xinhu, juvenile prisoner
Mr. Liu. My name is Liu Xinhu. My father was an official in
the former government. The Communist Party, on the pretext
that he would disrupt labor discipline, arrested him and sent
him to a reeducation-through-labor prison camp in 1958. He
was sent to the Baimaoling Farm to serve his sentence.
In 1958, I was 13 years old. Because I was the eldest son
in the family of a counterrevolutionary, the Communist
government found an excuse, which had no legal precedent, and
sent me to live at the same Laogai prison farm as my father.
After being released from the Laogai sentence at the farm
in 1966, I was ordered to continue forced labor at the farm
as a forced-job placement worker.
In 1974, I was once again labeled a counterrevolutionary
element because of my political attitudes. I was placed under
even stricter controls. I was detained until my release in
1983. During the 25 years I spent in the Laogai, I suffered
innumerable beatings and torments.
The Baimaoling farm is internally known as the Shanghai No.
2 Laogai general brigade. It is located in the southeast area
of Anhui Province. Its scale is enormous and it holds an
average 50,000 Laogai prisoners, Laojiao prisoners, and jiuye
personnel. It produces tea, rice, valves and toys, as well as
other goods.
Besides the farming that I did at the Laogai prison, I was
also part of a so-called corpse brigade. At that time there
was massive starvation in China and people were dying by the
scores. And so they needed people to bury the bodies, and I
was a part of that corpse brigade.
My father and I were detained in different sections of the
farm and we were not permitted to see each other. The public
security police only told me in 1993 that he had died and
that I had to go and claim the corpse. Once at the
crematorium, I saw his cold and pale body. I was given these
clothes that he was wearing and I cried bitterly. I felt that
my father was braver than I was because he dared to determine
his own end to his difficult life and gain his freedom.
Mr. Liu. The first pair of clothes that you saw were the
clothes that I took off my father's body in 1993.
These clothes are the clothes that I wore. And these are
also clothes that I wore.
I now live in the United States and I have a family of my
own. I deeply hope that my children and all other children,
as well as future generations, do not have to suffer these
kinds of tortures and difficulties.
Thank you all very much for your concern about the Chinese
Laogai system.
Mr. Smith. Thank you very much. Mr. Liu, for your testimony
and, again, by showing us the prison garb. You remind us
again that this is a reality that has to be dealt with. It is
not something that is in the past. It is current. It is as
current as today. And unfortunately our policies vis-a-vis
the PRC act as if the rogue government that has the power in
Beijing somehow should be treated with respect. And when you
so disrespect your own citizenry to use torture and to impose
so much pain and cruelty, it behooves this Congress I think
to up the ante and be much more concerned about human rights
than we are with profits.
So I thank you for your very strong statement.
Our last witness will be Harry Wu. Harry Wu is someone who
many of us have come to know and greatly admire because of
his tremendous courage. Not only did he spend 19 years in the
Chinese Laogai, but he also has gone back risking his own
life, possible imprisonment and death, to bring more
information out to bear further witness to the continued
repression by the Peoples Republic of China.
And, Harry, we are indebted to you for providing this
information. Anyone anywhere in the world who cares about
human rights has to look up to you as one of the great giants
and leaders in the cause of human rights.
I would ask you to, if you would, present your testimony at
this point.
statement of harry wu
Mr. Wu. Ladies, gentlemen, my name is Wu Hongda and English
name is Harry Wu.
I was born in Shanghai in 1937. During my second year of
college, in 1957, the students were encouraged by the
Communist Party to express their opinions and concerns about
the direction of the country. Although I initially kept
quiet, in the end I offered a few criticisms, including my
opinion that the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956 was in
violation of international law, and I stated my feelings that
the Communists were treating the common people as second-
class citizens. Because of these comments, I was denounced as
a capitalist counterrevolutionary rightist.
I was arrested and, without a trial, sentenced to life in
the reeducation labor camp in 1960. I was told this was
because of my poor political attitude. My life sentence was
mostly a result of my family's political background because
my father was a banker. While I was held in the Laogai, my
mother died. I found out 15 years later she committed suicide
by taking sleeping pills shortly after she was told of my
arrest. I discovered this only after returning to Shanghai
years later to collect her ashes.
In December 1969 I was released from my Laogai sentence.
That did not mean I was freed from the camp and allowed to
return to my home. Instead, I was forced to resettle
permanently at the Laogai coal mine and serve as a forced-job
placement personnel. In other words, I was not released at
all and forced to continue as forced labor until my final
release from the Laogai system in 1979.
I spent 19 years in the Laogai at 12 different forced labor
camps. I was forced to do slave labor at agricultural farms,
a chemical factory, a steel plant, and a coal mine. I was
regularly denied food and during one period nearly starved to
death. Torture permanently damaged my back. I had my arm
broken during a beating. I was nearly killed in a coal mine
accident.
[[Page H10088]]
I had to become a beast to survive day-to-day life in the
Laogai. Today, all over the so-called new China there are
millions still fighting to survive the Laogai.
Mr. Chairman, the subcommittee has heard today short
descriptions of the experiences of six Laogai survivors. I
would like to now present a brief overview of the origins,
structures, and scope of the system.
With your permission, Mr. Chairman, I will submit a more
detailed statement of this for the record.
Every totalitarian regime must have means to control and
suppress opposition. The Nazis in Germany had their
concentration camp systems throughout Europe, which housed
millions of people whose religion, race, or political views
made them targets of persecution. The vast Gulag in the
former Soviet Union was first created to remove the White
Russians from society soon after the revolution which brought
the Communists to power. Throughout its history, the Gulag
served as a destination, often final, for both penal
criminals and those who opposed Stalin and other Soviet
leaders.
The Chinese Laogai, in its origins, was quite similar to
the Gulag. But Mao adapted the Soviet model to the Chinese
context. The Laogai became a tool of the people's democratic
dictatorship in fighting dissent within an ongoing class
struggle.
The official function of the Laogai is to remove counter-
revolutionaries and other criminal offenders from the
population and to place them under state supervision. In the
Laogai, prisoners undergo thought reform and reform through
labor and are reshaped into new socialist persons. Arrests
and sentences, even for common criminals, are based as much
on class background and political standing as on criminal
activity and only reinforce the true nature of the system:
absolute political control.
The term ``laogaidui'' is used as shorthand by the Chinese
people in much of the same way Gulag was used in the Soviet
Union. It instills fear in the average person. The existence
of the Laogai remains the central human rights issue in China
and Tibet today.
As a system, its scope, numbers of the camps and prisoners,
degree of cruelty, and a fundamental inhumanity long
surpassed the Soviet Gulag.
Today I want to focus on the Laodong gaizao, laojiao, and
jiuye components. One thing, all of them were mixed together
into one idea to use the so-called thought reform and forced
labor.
Official Communist Party documents from the 1950's say that
the Laogai is, ``The process of labor reform of criminals
which essentially is an effective method of purging and
eliminating all criminals and counterrevolutionaries.''
In 1988, the Ministry of Justice published a criminal
reform handbook which summed up the purpose of the Laogai as
follows: ``The primary task of our Laogai facility is
punishing and reforming criminals. To define their functions
concretely, they fulfill the tasks in the following three
fields: punishing criminals and putting them under
surveillance; reforming criminals; and, organizing criminals
in labor and production, thus creating wealth for the
society.''
This is clear acknowledgement of the state-run slave labor
of the Laogai system.
Laojiao, or reeducation-through-labor, plays a unique role
within the Laogai system. It was created as a last resort,
extreme alternative to the existing reform through labor
policy. It was established in the 1950's after the Communists
had nearly eliminated all of the remaining enemies of the
revolution from the capitalist classes.
The Communist labeled this the highest level administering
of discipline. To this day, the Chinese Government maintains
that reeducation-through-labor is not part of the judiciary
system. In fact, as in its early days, the Government
intentionally used the reeducation-through-labor policy to
imprison people in force labor camps, without even a trace,
for periods of 2 to 3 years.
Evidence exists indicating that reeducation-through-labor
is more widely used today than ever. And a large number of
the students, intellectuals, workers, and religious believers
and dissidents are currently locked in the reeducation camps
for their criminal activities. These camps are fundamentally
no different from the other forced labor camps in the
system.
Thought reform and reform-through-labor are both the
principal methods of the Laogai camp. There is a saying in
the Laogai camps that goes, ``There is an end to Laogai and
laojiao, but jiuye is forever.''
Before 1980, almost 90 percent of the Laogai prisoners and
laojiao prisoners were never fully released from the system.
They were simply transferred into a forced-job placement
personnel or what we call jiuye. Personnel, within the camps.
The official explanation of the forced-job placement is,
``To fully implement labor reform policies and ensure public
safety.'' This practice continues today on a large scale, but
not as much as prior to 1980. Part of the reason for forced-
job placement is that the Communists realize they cannot
trust Laogai prisoners or laojiao prisoners; the people who
have suffered greatly and seen the true nature of the
Communist system. Also these prisoners are necessary to
maintain production in the camps considering the constant
flow of the new prisoners. In other words, their experience
in the operation of the Laogai is necessary to keep the
system working.
All Laogai prisoners are forced to labor to compel reform
and become new socialist persons. New arrivals are subject to
immediate, daily, lengthy integration sessions and forced to
admit their crimes. These sessions may last days, weeks, or
months. In some cases, they last years.
The official Laogai policy is reform first, production
second. The prisoners of the Laogai face constant
brainwashing. The value system of the society as a whole has
not place in the Laogai. The prisoner is stripped of his
morals, his beliefs, his religions, his individual will, his
sense of right or wrong. They are encouraged to stand
together with the Government and denounce their crimes. They
are completely retrained to follow the moral order of the
Communist Party and its society.
If a prisoner resists, he or she is tortured. There is much
evidence coming to light that thought reform is less and less
successful. This apparently persuaded the Laogai officials to
rely more and more on physical torture. This situation is
understandable as it becomes clear that even the Communists
no longer believe their own ideology.
But struggle meetings are still held. Mao Tse Tung's
teachings are still used and those that show a poor political
attitude are beaten.
Laogai prisoners reform progress is judged in part by their
productive output. Prisoners have a work quota and punished
if it is not met. Food is withheld. Beatings are given.
Solitary confinement is common and already limited family
visits and contacts are eliminated.
In adding this as summary, Mr. Chairman, I would like to
address the number of the people who have gone through the
Laogai system and how many are still there in China and Tibet
today.
The Chinese Government 2 years ago stated that 10 million
people had been sent to the camps since they came to power.
And at this point, 2 million are still in some 685 camps.
This is a ridiculous figure. Who can believe that in a
country of 1.2 billion people, over the 45-year history, only
10 million people have been in prison.
One should never, of course, believe any number they give
to the public. In fact, no one will probably ever know the
true number of the people they executed and sent to the
camps.
I am submitting for the record my detailed analysis.\1\ I
estimate that since 1949 more than 50 million people have
been Laogai or laojiao prisoners. Remember, laojiao or
reeducation-through-labor is not considered by the Communists
to be imprisonment. Therefore, they do not count these people
in either their 10 million figure or in the current two
million figure.
Neither do they today count those in the province, county
or village detention centers, military prisons or secret
prisons.
We at the Laogai Research Foundation have documented nearly
1,100 camps, a list of which I am submitting for the record.
Our list does not include detention centers or military or
secret prisons, nor is it a complete list of labor camps. We
are learning of others every month.
Mr. Chairman, if we consider reform through labor,
reeducation-through-labor, and forced-job placement personnel
prisoners alone, I believe the Chinese Government has between
8 to 10 million people in the Laogai today.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for offering us, survivors of the
Laogai, from China and from Tibet, the opportunity to improve
your understanding of the world's most extensive forced-labor
camp system. A system which is a human rights abuse of
momentous proportions.
This is the first hearing on the Laogai ever conducted by
any democratic legislative body in the world. We are very
grateful. Thank you.
Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from
Maryland [Mr. Hoyer].
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from California [Mr.
Matsui] for yielding this time to me, and, Mr. Speaker, I rise in very
strong support of H.R. 2195 and applaud its author, my friend, the
gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Smith], for his work and his commitment
to promoting human rights not only in China but around the world. He is
sitting next to at this point in time the gentleman from Virginia [Mr.
Wolf].
Mr. Wolf and I serve on the Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service,
and General Government, and Mr. Wolf for over a decade has been a
strong proponent of urging the Treasury Department to fully enforce
existing law as it relates to slave labor.
So I want to congratulate both the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr.
Smith] and the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Wolf], my colleagues on the
Helsinki Commission, for their leadership over long periods of time.
More generally, I would like to applaud the gentleman from California
[Mr. Cox] as well and the other Members who worked to provide vehicles
other than the MFN debate for this body to address the range of policy
issues which form our complex relationship with China.
[[Page H10089]]
I have opposed, Mr. Speaker, MFN for China because I believe we have
been too tolerant for too long. Clearly, a strong, prosperous, and
democratic China will not come about without U.S. engagement. But a
policy of constructive engagement, Mr. Speaker, must not amount to a
practice of reaping the economic benefits of trade and exchange with
China while turning a blind eye to human rights abuses.
Eight years after China's brutal demonstration of military repression
of basic freedoms of speech and association at Tiananmen Square,
reports persist of widespread and egregious human rights abuses,
including the Chinese Government's maintenance of slave labor camps
with which this particular amendment specifically deals.
H.R. 2195 speaks to this area of human rights abuse by saying
properly that if we are going to have free trade with China, then let
us be sure that we are not directly or indirectly promoting the
practice of slave labor by allowing its fruits to enter our markets.
Mr. Speaker, the promotion of democratic reforms which will afford
the Chinese people the basic freedoms they now lack must not, let me
repeat, must not, be a peripheral element of American foreign policy
towards China. It was not with respect to our relations with the Soviet
Union when it existed, and it must not be with respect to our relations
with China.
The mantle, ``leader of the free world,'' is not earned through mere
lip service. If the United States is going to engage China in trade, it
must also engage China directly on the matter of human rights.
Political and religious persecution, enforcement of population control
through coerced abortion and sterilization, and organ harvesting from
death row prisoners are not modes of conduct which ought to be
consistent with friendship with the United States of America.
We must adopt policies, Mr. Speaker, which put action behind our
outrage. It is not enough to talk about the abuses, it is not enough to
rhetorically oppose those abuses, we must act on our conviction and on
our principles. H.R. 2195 is an appropriate and constructive step in
this direction, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Virginia [Mr. Wolf].
(Mr. WOLF asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill. I want to thank
the gentleman from California [Mr. Cox] and the gentleman from New York
[Mr. Gilman] and the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Smith) and the
gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer] and the others for this.
Before I begin, let me just say outright, I am worried that this
administration and this Congress, on both sides of the aisle, are
becoming an economic-driven party that cares very little with regard to
some of these fundamental values. And I know there are good people on
both sides, but I worry every time I hear about things, it is economic,
economic, economic, economic, and very little about the passion and the
compassion and what is going on with regard to that.
So this is a good bill, but will the administration enforce it? Will
they do anything about it? I just do not know.
Now I want to say what the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Smith)
said. I happened to be with the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Smith)
in Beijing Prison No. 1. We have socks in my office that I picked up
off the line and we had analyzed. They were for export to the United
States. They had golfers on the sides of the socks. They do not play
golf in China. Certainly they did not play golf in 1991.
Secondly, we have got to know that there are more gulags in China
today than there were when Solzhenitsyn wrote the book that was a
profound book, ``Gulag Archipelago.'' There are more gulags in China
today than there were during his time. Fifty million people have been
through them; 6 to 8 million people are going through them today. And
what items? Toys, artificial flowers, Christmas decorations, and the
birth of Christ, the birth of Christ, Jesus at Christmastime, and more
of the Christmas decorations are made with regard to slave labor.
In fact, as I will tell my colleagues, there are Members in this body
and there are Members that are watching that have goods. Some of my
colleagues are wearing goods; they do not know it; many of my
colleagues have it at home, with regard to artificial flowers, with
regard to cotton goods that are made in slave labor camps. Two million
dollars; it is good.
I want to thank the gentleman from California [Mr. Cox], the
gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Smith), the gentleman from Illinois [Mr.
Crane], the gentleman from California [Mr. Matsui].
I doubt, though, whether this administration, and let me just say the
Bush administration was no better, the Bush administration was no
better in enforcing these, and the Customs officials at the
administration were no better, and this administration has been a
disaster. In fact, it took them 2 years to go into Beijing Prison No.
1, and finally, when they went in, they had removed all the evidence.
There are gulags, there are goods coming over.
This will be a good first step. I just hope and pray, after we pass
it with an overwhelming vote, that it will go over to the Senate with
such a majority vote, such a lead vote, that Mr. Lott and others will
pick it up and pass it whereby we can take the whole package and then
do something whereby the people that are in the camps know that the
United States Congress has spoken out and has done something
constructive.
Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to our colleague, the
gentleman from Arkansas [Mr. Hutchinson].
Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding this
time to me. I want to express my appreciation for the work of the
gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Smith], the author of this legislation.
It is very, very important, and I rise in strong support of H.R. 2195.
I think an appropriate question could be asked, do the people of the
United States care about what happens in the Chinese forced labor
camps? And I can tell my colleagues that the common-sense people of
Arkansas, where I live and work and who I represent, care about what
happens to the 6 to 8 million people in the forced labor camps. I get
asked about it in town meetings; they express their concern about it.
And why do they do this? Because they know what is happening there and
they have learned the lessons of history that if we do not care, evil
triumphs.
And so we do not want to repeat the lessons of history, we want to do
something where we have an opportunity, and we have that opportunity
now. They do not want, because they know history, they do not want to
give aid to the enemy by purchasing products that are made with slave
labor. The problem is, we do not always know.
This legislation gives $2 million to the Customs Service to properly
monitor what happens and try to determine where those slave labor camps
are and the products that come from them, requires reports to Congress.
Right now, the Customs Service do not have the resources. This gives
them the resources they need to track what is made in those slave labor
camps, from uranium to toys to Chinese tea.
Scripture tells us that we should not give speed to evil doers, and I
think in our country we have inadvertently done that. We must put an
end to that. This bill addresses that problem. We will send a strong
signal to the Chinese Government that is very, very necessary right
now, that trade is important, but it is not all important, and what
happens in those forced labor camps is important, and we do not want to
buy those products, and we want that to stop in that land.
Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to our colleague, the
gentleman from Texas [Mr. Johnson].
Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it is high time to stop
products produced by slave labor in China from entering the United
States of America. For more than 50 years, we have banned products
produced by slave labor in China, but they continue to flood our
markets every day. I think it is appalling. We should not support
products that are produced by a nation that endorses or uses slave
labor.
My question is, where is the administration? The President promised
he
[[Page H10090]]
would no longer tolerate these practices from China, but these products
still enter this country, and the administration refuses to enforce
current law. President Clinton is unable or unwilling to stand up to
the Chinese and say this will no longer be tolerated.
This bill goes a long way toward making up for the administration
failings. It gives the Customs office the tools to hire more inspectors
to track and stop these tainted goods from entering the United States.
It also gives the American Embassy the equipment they need to monitor
goods produced in these inhumane slave camps throughout China. I have
to wonder, if the President spent as much time and effort improving
human rights in China as he has on State parties and fancy dinners for
President Jiang, maybe China would change its ways.
Mr. President, the prisoners stuck in these slave camps depend on our
actions speaking louder than our words. Let us vote for this bill.
Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to our distinguished
colleague, the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Fox].
Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H.R. 2195.
As Americans, we must stand up in opposition to slave-made goods. As
a member of the Human Rights Caucus, I want to commend the gentleman
from New Jersey [Mr. Smith], chairman of the subcommittee, and the
House Committee on International Relations for introducing this
forward-thinking legislation which calls for the U.S. Commissioner of
Customs to report, after a period of inspection, the extent of the use
of forced labor in China and manufactured products destined to the
United States market, the volume of products made with forced labor
destined to the United States market, the progress of the United States
Customs Service in identifying and interdicting products made with
forced labor.
Mr. Speaker, this is a bipartisan bill. It is a matter of fairness,
it is a matter of human rights, and we here in the Congress and the
House of Representatives tonight have an opportunity to vote for a bill
that is going to make a positive change in China. After we receive the
report from the Commissioner, the action can be taken to make sure that
the appropriate changes will be made in China.
And I thank the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Smith] for introducing
this legislation and would like to add my name as a cosponsor to the
bill.
Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 2030
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
California [Mr. Cox].
Mr. COX of California. Mr. Speaker, slavery is an ugly institution,
and its most hideous and virulent form is prison slave labor. Slavery
was not officially abolished in imperial China until the end of the
Manchu dynasty in 1908, and even then, the law permitted families in
time of famine to indenture their children for over 20 years.
But even though slavery was not officially abolished in China until
earlier in this century, it was the ignominious achievement of Chinese
communism to reinstate it in the form of the notorious Laogai slave
labor camps. The Laogai, or reform through labor, camps have been an
integral part of Chinese totalitarianism since the inception of the
People's Republic of China in 1949. They are designed for the dual
purposes of political control and forced development modeled on
Stalin's Soviet gulag.
An estimated 50 million Chinese men and women have passed through
these camps, of whom 15 million have perished. Today, anywhere from 6
to 8 million people are captive in the 1,100 camps of the Laogai, held
and forced to work under grossly inhumane conditions.
The People's Republic of China tells us that this does not go on at
all, but today the United States does not impose punitive tariffs on
these products, we ban them. Mr. Speaker, 27 specified products of the
Laogai camps are already kept out by our Customs agents and yet the
Customs authorities tell us they just do not have the resources to do
the job and this bill gives them those resources.
The United States has two agreements with the People's Republic of
China, binding agreements executed in 1992 and 1994, that not only bar
trade on prison-made slave labor products, but also allow the United
States to inspect those forced labor camps. But the Chinese Government,
in 1996, allowed us access to just one of those.
This bill requires the President to renegotiate that MOU and rectify
the situation.
I congratulate the author, and I urge support of the gentleman's bill
on slave labor products.
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to our colleague, the
gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Smith].
(Mr. SMITH of New Jersey asked and was given permission to revise and
extend his remarks.)
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from
Illinois [Mr. Crane], my good friend, for yielding.
Let me just say, and to pick up on what the gentleman from California
[Mr. Cox] just pointed out about the number of detention orders, the
number exceeds 27 and is growing. But there is a real problem, and this
is addressed in the bill, asking the President to look at it very
carefully, to renegotiate the memorandum of understanding that we
currently have in existence.
Most people would find it almost ridiculous that we have to give
specific information first, and remember, this is a closed country. We
do not have access to the Laogai, we do not have access to these prison
camps, but we have to almost find some way to ascertain whether or not
there is a violation going on with specific information. The Chinese
then, under the MOU, investigated themselves and gave us their
findings. So we have the alleged perpetrator investigating themselves
and then they come back to us. Then, we have 60 days that we have to
wait to actually make a site visit and very often it far exceeds 60
days.
Let me give one example that was cited very recently by our
Commissioner of Customs, George Weise. He pointed out in his testimony
on March 21, 1997, that on March 11, 1996, the Chinese Ministry of
Justice notified the custom attache that she be allowed to visit the
Changsha Laogai machinery factory. He points out in his testimony that
the request to go to that factory began in 1992. Four years to finally
have site access to a prison camp that is not unlike the one that is to
my left that was found to be in violation of our code and thankfully,
there is a detention order on the pipes coming out of that detention
camp.
Mr. Speaker, we need to renegotiate that MOU. I have been over there,
I have talked to the customs people. They cannot get access. They run
into roadblocks, they run into bureaucratic snafus over and over again,
and then somehow, the administration comes up, and my friend the
gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Wolf] said the Bush administration was
just like this.
My good friend from Virginia said a moment ago, we do not have access
to these prison camps. The Bush administration were the ones who
actually negotiated the MOU, and then they come up to our hearings and
they say, look at this. We had this fine statement of principles,
memorandum of understanding and that defies all kinds of good will as
if the Chinese dictatorship is cooperating with us.
Nothing could be further from the truth. They are not. It is a sham.
We try to make the sham work. That is why we get a few detention
orders, but it is about time we enhanced our access, hopefully
unfettered access. But I do not think that is going to happen any time
soon. We need to tighten this MOU.
This resolution calls on the President to look into that, and
hopefully he will realize it is bad business and certainly a violation
of human rights to allow slave-made goods to come to our shores,
especially when we are talking about religious prisoners and human
rights activists who are being tortured and used in ways that none of
us would see as civilized.
So I hope my colleagues support this legislation.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Quinn). The Chair would inform the
Members that the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Crane], has 5 minutes
remaining, and the gentleman from California [Mr. Matsui] has 16 \1/2\
minutes remaining.
[[Page H10091]]
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this excellent measure
introduced by Mr. Smith of New Jersey. It is badly needed. Our laws
supposedly ban the importation of slave-made goods, yet we know that we
continue to be flooded with goods from China's vast gulag, the Laogai.
Obviously, our laws are not being enforced the way they should be. This
bill will help give our customs inspectors the tools they need to keep
out these ugly goods.
Mr. Speaker, the use of slave labor is only one of many disgusting
practices of the Communist Chinese government, but it is certainly one
of the worst.
Estimates of those languishing in China's gulag run well into the
millions. It is for them that we are here on the floor today. It is
their silenced voices that we can hear as we wade through the piles of
Communist Chinese goods in our stores.
Short of a revolution in China, and one is surely coming, the only
way we can battle slave labor in that country is to refrain from buying
slave-made goods, which provides the financial lifeline to the wardens
of that vast prison, the Communists.
This bill gets us in that direction and I urge an ``aye'' vote.
Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I urge support of the bill, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time has expired.
Pursuant to House Resolution 302, the previous question is ordered on
the bill, as amended.
The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was
read the third time.
Motion to Recommit Offered by Mr. Taylor of Mississippi
Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to recommit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentleman opposed to the bill?
Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. At this time I am, Mr. Speaker.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to
recommit.
The Clerk read as follows:
Mr. Taylor of Mississippi moves to recommit the bill, H.R. 2195, to
the Committee on Ways and Means with instructions to report the bill
back to the House forthwith with the following amendment: At the end of
the bill insert the following:
SECTION 6. QUARTERLY ADJUSTMENT OF TARIFFS ON PRODUCTS OF THE
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.
(a) Quarterly Determinations by Secretary of the
Treasury.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall determine, at
the end of each calendar quarter--
(1) the dollar amount of tariffs paid to the People's
Republic of China during that quarter by persons for
exporting goods and services from the United States to the
People's Republic of China; and
(2) the dollar amount of tariffs paid to the United States
during that quarter by persons for importing goods and
services from the People's Republic of China into the United
States.
(b) Adjustment of Tariffs.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the Secretary of the Treasury shall adjust
the tariffs on all products of the People's Republic of China
so that an amount is collected on imports of products of the
People's Republic of China, during the 3-month period
beginning 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter for
which a determination is made under subsection (a), equal to
the amount by which the dollar amount computed under
paragraph (1) of subjection (a) exceeds the dollar amount
computed under paragraph (2) of subsection (a).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. For what purpose does the gentleman from
Illinois [Mr. Crane] rise?
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve all points of order against the
motion to recommit with instructions.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Mississippi [Mr. Taylor] is recognized for 5 minutes in support of his
motion.
Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman
from Illinois [Mr. Crane] for reserving the point of order and not
trying to cut off debate.
Mr. Speaker, the efforts of the gentleman from California [Mr. Cox],
though well-intentioned, are little more than giving a sweet talk to a
dying man. It does not really change things. We spend a little bit more
money to find out what we already know, that the People's Republic of
China is using slave labor, making goods, and sending goods to the
United States of America to be sold here and put Americans out of work.
There is nothing new about that.
There is nothing new about the fact that they have a $40 billion
trade surplus with our country. There is nothing new about the fact
that it is a totalitarian communist regime that is doing this, and our
money feeds their military. There is nothing new about the fact that
they charge us 20 to 40 percent on our products that we try to sell
there, while we only charge them, because of the Most-Favored-Nation
Status agreement, about 2 percent on their products that they sell
here.
What is new tonight is that we can have a chance to really address
that, not just spend a couple more million dollars finding out what we
already know, that they are making things with slave labor, but to tell
the Chinese that we will expect some basic level of fairness from them
in return for having access to our markets, and we will expect you,
China, to treat its people better if they want to have access to our
markets.
The people from the Committee on Ways and Means are going to object
to this. The people from the Committee on Ways and Means by and large
are free traders. They think that however horrible the Chinese
Government is, however horrible they are and how many weapons they sell
to our opponents they ought to have total access to our market, because
doggone it, that is what free trade is all about.
I say to my colleagues, they are wrong, they are dead wrong. Not only
are they wrong, but they block any effort by any average Member of this
body to address that inequity. We cannot get a bill through that
committee, and one never will. We have one chance this legislative
session to address that. We have one chance this legislative session to
say, we are going to treat the Chinese the way they treat us, and if
they want to charge us 2 percent, as we charge them, we will do the
same. But if they want to charge us 40 percent, if they want to
continue to have a $40 billion a year trade surplus out of our money
and use that money to sell weapons or give weapons to the enemy of
America, then we are going to do something about it.
The Democratic leadership and the Republican leadership will come to
the floor in the next couple of minutes and say, let us do not do this,
let us do not act hasty. There is nothing hasty about this. This has
been going on for decades.
What is different is that in the 2 years that each of us is given to
serve this Nation in the elections that are held every other year, this
is the one chance we are probably going to get to do something about
it. They are going to say, do not vote against the ruling of the Chair
because somehow the Chair is almighty, the Chair knows better.
Well, the Chair is wrong. The Chair will not give us a chance to vote
on this. This is the one chance we are going to get. We are going to
get one chance to decide if we are going to have a basic sense of
fairness between how the Chinese and the Americans trade with each
other, whether we are going to continue to allow goods that are made
with slave labor to compete against the goods that are made in North
Carolina and Mississippi and New York and California. We are going to
continue to say whether or not we are going to turn a blind eye to the
most totalitarian regime in the world that sells weapons to our
opponents. But I say to my colleagues, it is OK, because the Committee
on Ways and Means does not want to hear the idea that maybe there ought
to be a basic fairness between what they charge us in tariffs and what
we charge them.
This is our chance. We are going to have to work against your
leadership, I am going to have to vote against mine, but we were not
sent here to listen to the leadership, we were sent here to listen to
the people of our congressional districts and the people of this
Nation, and they want us to make things right. They want us to be fair
with them. They want us to change things that are wrong. They want us
to do what is right.
I am almost reminded of the song, The Impossible Dream. This is your
chance to fight for what is right, without question or pause, because
as your leadership is concerned, you are clearly walking into hell for
a heavenly cause.
I am asking you to do what is right for America.
[[Page H10092]]
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
{time} 2045
Point of Order
The SPEAKER pro tempore [Mr. Quinn]. Does the gentleman from Illinois
[Mr. Crane] insist on his point of order?
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I make a point of order against the motion to
recommit with instructions.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does the gentleman wish to be heard on his
point of order?
Mr. CRANE. I do, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the motion to recommit with instructions is not germane
to the underlying bill. The fundamental purpose or common thread of the
bill is very narrow, and only concerns the monitoring of products made
with forced labor. The range of methods employed in the bill is
similarly narrow.
The motion, however, deals with the reciprocal tariff treatments of
the products of China. This is clearly not within the very narrow
purpose of this bill. The issue of tariffs is also outside the range of
methods employed in the bill. Therefore, the motion to recommit with
instructions is not germane, and I urge the Chair to sustain the point
of order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does the gentleman from Mississippi [Mr.
Taylor] wish to be heard on the point of order?
Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. Yes, Mr. Speaker.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Mississippi is
recognized.
Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned before, the
Committee on Ways and Means has an opportunity every year to consider
this measure and measures just like it. They choose not to.
I am appealing to the House because I have heard on too many
occasions from too many Members of this body that we are not given the
chance to do what is right. At every town meeting we attend, when
people ask, how do these unfair things continue to happen, do Members
know what we have to say? We have to say, it is the committee system,
the Speaker, the Committee on Ways and Means committee. They will not
let us do that.
They do not understand that. They cannot find in the Constitution of
the United States where it somehow makes some Members of Congress
better than other Members of Congress; where just a few Members of
Congress can decide whether or not 435 Members, who were each elected
by over half a million American citizens, that they cannot even decide
on basic questions of right and wrong when it comes to trade issues.
I am asking the Members of this body to step up to the plate. I am
asking them to do tonight what they tell their constituents at their
town meetings. That is, do what is right, regardless of what the
Committee on Ways and Means wants, regardless of what the Speaker
wants, regardless of what the Democratic leadership wants or the
Republican leadership wants. For once, let us do what America wants.
Tonight is the Members' chance.
I am asking for that opportunity. I hope Members will vote against
tabling this motion. I hope we will bring it to the floor. I hope we
will vote as a Nation to tell the people of China we are sick and tired
of being their chumps.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair is prepared to rule at this time.
The gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Crane] makes the point of order that
the amendment proposed in the motion to recommit is not germane. The
test of germaneness in this situation is the relationship of the
amendment proposed in the motion to recommit to the provisions of the
bill as a whole.
The bill as perfected authorizes funding for monitoring the
importation into the United States of goods produced by forced labor.
It also requires the reporting of certain information on that topic,
and also expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should
review reciprocal trade relationships on that topic.
The amendment proposed in the motion to recommit would amend the
tariff schedules of the United States to achieve reciprocity between
the aggregate amount of Chinese tariffs on the American products and
the aggregate amount of American tariffs on Chinese products. The bill
confines its attention to products of forced labor.
The amendment, although addressing only products of China, extends
its attention to all products, not just those made by forced labor, and
directly imposes tariff treatment, a matter not part of the bill.
The Chair therefore finds that the amendment is a ``proposition on a
subject different from that under consideration'' within the meaning of
clause 7 of rule XVI. That is, the amendment is not germane. The point
of order is sustained. The motion to recommit is not in order.
Parliamentary Inquiry
Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state his parliamentary
inquiry.
Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, what is the proper mechanism
to question the ruling of the Chair and to make that available to the
Members to make that decision?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman may appeal the ruling of the
Chair.
Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I appeal the ruling of the
Chair.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Mississippi [Mr. Taylor]
appeals the ruling of the Chair.
The question is, shall the decision of the Chair stand as the
judgment of the House?
Motion to Table Offered by Mr Crane
Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I move to lay on the table the appeal of the
ruling of the Chair.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to table
offered by the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Crane].
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the
ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a
quorum is not present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Evidently a quorum is not present.
The Sergeant at Arms will notify absent Members.
Without objection, the vote on final passage will be reduced to a
five-minute vote.
There was no objection.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 217,
nays 202, not voting 14, as follows:
[Roll No. 581]
YEAS--217
Aderholt
Archer
Armey
Bachus
Baker
Ballenger
Barr
Barrett (NE)
Barton
Bass
Bateman
Bereuter
Bilirakis
Bliley
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonilla
Bono
Brady
Bryant
Bunning
Burr
Burton
Buyer
Callahan
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Canady
Cannon
Castle
Chabot
Chambliss
Chenoweth
Christensen
Coble
Coburn
Collins
Combest
Cook
Cooksey
Cox
Crane
Crapo
Cunningham
Deal
DeLay
Diaz-Balart
Dickey
Doolittle
Dreier
Duncan
Dunn
Ehlers
Ehrlich
Emerson
English
Ensign
Everett
Ewing
Fawell
Foley
Forbes
Fossella
Fowler
Fox
Franks (NJ)
Frelinghuysen
Gallegly
Ganske
Gekas
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gilman
Goodlatte
Goodling
Goss
Graham
Granger
Greenwood
Gutknecht
Hamilton
Hansen
Hastert
Hastings (WA)
Hayworth
Hefley
Herger
Hill
Hilleary
Hobson
Hoekstra
Horn
Hostettler
Houghton
Hulshof
Hutchinson
Hyde
Inglis
Istook
Jenkins
Johnson (CT)
Johnson, Sam
Jones
Kasich
Kelly
Kim
King (NY)
Kingston
Klug
Knollenberg
Kolbe
LaHood
Largent
Latham
LaTourette
Lazio
Leach
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
Livingston
LoBiondo
Lucas
Manzullo
McCollum
McCrery
McDade
McHugh
McInnis
McIntosh
McKeon
Metcalf
Mica
Miller (FL)
Moakley
Moran (KS)
Morella
Myrick
Nethercutt
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nussle
Oxley
Packard
Pappas
Parker
Paul
Paxon
Pease
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Pickering
Pitts
Pombo
Porter
Portman
Pryce (OH)
Quinn
Radanovich
Ramstad
Redmond
Regula
Riggs
Rogan
Rogers
Ros-Lehtinen
Roukema
Royce
Ryun
Salmon
Sanford
Saxton
Scarborough
Schaefer, Dan
Schaffer, Bob
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
[[Page H10093]]
Shays
Shimkus
Shuster
Skaggs
Skeen
Smith (NJ)
Smith (OR)
Smith (TX)
Smith, Linda
Snowbarger
Solomon
Souder
Spence
Stump
Sununu
Talent
Tauzin
Taylor (NC)
Thomas
Thornberry
Thune
Tiahrt
Upton
Walsh
Wamp
Watkins
Watts (OK)
Weldon (FL)
Weller
White
Whitfield
Wicker
Wolf
Young (FL)
NAYS--202
Abercrombie
Ackerman
Allen
Andrews
Baesler
Baldacci
Barcia
Barrett (WI)
Bartlett
Becerra
Bentsen
Berman
Berry
Bilbray
Bishop
Blagojevich
Blumenauer
Bonior
Borski
Boswell
Boucher
Boyd
Brown (CA)
Brown (FL)
Brown (OH)
Cardin
Carson
Clay
Clayton
Clement
Clyburn
Condit
Conyers
Costello
Coyne
Cramer
Cummings
Danner
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
Dellums
Deutsch
Dicks
Dingell
Dixon
Doggett
Dooley
Doyle
Edwards
Engel
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Farr
Fattah
Fazio
Filner
Frank (MA)
Frost
Furse
Gejdenson
Gephardt
Goode
Gordon
Green
Gutierrez
Hall (OH)
Hall (TX)
Harman
Hastings (FL)
Hefner
Hilliard
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Holden
Hooley
Hoyer
Hunter
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
John
Johnson (WI)
Johnson, E. B.
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Kennedy (MA)
Kennedy (RI)
Kennelly
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kind (WI)
Kleczka
Klink
Kucinich
LaFalce
Lampson
Lantos
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Lipinski
Lofgren
Lowey
Luther
Maloney (CT)
Maloney (NY)
Manton
Markey
Martinez
Mascara
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McDermott
McGovern
McHale
McIntyre
McNulty
Meehan
Meek
Menendez
Millender-McDonald
Miller (CA)
Minge
Mink
Mollohan
Moran (VA)
Murtha
Nadler
Neal
Neumann
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Owens
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor
Payne
Pelosi
Peterson (MN)
Pickett
Pomeroy
Poshard
Price (NC)
Rahall
Rangel
Reyes
Rivers
Rodriguez
Roemer
Rohrabacher
Rothman
Roybal-Allard
Rush
Sabo
Sanchez
Sanders
Sandlin
Sawyer
Scott
Serrano
Sherman
Sisisky
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (MI)
Smith, Adam
Snyder
Spratt
Stabenow
Stark
Stenholm
Stokes
Strickland
Stupak
Tanner
Tauscher
Taylor (MS)
Thompson
Thurman
Tierney
Torres
Towns
Traficant
Turner
Velazquez
Vento
Visclosky
Waters
Watt (NC)
Waxman
Wexler
Weygand
Wise
Woolsey
Wynn
NOT VOTING--14
Cubin
Davis (VA)
Flake
Foglietta
Ford
Gonzalez
McKinney
Riley
Schiff
Schumer
Stearns
Weldon (PA)
Yates
Young (AK)
{time} 2110
Mr. BOSWELL, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. BILBRAY, and Mr. ROHRABACHER changed
their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
Mr. BACHUS changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
So the motion lay on the table the appeal of the ruling of the Chair
was agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Kingston). The question is on the
passage of the bill.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Recorded Vote
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. This is a 5-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 419,
noes 2, answered ``present'' 1, not voting 11, as follows:
[Roll No. 582]
AYES--419
Abercrombie
Ackerman
Aderholt
Allen
Andrews
Archer
Armey
Bachus
Baesler
Baker
Baldacci
Ballenger
Barcia
Barr
Barrett (NE)
Barrett (WI)
Bartlett
Barton
Bass
Bateman
Becerra
Bentsen
Bereuter
Berman
Berry
Bilbray
Bilirakis
Bishop
Blagojevich
Bliley
Blumenauer
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonilla
Bonior
Bono
Borski
Boswell
Boucher
Boyd
Brady
Brown (FL)
Brown (OH)
Bryant
Bunning
Burr
Burton
Buyer
Callahan
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Canady
Cannon
Cardin
Carson
Castle
Chabot
Chambliss
Chenoweth
Christensen
Clay
Clayton
Clement
Clyburn
Coble
Coburn
Collins
Combest
Condit
Conyers
Cook
Cooksey
Costello
Cox
Coyne
Cramer
Crane
Crapo
Cummings
Cunningham
Danner
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
Davis (VA)
Deal
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
DeLay
Dellums
Deutsch
Diaz-Balart
Dickey
Dicks
Dingell
Dixon
Doggett
Dooley
Doolittle
Doyle
Dreier
Duncan
Dunn
Edwards
Ehlers
Ehrlich
Emerson
Engel
English
Ensign
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Everett
Ewing
Farr
Fattah
Fawell
Fazio
Filner
Foley
Forbes
Ford
Fossella
Fowler
Fox
Frank (MA)
Franks (NJ)
Frelinghuysen
Frost
Furse
Gallegly
Ganske
Gejdenson
Gekas
Gephardt
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gilman
Goode
Goodlatte
Goodling
Gordon
Goss
Graham
Granger
Green
Gutierrez
Gutknecht
Hall (OH)
Hall (TX)
Hamilton
Hansen
Harman
Hastert
Hastings (FL)
Hastings (WA)
Hayworth
Hefley
Hefner
Herger
Hill
Hilleary
Hilliard
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hobson
Hoekstra
Holden
Hooley
Horn
Hostettler
Houghton
Hoyer
Hulshof
Hunter
Hutchinson
Hyde
Inglis
Istook
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
Jenkins
John
Johnson (CT)
Johnson (WI)
Johnson, E. B.
Johnson, Sam
Jones
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Kasich
Kelly
Kennedy (MA)
Kennedy (RI)
Kennelly
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kim
Kind (WI)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kleczka
Klink
Klug
Knollenberg
Kolbe
Kucinich
LaFalce
LaHood
Lampson
Lantos
Largent
Latham
LaTourette
Lazio
Leach
Levin
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (GA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
Lipinski
Livingston
LoBiondo
Lofgren
Lowey
Lucas
Luther
Maloney (CT)
Maloney (NY)
Manton
Manzullo
Markey
Martinez
Mascara
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McCrery
McDade
McDermott
McGovern
McHale
McHugh
McInnis
McIntosh
McIntyre
McKeon
McNulty
Meehan
Meek
Menendez
Metcalf
Mica
Millender-McDonald
Miller (CA)
Miller (FL)
Minge
Mink
Moakley
Mollohan
Moran (KS)
Moran (VA)
Morella
Murtha
Myrick
Nadler
Neal
Nethercutt
Neumann
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nussle
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Owens
Oxley
Packard
Pallone
Pappas
Parker
Pascrell
Pastor
Paxon
Payne
Pease
Pelosi
Peterson (MN)
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Pickering
Pitts
Pombo
Pomeroy
Porter
Portman
Poshard
Price (NC)
Pryce (OH)
Quinn
Radanovich
Rahall
Ramstad
Rangel
Redmond
Regula
Reyes
Riggs
Rivers
Rodriguez
Roemer
Rogan
Rogers
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Rothman
Roukema
Roybal-Allard
Royce
Rush
Ryun
Sabo
Salmon
Sanchez
Sanders
Sandlin
Sanford
Sawyer
Saxton
Scarborough
Schaefer, Dan
Schaffer, Bob
Scott
Sensenbrenner
Serrano
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Shays
Sherman
Shimkus
Shuster
Sisisky
Skaggs
Skeen
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (MI)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (OR)
Smith (TX)
Smith, Adam
Smith, Linda
Snowbarger
Snyder
Solomon
Souder
Spence
Spratt
Stabenow
Stark
Stearns
Stenholm
Stokes
Strickland
Stump
Stupak
Sununu
Talent
Tanner
Tauscher
Tauzin
Taylor (MS)
Taylor (NC)
Thomas
Thompson
Thornberry
Thune
Thurman
Tiahrt
Tierney
Torres
Towns
Traficant
Turner
Upton
Velazquez
Vento
Visclosky
Walsh
Wamp
Waters
Watkins
Watt (NC)
Watts (OK)
Waxman
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Wexler
Weygand
White
Whitfield
Wicker
Wise
Wolf
Woolsey
Wynn
Young (FL)
NOES--2
Brown (CA)
Pickett
ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--1
Paul
NOT VOTING--11
Cubin
Flake
Foglietta
Gonzalez
Greenwood
McKinney
Riley
Schiff
Schumer
Yates
Young (AK)
{time} 2127
So the bill was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to provide
for certain measures to increase monitoring of products that are made
with forced labor.''
[[Page H10094]]
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________