[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 12] [House] [Pages 17081-17086] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]CALLING ON CHINA TO END HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES PRIOR TO THE OLYMPICS Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1370) calling on the Government of the People's Republic of China to immediately end abuses of the human rights of its citizens, to cease repression of Tibetan and Uighur citizens, and to end its support for the Governments of Sudan and Burma to ensure that the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games take place in an atmosphere that honors the Olympic traditions of freedom and openness, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the resolution. The text of the resolution is as follows: H. Res. 1370 Whereas the relationship between the United States and the People's Republic of China is one of the most important and complex in global affairs; Whereas in the context of this complex relationship, the promotion of human rights and political freedoms in the People's Republic of China is a central goal of United States foreign policy towards China; Whereas increased protection and stronger guarantees of human rights and political freedoms in the People's Republic of China would improve the relationship between the United States and the People's Republic of China; Whereas the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will be held from August 8, 2008, through August 24, 2008; Whereas the United States should continue to advance its policy goal of improved human rights and political freedoms in the People's Republic of China in the context of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games; Whereas all Olympic athletes deserve to participate in a competition that takes place in an atmosphere that honors the Olympic traditions of freedom and openness; Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China committed to protect human rights, religious freedom, freedom of movement, and freedom of the press as part of its conditions for being named to host the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games; Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China issued temporary regulations promising foreign media representatives covering the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games that they could travel freely, with the exception of in the Tibet Autonomous Region, and did not require advance permission before interviewing Chinese citizens during the period of January 1, 2007, to October 18, 2008; Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China has failed to abide by many provisions of those regulations and has restricted foreign media by-- (1) detaining 15 journalists in 2007 for activities permitted by the new regulations; (2) refusing to allow foreign media representatives access to Tibetan areas of China, including those areas outside of the Tibet Autonomous Region covered by the pledge of free access, to report on the March 2008 protests and the Government of the People's Republic of China's violent crackdown against Tibetans in those areas; and (3) interfering with foreign media representatives and their Chinese employees who were hired within China, such that 40 percent of foreign correspondents have reported government interference with their attempts to cover the news in China; Whereas in advance of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, there are widespread reports that the Government of the People's Republic of China has refused to grant visas or entry to individuals because of their political views, beliefs, writings, association, religion, and ethnicity; Whereas Chinese citizens and foreign visitors in China for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will not have free access to information if the Government of the People's Republic of China continues to engage in blocking of overseas websites and other forms of Internet filtering and censorship; Whereas the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will not take place in an atmosphere of freedom if the Government of the People's Republic of China continues to limit the freedoms of speech, press, religion, movement, association, and assembly of its citizens and visitors, including political dissidents, protesters, petitioners, the disabled, religious activists, minorities, the homeless, and other people it considers undesirable; Whereas despite the Government of the People's Republic of China's repeated pledges to the international community that the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS are a national priority, HIV/AIDS activists and their organizations remain targets for repression and harassment by Chinese authorities; Whereas in the period preceding the Olympics Games, Chinese security forces have detained, threatened, and harassed HIV/ AIDS and hepatitis advocates; shut down conferences and meetings of Chinese and foreign HIV/AIDS experts; and closed AIDS organizations; Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China continues to ignore its international commitments to refugee protection, as evidenced by film footage recording the shooting death of a Tibetan nun by Chinese border guards in October of 2006 and human rights groups' reports citing increased bounties offered for turning in North Korean refugees in 2008 to discourage border-crossing prior to the Olympic Games; Whereas workers in the People's Republic of China are often exposed to exploitative and unsafe working conditions, including excessive exposure to dangerous machinery and chemicals; Whereas according to Amnesty International, some Chinese companies withhold wages from workers for months while retaining their ID cards to prevent them from securing other work and, in the city of Shenzhen alone, an average of 13 factory workers a day lose a finger or an arm, and every 4\1/ 2\ days a worker dies in a workplace accident; Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China has increased its persecution of the Falun Gong prior to the Olympic Games; Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China remains unwilling to invite His Holiness the Dalai Lama to China to hold direct talks on a resolution on the issue of Tibet, despite calls from the international community to do so before the Olympic Games; Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China has had discussions with the representatives of the Dalai Lama, but has been unwilling to engage in substantive discussions on the future of Tibet and Tibetans in China; Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China's continued economic and political support for foreign governments that commit gross human rights violations, including those of Sudan and Burma, contradicts the spirit of freedom and openness of the Olympic Games; Whereas it is the desire of the House of Representatives that the People's Republic of China take the specific actions set forth herein so that the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games are successful and reflect positively on its host country; Whereas the Chinese Government limits most women to having one child and strictly controls the reproductive lives of Chinese citizens by systematic means that include mandatory monitoring of women's reproductive cycles, mandatory contraception or sterilization, mandatory birth permits, coercive fines for failure to comply, forced abortion, and involuntary sterilization, and this coercive policy adversely affects Chinese women and has led to widespread sex-selective abortion; and Whereas on June 26, 2008, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China published on its Web site a well- documented list [[Page 17082]] of 734 political prisoners detained by the Government of China for exercising rights pertaining to peaceful assembly, freedom of religion, freedom of association, and free expression, which are rights guaranteed to them by China's law and Constitution, or by international law, or both: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives-- (1) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to immediately end abuses of the human rights of its citizens, to cease repression of Tibetan and Uighur people, and to end its support for the Governments of Sudan and Burma to ensure that the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games take place in an atmosphere that honors the Olympic traditions of freedom and openness; (2) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to immediately release all those imprisoned or detained for nonviolently exercising their political and religious rights and their right to free expression, such as Hu Jia, who have been imprisoned, detained, or harassed for seeking to hold China accountable to commitments to improve human rights conditions announced when bidding to host the Olympic Games, embodied in China's own laws and regulations, and in international agreements; (3) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to honor its commitment to freedom of the press for foreign reporters in China before and during the Olympic Games, to make those commitments permanent, and publicly to guarantee an immediate end to the detention, harassment, and intimidation of both foreign and domestic reporters; (4) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to permit visitors to China, including through the issuance of visas, for the period surrounding the Olympics, regardless of religious background, belief, or political opinion; (5) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to guarantee freedom of movement within China during the period surrounding the Olympics for all visitors, participants, and journalists visiting China for the Olympics, and such freedom of movement should include the freedom to visit Tibet, Xinjiang, China's border regions, and all other areas of China without restriction and without special permits or advance notice; (6) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to guarantee access to information by Chinese citizens and foreign visitors, including full access to domestic and overseas broadcasts, print media, and websites that in the past may have been excluded, censored, jammed, or blocked; (7) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to permit political dissidents, protesters, petitioners, religious activists, minorities, the disabled, the homeless, and others to maintain their homes, usual locations, jobs, freedom of movement, and freedom to engage in peaceful activities during the period surrounding the Olympics; (8) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to end the exploitative and dangerous conditions faced by Chinese workers in many state enterprises and other commercial entities; (9) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to begin earnest negotiations, without preconditions, directly with His Holiness the Dalai Lama or his representatives, on the future of Tibet to provide for a mutually agreeable solution that addresses the legitimate grievances of, and provides genuine autonomy for, the Tibetan people; (10) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to end its political, economic, and military support for the Government of Sudan until the violent attacks in Darfur have ceased and the Sudanese Government has allowed for the full deployment of the United Nations-African Union Mission peacekeeping force in Darfur; (11) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to end its political, economic, and military support for the Government of Burma until democracy is restored in Burma, human rights abuses have ceased, and Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners of conscience are released; (12) calls on the President to make a strong public statement on China's human rights situation prior to his departure to Beijing for the Olympic Games, to make a similar statement in Beijing and meet with the families of jailed prisoners of conscience, and to seek to visit Tibet and Xinjiang while in China to attend the Olympic Games; (13) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to abandon its coercive population control policy which includes forced abortion and involuntary sterilization; and (14) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to review the political prisoner list published by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China with a view to releasing ill and aged prisoners on humanitarian grounds, and to releasing those imprisoned in violation of Chinese law or international human rights law. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California. General Leave Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from California? There was no objection. Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, despite commitments by Beijing to improve human and political rights in the run-up to the 2008 Summer Olympics, the situation has not improved and in some cases has become far worse. Likewise in the past few months, China's international behavior with respect to despicable regimes in Sudan and Burma has improved marginally at best. Beijing remains these countries' strongest supporter. Because of China's failure to improve its record on supporting human rights at home and abroad, now is the time to call on China to take immediate, substantial and serious action if there is to be any hope that the Olympic games will take place in an atmosphere that honors the Olympic spirit of freedom and openness. This resolution does just that. It is a direct call to China by the House of Representatives to end human rights abuses, honor its commitments for freedom of the press and freedom of movement ahead of the Olympics, permit peaceful political activities during the games, enter into direct discussions with the Dalai Lama over the future of Tibet, and end its political and economic support of the regimes in Sudan and Burma. President Bush has decided to go to the Olympics opening ceremony. Whether one agrees or disagrees with his decision, it is clear that the President should not pass up this opportunity to make a strong statement in support of human rights, one of our central policy goals. This resolution calls on the President to make such a statement before and during his trip to Beijing for the games. It is important for the House of Representatives to speak with one voice on the issue of human rights and political freedoms in China ahead of the Olympics. I strongly support this resolution. I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution which underscores Beijing's broken promise to the International Olympic Committee and the international community. When Beijing was awarded the 2008 Summer Olympics, China's leaders committed themselves to using this historic event as a catalyst to improve human rights for the citizens of the world's most populous nation. By all credible accounts, however, the human rights situation in China has not improved on the eve of the games. The Olympics has led China's draconian security forces to further crack down on dissidents and increase repression of minority groups. The glimmer of gold from Olympic medals in Beijing cannot conceal a tarnished record of Chinese official sponsorship of dictatorial regimes in Sudan, Burma and North Korea. The shine of silver cannot blind us to the fact that the Beijing regime continues its bloody suppression of minority groups, including the Tibetans. The brilliance of bronze cannot block out the repression of Falun Gong practitioners, Internet journalists, underground church believers and other political prisoners left to languish in the laogai forced labor camps and the vast prison system. In a report issued just yesterday, Amnesty International affirmed that in the last year alone, thousands of dissidents, reformers and other independent voices were arrested as part of a campaign by Chinese authorities to ``clean up'' Beijing before the start of the Olympic games. According to the report, human rights activists have [[Page 17083]] been targeted in other parts of the country as well, with many of those arrested and sentenced to manual labor without trial. Amnesty's report cites the case of one activist who was arrested earlier this month on charges of possessing state secrets, although it is believed that the arrest was prompted by his efforts to help the families of children killed in May's earthquake bring a legal case against local authorities. Amnesty's deputy director in Asia said: ``By continuing to persecute and punish those who speak out for human rights, the Chinese authorities have lost sight of the promises they made when they were granted the games 7 years ago. The Chinese authorities are tarnishing the legacy of the games.'' I agree with what he said. When it comes to the pursuit of democratic values and human rights, we remain a world divided with a dream unfulfilled for many in China and elsewhere. I urge my colleagues to join in sending the Chinese leadership a strong message. I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to my colleague from California (Ms. Woolsey). Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank Chairman Berman and Ranking Member Chabot for the time and for their leadership on human rights issues as well as Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen. I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 1370. In about a week, all eyes will turn to China. Athletes from around the world will converge on Beijing, except, it appears, seven of the 10 Iraqi athletes who are not allowed into the country for some reason. Many world leaders--such as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merkel--are taking a very bold step next week by boycotting the opening ceremonies. I am still hoping that our President will reconsider his decision to attend in light of China's poor human rights record. It's no secret, Madam Speaker, that China has long sought to sweep its human rights violations under the rug. With the help of western companies, the Chinese government blocks or scrubs Web sites that it deems as troublemakers. Sites like CNN and certain Google searches are being censored. Try looking up Tiananmen Square while in China. No pictures of the 1989 student protest, certainly not the iconic picture of one man facing down a tank. In fact today many students at Beijing University couldn't even identify the photo. Madam Speaker, as Chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, I'm especially concerned about the treatment of Chinese workers. We have learned that reeducation labor camps and dire working conditions are the norm, not the exception, in China. This year's Olympics offered China the opportunity to turn a corner, but instead China turned backward. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution and call on the President to stand up for human rights in China. Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health and a long-standing champion of human rights in China and around the world. Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank my good friend for yielding. I thank the chairman for bringing this important resolution to the floor and thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) for his fine leadership and that of Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. A few years ago, Madam Speaker, Liu Jingmin, vice president of the Beijing Olympic bid committee, famously asserted that ``by allowing Beijing to host the games, you will help the development of human rights.'' At the time, the argument seemed plausible, at least to the naive, but in the long run-up to the Olympics the reality has been numbingly disappointing and yet another wake-up call concerning bogus promises made for political and financial gain by the Beijing dictatorship. The pre-Olympic crackdown on political dissidents and religious believers and the crushing of cyber-dissidents is yet another antithetical manifestation to everything that is sane, compassionate or just. In recent months, the Chinese government has been filling its jails, house arresting, surveilling and warning all known dissidents. These men and women are persecuted simply because they seek to exercise fundamental human freedoms guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and ironically by the Chinese constitution itself. Tragically but predictably, the Olympics have been the occasion of a massive crackdown designed to silence and put beyond reach all those Chinese whose views differ from the government line. For so many brave Chinese men and women, for the Tibetans, many of them Buddhist monks and nuns, for members of Falun Gong, Chinese Christians, Uighur Muslims, democracy and labor activists and others, this has been a terrible summer, not in spite of but precisely because of the Olympic games. The fact is this is a reproach to the International Olympic Committee and to all those who believe in fundamental human rights. As we meet here, right now in HC-7 several key human rights leaders, including the great Harry Wu and Wei Jingsheng, are speaking out against the atrocities committed with impunity by the government of China. I would note parenthetically that Wei was let out of prison-- Wei, father of the Democracy Wall movement--simply to try to garner Olympics 2000. When the government didn't get that from the Olympic committee, they rearrested Wei Jingsheng and tortured him almost to death. That is the reality of the people we're dealing with. In fact, let me just point out to my colleagues that any number of the Chinese government's human rights violations should have been a deal-stopper for the International Olympic Committee. Take the one- child-per-couple policy, Madam Speaker, with its attendant evils of forced abortion and rampant sex-selective abortion. In effect since 1979, the one-child-per-couple policy constitutes one of the gravest crimes against women and children in all of human history, and our resolution before us today has appropriate language condemning that atrocity. The Chinese government massively violates Chinese women with a state policy of mandatory monitoring of all Chinese women's reproductive cycles, mandatory birth permits, mandatory contraception or sterilization, and ruinous fines up to 10 times the annual salary of both husband and wife if they don't comply with the one-child-per- couple policy. This policy has imposed unspeakable pain, violence, humiliation and degradation on hundreds of millions of Chinese women, many of whom suffer life-long depression as a direct consequence. It is no wonder more women commit suicide in China than anywhere else in the world. As a direct result of this egregious human rights violation, tens of millions of girls are missing today, dead, due to sex-selective abortions, creating a huge gender disparity, a new dark manifestation of genocide which is perhaps more appropriately called gendercide. {time} 1130 The lost girls of China, and the estimates are between 50 to 100 million lost girls, murdered simply because they were girls. Madam Speaker, 3 weeks ago, Frank Wolf and I visited Beijing in order to press for respect of fundamental human rights. The Chinese Secret Police threatened eight human rights lawyers with whom we had planned to meet for dinner in a public restaurant and placed several of them under house arrest. We did, let me conclude with this, present the Chinese government with a list of people, 734 prisoners, a short list by Chinese standards, of people who are advocating for democracy and freedom. And with the Olympics now underway, we ask again, let those people and all like-minded human rights activists who languish and are tortured in prison, please let them go. The resolution is a great one, and deserves everyone's support. Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. [[Page 17084]] Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from the great State of Indiana (Mr. Pence) who is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia. Mr. PENCE. I thank the gentleman for yielding; thank him for his strong moral leadership on this issue. And I want to commend the ranking member and the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee for having the moral courage to bring this resolution to the House before Congress adjourns. It is important that we speak truth to power. And with the 2008 Olympics in Beijing about to begin, it is important that the people of the United States be heard on our ideals, as athletes from around the globe and global media descend on China. It is important that we say, as the late Tom Lantos, chairman of this committee, said in a hearing last year, a few months before his death, ``China is a police state.'' I personally believe that the selection of China as the site of the 2008 Olympic Games was a historic error. The Olympics is a symbol of the human spirit, and in that regard, a symbol of human freedom. And this police state, therefore, is precisely the wrong venue for a celebration of human dignity and the human spirit. And so I commend to my colleagues support for H. Res. 1370. I am particularly grateful for the call on the government of the People's Republic of China to end abuses of human rights, to release those imprisoned for political and religious expression, and also challenging China to honor its commitment to freedom of the press of foreign reporters. But I must say, while there is much talk in the media today about the crowd of smog hanging over Beijing as these games approach, let me say from my heart, the real cloud over the Beijing Olympics is the horror of forced abortion. And therefore, I am especially grateful to Congressman Chris Smith, from whom we just heard, for adding an important amendment to this resolution noting that, whereas the Chinese government limits most women to having one child and strictly controls the reproductive lives of Chinese citizens by systematic means that include mandatory monitoring of women's reproductive cycles, mandatory sterilization and contraception, mandatory birth permits, coercive fines for failure to comply and the like, that this legislation will call on Congress to--excuse me--call on the People's Republic of China to immediately end the practice of forced abortion. And make no mistake about it, China's policy requires that unpermitted babies be aborted. Article 25 of the Henan Province Population and Family Planning Regulations reads: ``Under any of the following conditions, necessary remedial measures shall be taken and pregnancy terminated under the guidance of family planning technical service workers: Pregnancy out of wedlock, pregnancy without a certificate, or where the party already has one child.'' In the committee, Madam Speaker, we heard the most horrific stories of these so-called family planning technical service workers literally breaking into homes, dragging women in their ninth month of pregnancies off to clinics, forcing abortions on them and, in one case after another, going to horrific means to ensure that the newly born child's life had been completely snuffed out. There is not time in this debate to recount those instances, but they are legion in China, and they are the result of heartbreak among tens of millions of that country of good and decent people. And so I commend the chairman of this committee, Mr. Berman, for his leadership. I commend Mr. Chabot for his leadership, and especially the gentleman from New Jersey, a leading voice for the sanctity of life in the United States of America, for ensuring that this legislation, this resolution comes before the Olympics, that we speak truth to power to the People's Republic of China; that here in the United States of America, the people of this country will say, with one voice, we believe in freedom and we believe in life, and we reject the policy of forced abortion in China, and urge them to do likewise at this time. Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time. Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas, a former judge, Mr. Poe, an esteemed member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the author of China-related resolutions, part of which were incorporated into this measure. Mr. POE. Madam Speaker, I rise in total support of this resolution today. And I want to thank the chairman for including language from one of my proposals regarding worker exploitation to the bill being considered today. Having been to China, I have seen firsthand how the Chinese government runs roughshod over its people and abuses their basic rights. Earlier this year, Madam Speaker, I introduced a resolution condemning the government of China for not only its inhumane working conditions, but also for the exportation of unsafe goods like lead toys and pet food to the United States, and for the poor environmental policy that affects the entire globe. I hope the committee will soon consider the Chinese policy of exporting harmful products to the United States and other parts of the world. However, the Olympic Games begin next week, and I believe it is critical to remind the government of China that it is a member of the world community, and the world is watching how China treats its citizens. China has a social and moral responsibility to provide basic rights to all of its citizens, especially in the workplace. In June of 2007, it was discovered that hundreds of people, including women and small children, were forced to work in hot brick-making factories, suffering from brutal beatings and confinement equal to imprisonment. According to Amnesty International, there are instances where Chinese companies withhold wages from the workers for months at a time, refuse to give them ID cards. Without an ID card, it prevents that worker from securing work someplace else. In the city of Shenzhen alone, in an average day, 13 factory workers lose an arm or some other body member, and every 4 days a worker dies in a workplace accident. And Madam Speaker, this is just in one city in China. I stand with the Chinese people who have been subjected to inhumane working conditions, and call on the government to end the dangerous conditions faced by these workers. If China expects to gain the respect of the global community, China must earn that respect from its own citizens first, and that requires reforming their inhumane working conditions and respecting basic human rights of their own people. And once again, I want to thank the chairman for bringing this to the House floor. Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield to the Speaker of the House, who came up with the idea for having this resolution at this particular time, our Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, for 1 minute. Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments. I thank him for bringing this legislation, salute him and the ranking member of the committee, Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen, for her ongoing persistent advocacy for human rights throughout the world. I thank you for you leadership as well, Mr. Berman, Mr. Chairman. I rise today in strong support of this resolution calling on the Chinese government to end its human rights abuses in China and Tibet so that the Olympic Games can take place in an atmosphere that honors the Olympic traditions of freedom and openness. I thank Chairman Berman again and Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen for bringing the resolution to the floor. With passage of this resolution, the House will speak with one voice about the conditions in China and Tibet on the eve of the Olympic Games. Madam Speaker, the Olympic charter states that the Olympics should promote ``a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.'' The reality is that human rights [[Page 17085]] abuses committed by Chinese authorities are worsening in the weeks and months before the Olympics. In exchange for the privilege of hosting the Olympic Games, the Chinese government made commitments on freedom of the press, human rights and on the environment. Many of these commitments have been violated repeatedly and blatantly. Both foreign and domestic journalists have been harassed, threatened and detained. Human rights defenders and activists have been arrested and imprisoned at an alarming rate in recent months. The dialog between the Chinese government and the representatives of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, have gone nowhere. Thousands of peaceful Tibetans still languish in prisons in the aftermath of the protest that began in March. Chinese authorities have stepped up the so-called ``patriotic education'' campaigns that require Tibetan Buddhists, regardless of their true thoughts, to publicly denounce the Dalai Lama. The violations of human rights do not end on China's borders. On the international front, the Chinese government continues to support the genocidal regime in Sudan and the military junta in Burma. Their actions run counter to our interests of promoting peace, stability and morality in the world. The situation in the Sudan would change drastically if the Chinese government would cooperate at the U.N. and send that message to the Sudanese government. It is in this context that President Bush is traveling to China to attend the Olympic Games. To my knowledge, a sitting President of the United States has never attended an Olympics on foreign soil. That gives the President tremendous leverage with the Chinese government as he gives them tremendous face by attending the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. I have no objection to the President attending the Olympic Games. I do hope, though, that with all of the face, for lack of a better word, that the Chinese government will receive by his participation in the opening ceremony, that he will take the opportunity to use his leverage to speak very forcefully to the Chinese regime, not only about human rights in China and Tibet, of course that is a top priority, but also about the barriers to U.S. products going into China, about the dangers that are foisted upon our children and the American people by the lack of safety and the production of food. It is important for the body to know, and I am sure others have made the point, that the President recently met with some advocates for human rights in China and Tibet. I was very proud that they had the opportunity to meet with the President in the White House, and I thank the President for doing that. But shortly after the President had the meeting, two of these people were detained on the way to a meeting with our colleagues, Congressman Smith and Congressman Wolf, Frank Wolf of Virginia. So the message has to be, I think, clear to the Chinese government. We have concerns about jobs. We have concerns about U.S. jobs fleeing to China without opening of their markets to our products. We have concerns about human rights in China and Tibet. We want to work with the Chinese government to fight global warming. There are areas where we can have a level of cooperation. But if we give them that level of respect by having the President of the United States be at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, it is important for the President, when he is there, to deliver a strong message of concerns that we have in our country. I hope that we can have a brilliant future with China. Mr. Smith and Mr. Wolf and I have been trying for over 20 years, haven't we, been making this fight on human rights, as well as others in this body, and our dear friend, Mr. Lantos, as well. They told us 19 years ago, at the time of Tiananmen Square, if only we would engage economically with China, then human rights would improve there, democratization would take place, markets would be open to our products. But that just really hasn't happened. Here we are 19 years later. The Olympic Committee honored China by giving them the opportunity to host these Olympic Games. The President of the United States is honoring them by attending the opening ceremonies. It is very important that the opportunity afforded to China be met with responsible behavior on their part in terms of human rights in China and Tibet. So I hope that the President will not miss the opportunity, that historic, that has wide-ranging consequences, and which will be viewed with such favorability should he deliver the message when he is there. The President is well known for his support of freedom of religion. That is a commitment that he has made throughout the world, and it is one that I hope that he will carry with him to China as well. {time} 1145 With that, again, I thank the gentleman and Congresswoman Ros- Lehtinen for bringing this to the floor. I am very thrilled that the Congress of the United States will speak with one voice on this important subject. I know the struggle for human rights is a long one, but we did not expect the Olympics to result in a situation where they were worsened in China instead of improved, as was the promise. Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I appreciate the Speaker's words relative to China. The Speaker has a very tough job, and with that job goes praise and criticism. I know many of us, including myself, have been critical of the Speaker for not allowing, for example, a vote on ANWR on the floor of this House and we certainly think that we ought to have that vote. But I want to praise the Speaker on her speaking out when she was on a trip in India on a codel and she spoke out when the crackdown on Tibet was occurring, the scandalous, outrageous crackdown on Tibet was occurring. The Speaker spoke out, and I issued a press release and also a personal letter thanking her for speaking out on behalf of our country. I think it was the right thing for her to do, and I think it took a lot of courage for the Speaker of the House to actually speak out on behalf of Tibetans who are undergoing considerable civil rights, human rights abuses. The fact is, there are still, according to a recent article, at least 1,000 Tibetans that are unaccounted for because of this crackdown by the PRC, by Communist China. This is a very serious issue, and I'm glad that we're taking up this resolution. I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve my time. Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) who is the cochair of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus and who recently traveled to China. Mr. WOLF. I thank the gentleman. I thank him for yielding. I want to thank Mr. Berman and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mr. Chabot for bringing the bill up. I also want to thank President Bush for meeting yesterday with the dissidents, and I know they were probably passionate with him to explain how important it is to speak out. I also want to second what Mr. Chabot said about the Speaker. I appreciate Speaker Pelosi raising this issue on human rights and religious freedom in China. There is tremendous persecution. Catholic bishops are in jail. A large number of house church leaders are still in jail. As Mr. Smith said, there is a list of 730 dissidents that we should advocate publicly for. In the days during the Reagan administration, President Reagan would advocate publicly for names. That is very important. We know what they've done in Tibet in the Drapchi prison in the persecution of Tibetan monks and nuns. We know the Uighurs, Rebiya Kadeer, whose children have been arrested and are in jail as we now speak. They're plundering, beating the Falun Gong. And even in Flushing, New York, we believe--and the FBI is investigating--that the Chinese embassy [[Page 17086]] was involved in a counter-demonstration beating of the Falun Gong in Flushing, New York. Not in Flushing, China, but in Flushing, New York. We know of the labor camps, the laogais. We know what Harry Wu has told us of the labor camps that are still operating, and there are more labor camps in China today than there were gulags in the Soviet Union. We know when the Speaker said, very accurately, the genocide in Darfur, the Chinese government is the number one supporter of the genocidal government in Khartoum. And as Mr. Smith and Mr. Pence said on the one-child policy on forced abortion, we know what they're doing. What I would urge the administration to do and the President to do--I want to make sure we don't violate the rules and I speak to the Speaker--is to give a speech the way that President Reagan gave a speech at the Danilov Monastery. It was a very powerful speech. As Natan Sharansky said, when Ronald Reagan gave the speech in Orlando, Florida, where he called the Soviet Union the Evil Empire, it sent a message through the Perm. The prisoners in the Perm knew of what President Reagan was publicly speaking out and advocating for, and the people in the Perm and the people in jail knew when President Reagan gave the Danilov Monastery speech that he was speaking out. So I would urge the President to give a Danilov Monastery/Evil Empire speech in China. Select a Catholic church or a house church or a university and boldly speak out. Keep in mind Reagan boldly spoke out and called the Soviet Union the Evil Empire, boldly spoke out in the Danilov Monastery. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman from Virginia has expired. Mr. CHABOT. I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute. Mr. WOLF. I thank the gentleman. Ronald Reagan spoke out both times very boldly. If you recall, at President Reagan's funeral, Gorbachev came and attended the funeral. You can do it in that way. So I urge the President. I would also urge the committee to bring up Congressman Smith's Global Online Freedom bill so we can send a message, because when we were there, we saw that sometimes some American companies are cooperating with the Chinese government using American technology to cooperate. My closing comment, Madam Speaker, is that we urge the President to give a Ronald Reagan Danilov Monastery-type speech so that when he leaves China, it is clear to the dissidents who are in prison--because they will hear him--it is clear to the family members of those dissidents--because they will hear him--and it will be doubly clear, triply clear to the Chinese government that America and the President of the United States stands for freedom, and that must be done publicly. Mr. PAUL. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to this resolution, which is yet another meaningless but provocative condemnation of China. It is this kind of jingoism that has led to such a low opinion of the United States abroad. Certainly I do not condone human rights abuses, wherever they may occur, but as Members of the U.S. House of Representatives we have no authority over the Chinese government. It is our constitutional responsibility to deal with abuses in our own country or those created abroad by our own foreign policies. Yet we are not debating a bill to close Guantanamo, where abuses have been documented. We are not debating a bill to withdraw from Iraq, where scores of innocents have been killed, injured, and abused due to our unprovoked attack on that country. We are not debating a bill to reverse the odious FISA bill passed recently which will result in extreme abuses of Americans by gutting the Fourth Amendment. Instead of addressing these and scores of other pressing issues over which we do have authority, we prefer to spend our time criticizing a foreign government over which we have no authority and foreign domestic problems about which we have very little accurate information. I do find it ironic that this resolution ``calls on the Government of the People's Republic of China to begin earnest negotiations, without preconditions, directly with His Holiness the Dalai Lama or his representatives.'' For years U.S. policy has been that no meeting or negotiation could take place with Iran until certain preconditions are met by Iran. Among these is a demand that Iran cease uranium enrichment, which Iran has the right to do under the terms of the Non- Proliferation Treaty. It is little wonder why some claim that resolutions like this are hypocritical. Instead of lecturing China, where I have no doubt there are problems as there are everywhere, I would suggest that we turn our attention to the very real threats in a United States where our civil liberties and human rights are being eroded on a steady basis. The Bible cautions against pointing out the speck in a neighbor's eye while ignoring the log in one's own. I suggest we contemplate this sound advice before bringing up such ill-conceived resolutions in the future. Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise to express my concerns with H. Res. 1370. I certainly am supportive of many of the provisions of the bill. I am a friend of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and I continue to voice my displeasure of the treatment of the Tibetan people by the government of the People's Republic of China. The human rights consequences that persist in Tibet have the potential to devastate Tibet and completely abolish any chance of peaceful reconciliation. I also support efforts to hold repressive governments in Sudan and Burma accountable for their reprehensible treatment of their citizens. It is outrageous that these governments continue to prosper and enjoy support from other governments, such as China, as they systematically dismantle the economic and physical security of their citizens and routinely violate universally accepted human rights principles. However, this legislation continues a troubling pattern of addressing political and social issues in a cosmetic and superficial manner, while ignoring the devastating impact of our trade policies with China on the American economy and American families. The Economic Policy Institute recently released a report that asserted between 2001-2007, our trade deficit with China has more than tripled, from $84 billion to $262 billion. This trade deficit has lead to a veritable hemorrhaging of jobs: the American economy has shed approximately 2.3 million jobs during that time span, the vast majority being manufacturing jobs. Moreover, China continues its practice of currency manipulation, where the Yuan is pegged to the American dollar at a depressed and fixed rate. This distorts the prices of imports and exports, making American imports artificially high and Chinese exports low. China is currently one of the top two holders of U.S. Treasury bonds; the other is Japan. Nonbinding saber rattling will not improve the human rights situation in China. We must get our priorities in order. If we take a hard look at the economic and financial policies that guide our relationship with China, we will realize that they continue to erode the American economy, attack the American family, and compromise our national security. I will continue to advocate for the open channels of dialogue and discussions that will lead to real change and understanding, and I will reject demagoguery that has no real effect and serves no valuable purpose in our foreign policy. Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time and urge strong support for this resolution. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) that the House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1370, as amended. The question was taken. The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it. Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays. The yeas and nays were ordered. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. ____________________