Mr. Speaker, one of the most enduring images of the 20th Century is the picture of the lone man before the tank in Tiananmen Square. The distinguished gentleman from San Francisco, California (Mr. Lantos) mentioned it as an icon that is in the entrance of his office.
It is a constant reminder to all of us of the courage of the young people in Tiananmen Square, and of course of the sadness that the human rights situation has not improved in China yea these many years.
In fact, the policy of our country which was to provide trickle down liberty. If economics goes well and trade goes well, then the political freedom will follow. That simply has not happened. In fact, for all of our concessions to the Chinese, our trade deficit has gone from, $2 million when we started this debate, to this year when it will be well over $60 billion with China.
The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by China still continues, no matter what anyone tells us. Of course we are witnessing the abuse of the good nature of our President with the violations by the Chinese on proliferation, trade, and the continuing violations of the human rights of people there.
As a tribute to the brave dissidents who gave their lives, risked their personal security, and continue to do so in China, and in commemoration of the 10-year anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, I was pleased to join my colleagues, some of who are present here, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Porter), the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt), the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bonior), the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson), and others who, being lead sponsors on this resolution. A resolution that is not about economics, it is not about politics, it is about remembering.
It is about remembering the challenge that these young people undertook in the spring of 1989. Millions of Chinese students and workers across China demonstrated peacefully for freedom of expression and the elimination of corruption by government officials.
On June 3, the Chinese regime responded to these peaceful demonstrations by ordering the People's Liberation Army to use lethal force on the protesters around Tiananmen Square. Hundreds, if not thousands, we do not know the number because the Chinese Government will not give us access to that, were slaughtered in that night of horror. Thousands more were injured, and over 20,000 prisoners of conscience were arrested and sentenced without trial, to prison, to labor camps, and to years of torture.
Prisoners of conscience tell us that one of the most extricating painful forms of torture occurs when the perpetrators of their torture tell them that no one even knows about them, cares about them, or cares about the cause for which they are in prison.
The purpose of our legislation, which has strong bipartisan support in the House, I am pleased to cosponsor the legislation with my colleague whom I respect so much, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), has strong bipartisan support in the House and in the United States Senate. The purpose of this legislation is to tell the prisoners and their torturers and the Chinese regime and the world that the American people remember.
We remember the brave students who modeled their Goddess of Democracy after our own Statue of Liberty. We remember how the brave students echoed the words of our Founding Fathers in their courageous appeals to the regime. We remember the regime's responding with guns and tanks to crush the peaceful demonstrations. We remember today the many political prisoners who still languish these 10 years later in Chinese prisons.
Our legislation parallels the petition being circulated by the Tiananmen leader Wang Dan and the global campaign for the anniversary of June 4. The petition calls on the Chinese Government to reverse the verdict of Tiananmen Square, to free the prisoners, to allow them and all Chinese to speak freely, and to allow for the return of the Chinese exiles.
The petition has been endorsed by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and International Pen, to name a few organizations.
On the day we introduced our Tiananmen resolution, the Chinese Government arrested dissidents for planning to distribute leaflets seeking redress for the massacre. The location of these pro-democratic activists is still unknown. That same day, a member of the banned China Democratic Party was beaten and stripped of his clothes by the police for merely speaking about democracy in a public park.
At the same time, the regime, speaking through a signed editorial in the People's Daily, the official Chinese newspaper, claimed that overseas dissidents, exiles, and escapees are `crowing' at the `murder' of their compatriots who died in the NATO bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.
What a pathetic commentary on the Beijing regime, that it feels threatened by dissidents in China and abroad!
The regime has the power of their military and security forces at home and they have their economic partners abroad and supporters, including the U.S. Government, bowing to their every whim, and yet they are still frightened.
And speaking of the U.S. Government, while we have bowed to their every whim, sad to say, the Chinese have not returned any friendship to the Clinton administration.
As the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) pointed out, when the stupid mistake of bombing the embassy occurred, the President apologized and apologized and apologized and apologized, but his friends in the regime whom he visited and gave great face to last year, would not even let the Chinese people know that the President had apologized. And they participated in the orchestration of rocks being thrown at our embassy for 3 days, one of our consulates being set on fire, and the ambassador, in his own words, being a hostage in the embassy. This, after we have, as a government, catered to their every whim.
And I might say that the President's apology was exceptional, because we usually do not apologize when we do not do something intentional. This was a mistake; it was not intentional.
It might be of interest to our colleagues to know that when 20 Europeans were killed in a ski lift accident, which occurred in Italy, the United States of America expressed regret. And when we had the problem in Iran, when we mistakenly killed Iranian civilians, President Reagan expressed regret. So an apology is an intensified response to this accidental and mistaken bombing. The Chinese Government would not even accept what the President of the United States was stooping to in this case.
I certainly think the Chinese people deserve to be apologized to or have our regrets extended to them. We should make reparations, we should investigate how the bombing took place, but we should not extend any favors to them on the economic front like premature entry into the WTO unless under commercially viable terms, and we should not ignore their continued violations of human rights in China.
Our President went to China last year. He went to the extreme step of leading the People's Liberation Army band with a baton. He gave face to the regime and came back with a message that this was going to help improve democratic freedoms in China. It has not. It has not.
On the heels of the President's visit, people who supported the China Democracy Party felt emboldened, spoke out, and they are now in prison.
I know I have taken a great deal of time, but with the Chairman's indulgence, I would like to read some of the names of the people still in prison right now. Xu Wenli, for example, a leader of the China Democracy Party was arrested immediately upon speaking out. In addition we are remembering about people who are still in prison 10 years later for their activities at the time of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Cao Yingyuan, Chang Jingqiang, Chang Yongjie, Chen Dongxiang, Chen Qiulong, Chen Yanbin. And it is a long, long, long list, Mr. Speaker, and I am going to submit it for the Record. It is a list compiled by Human Rights in China, an organization dedicated to freeing the prisoners arrested at that time.
Ten years after the Beijing Massacre and subsequent crackdown, hundreds remain in prison for their role in the 1989 protests. The list below contains the names of 144 individuals from Beijing alone who are serving lengthy prison sentences for their participation in the 1989 democracy movement.
This information was primarily compiled by Li Hai, 44, a former Beijing student who was arrested in 1995 for making the list public. He was subsequently sentenced to a nine-year prison term for `prying into and gathering' `state secrets.'
The individuals listed below include a wide variety of Beijing residents--from peasants, security guards and factory workers to engineers and cadres in the State Planning Commission. At the time of their arrest, they ranged in age from 17 to 71. In the official propaganda, these demonstrators were called `rioters,' and were charged with `arson,' `hooliganism,' `disturbing social order,' and other criminal offenses. For the most part they are people who were seen on television screens around the world in May 1989, marching in the streets, blocking the path of the troops entering the city with improvised barricades, running through the streets on the night of June 3-4, and throwing rocks and paving stones at tanks and armed personnel carriers. Many are thought to have been detained merely because they were out on the streets. In general, these people were brought to trial more quickly and received more severe sentences than did the prominent students and intellectuals who were arrested. The average sentence of those not given life terms is approximately thirteen years.
Li Hai, the persons on this list, and the many other `namesless' individuals jailed throughout China in connection with the 1989 crackdown might not be as internationally well-known as some dissidents, but their lives and liberty are equally significant.
Human Rights in China submits the following list to President Clinton for presentation to Prime Minister Zhu Rongji during his visit.
Human Rights in China urges the Chinese government to demonstrate its commitment to making genuine improvements in the human rights situation by releasing all of the prisoners on this list, as well as the thousands of other political and religious detainees throughout China.
Beijing No. 2 Prison: Name, Age--Sentence, Charge (see key below for charge name).
Cao Yingyuan, 40--10 years, #6; Chang Jingqiang--25, Life, #4, 5; Chang Yongjie, 31--Susp. death #4, 6, 9; Chen Dongxiang, 57--14 years #3; Chen Qiulong, 38--13 years, #3; Chen Yanbin, 23--15 years, #7;
Liang Zhaohui, 26, worker--13 years, #4; Liang Zhenyun, 32, auto-mechanic--12 years, #11; Liang Zhixiang, 25, worker--10.5 years, #4; Liu Changqing, 34--15 years, #4; Liu Chunlong, 26--12 years, #4; Liu Huaidong, 31, cadre--13 years, #10; Liu Jianwen, 29, worker--20 years, #11, #10; Liu Kunlun, 43, cadre--13 years, #4; Liu Quann, 44--15 years, #4, #13; Liu Xu, 28, worker--15 years, #4; Liu Zhenting, 36, worker in Beijing No. 2 auto plant--17 years, #9; Lu Xiaojun, 36, worker--13 years, #9, #10; Ma Guochun, 35--11 years, #9, #10.
Ma Lianxi, 44--15 years, #11; Ma Shimin, 26--11 years, #4; Meng Fanjun, 29, worker--13 years, #11; Mi Yuping, 39, worker--13 years, #4; Niu Shuliang, 26, worker--12 years, #4; Niu Zhanping, 43, worker--12 years, #4, #12; Peng Xingguo, 41--15 years, #4; Qiao Hongqi, 38, worker--12 years, #11; Shan Hui, 28, worker--14 years, #9; Shi Xuezhi, 58--Life, #4; Song Shihui, 24, worker--11 years, #9, #10; Su Gang, 28, teacher--15 years, #4; Sun Chuanheng, 28--Life, reduced to 20 years, #2; Sun Hong, 27, worker--Susp. death, #4; Sun Yancai, 32--Life, #9; Sun Yanru, 27--13 years, #9; Sun Zhengang, 33, worker--14 years, #4; Wang Jian, 30, worker--13 years, #9; Wang Lianhui, 31--Life, #9; Wang Lianxi, 43, worker--Life, #4; Wang Xian, 30, worker--Life, #4.
Wang Yonglu, 30, worker--11 years, #11; Wang Yueming, 32--13 years, #4; Wang Chunmo, 34--11 years, #9; Wang Dongming, 37, worker--13 years, #4; Wu Ruijiang, 28, cadre--13 years, #9, #10; Xi Haoliang, 27, worker--Susp. death, #4, #5; Xu Ning, 26, worker--12 years (reduced by 2 years), #4; Yan Jianxin, 30, worker--11 years, #9, #10; Yang Guanghui, 25--12 years, #4; Yang Jianhua, 38, worker--14 years, #9, #12; Yang Pu, 34--Susp. death, #4; Yang Yupu, 33--15 years, #4; Yu Wen, 29, worker--12 years, #10; Zhang Baojun, 27--13 years, #4, #9; Zhang Baoku, 29, worker--12 years, #4; Zhang Baoqun, 32--Life, #4; Zhang Fukun, 39--Life, #4; Zhang Guodong, 27--Life, #4; Zhang Kun, 28, worker--11 years, #4; Zhang Maosheng, 30--Susp. death, #4; Zhang Qijie, 32, worker--Susp. death, #9, #10, concealing a weapon; Zhang Qun, 27, worker--Life, #4.
#7--Organizing a counterrevolutionary group
#8--Conspiring to subvert the government
Common criminal charges: #9--Robbery; #10--Hooliganism; #11--Stealing or seizing gun or ammunition; #12--Disturbing social order; #13--Disrupting traffic.
Notes: (1) Some of the ages of prisoners in Qinghe Farm No. 3 Branch are age at date of arrest; (2) Sentences marked with an asterisk * could have been subject to reduction or supplementation; (3) `Susp. death' means a death sentence with a two-year reprieve. This means that if the prisoner has behaved well during the two-year period, the sentence is normally commuted to life.
I want to call the attention of my colleagues to the Global Petition Campaign for the 10th anniversary of the June 4th massacre. It is an open letter to the Government of the People's Republic of China calling upon the regime to reverse the verdict of Tiananmen Square. So we are associating ourselves in the Congress today with the aspirations of those brave people, including Wang Dan who was imprisoned for his political beliefs and his participation at the time of Tiananmen and after; and we are also associating ourselves with those many people who are still imprisoned.
Free the prisoners. It is 10 years later. What do you have to be afraid of?
And then in closing, Mr. Speaker, I want to say that were it not for this Congress, we really would not be having much to talk about today. But year in and year out we keep this on the front burner. There is no story written about China that doesn't talk about the disagreement we have between at least the Congress of the United States and the Chinese regime about promoting democratic freedoms. We do not in this body subscribe to the principle of trickle-down liberty. We subscribe to what our Founding Fathers established this country on. Those words of our Founding Fathers were echoed by the young people in Tiananmen Square. For that, they were crushed by tanks, and for that, they will be remembered by us in this resolution remembering Tiananmen.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time and I thank the gentleman for his indulgence in affording me the opportunity to speak at this length on the floor.
Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the material I referred to above.
Statement for the Congressional Record
I want to call to the attention of my colleagues the Chinese activists detained in recent crackdown around June 4.
Yang Tao--Detained May 5, 1999; Present situation unknown. Mr. Yang, 29, is a former student leader of the 1989 Democracy Movement. In 1989, Yang was listed as #11 on the central governments most wanted list of 21 leaders of the democracy demonstrations. Now based in Guangzhou city, Guangdong Province, Yang previously served a one-year sentence for `instigating a counter-revolutionary rebellion' for his 1989 activities. Human rights monitors in Hong Kong reported Yang had been formally arrested on May 24 and faces criminal prosecution for his recent activism.
Jiang Qisheng--Detained May 19, 1999; Present situation unknown. Mr. Jiang, 51, is a former graduate student leader of the 1989 Democracy Movement. Jiang was elected by People's University classmates as a representative on the `Dialogue Delegation' that conveyed student communications with central government representatives in May 1989. He served a 17-month sentence for his 1989 activities. Since his release, Jiang worked closely with Prof. Ding Zilin, the mother of one of the demonstrators killed on June 4, 1989, and participated in numerous petition campaigns.
Liu Xianli--Sentenced to four years for inciting to overthrow state power on May 9, 1999. Mr. Liu was arrested in March 1998 while putting together a book of interviews with many Chinese democracy and human rights movement. His secret trial was held in November 1998, but his sentence was only recently released to his family.
The following are the names of the Chinese worker prisoners still imprisoned for 1989 democracy activities.
Yu Zhijian--life sentence for counter-revolutionary sabotage. Yu Zhijian, 31, is a former primary-school teacher from Hunan Province. Yu gave speeches in Hunan during the early spring in support of the 1989 democratic movement. He traveled to Beijing in May 1989 to join the demonstrations there. On May 23, Yu and two friends threw ink- and paint-filled eggs at the portrait of Mao Zedong in Tiananmen Square. Yu was sentenced to life in prison in August 1989. According to a 1996 Human Rights Watch report, he was believed to be serving in solitary confinement at the Lingling Prison in Hunan Province.
Yu Dongyue--20 years for counter-revolutionary sabotage. Yu Dongyue is a former fine arts editor of the Liuyang News, a city paper of Liuyang city, Hunan Province. He traveled to Beijing in May 1989 to join the demonstrations there. On May 23, Yu and two friends threw ink- and paint-filled eggs at the portrait of Mao Zedong in Tiananmen Square. Yu was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment in August 1989. He reportedly served at least two years in solitary confinement. He is said to be serving in Hunan Province Yuanjiang No. 1 Prison. Recent news articles report Yu `was suffering severe mental illness.'
Lu Decheng--16 years for counter-revolutionary sabotage. Lu Decheng is a former worker at the Liuyang (Hunan Province) Public Motors Company. He traveled to Beijing in May 1989 to join the demonstrations there. On May 23, Lu and two friends threw ink- and paint-filled eggs at the portrait of Mao Zedong in Tiananmen Square. Yu was scentenced so sixteen years imprsonment in August 1989. He reportedly served at least two years in solitary confinement. He is said to have been moved from his original prison in 1992, but no updated informaiton is available.
Chen Zhixiang--10 years for counter-revolutionary propaganda and incitement. Chen Zhixiang, 33, is a former instructor at the Guangzhou (Guangdong Province) Maritime Transport Academy. Chen was involved in the Guangzhou city-wide 1989 democratic protest and arrested in late 1989. He was convicted of `counter-revolutionary propaganda and incitement' in January 1990 and received a ten year sentenced. He is reportedly held in the Shaoguan Laogai Detachment in Guangdong Province.
Li Wei--13 years for taking part in a counterrevolutionary group. Li, a worker at the Changchun (Jilin Province) No. 1 Motor Works, joined a `workers' forum' in 1987 and 1988. In Spring 1989, he joined a number of marches led by workers at the Changchun No. 1 Motor Works in support of the democratic movement. Li was detained in June 1989 and convicted of actively taking part in a counterrevolutionary group' in November 1990. He was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment. Chinese authorities confirmed Li's sentence to the US government in November 1991. He is reportedly being held in the Liaoning Province Lingyuan No. 2 Laogai Detachment.
Wang Changhuai--13 years for subversion. Wang was the Chairman of the Hunan Workers Autonomous Federation prior to the crackdown on the democratic protests of Spring 1989. Formerly a worker at the Changsha Au tomobile Engine Factory, Wang turned himself in to authorities in late June 1989. Wang was sentenced to 13 years improsonment for `subversion'. He is reportedly being held in Hunan Province Yuanjiang No. 1 Prison.