U.S. and Hong Kong (1997)

To provide for improved monitoring of human rights violations in the People's Republic of China. (Referred to Senate Committee after being Received from House)

HR 2358 RFS

105th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 2358

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

November 7, 1997

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

AN ACT

To provide for improved monitoring of human rights violations in the People's Republic of China.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

TITLE I

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This title may be cited as the 'Political Freedom in China Act of 1997'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress makes the following findings:

(1) The Congress concurs in the following conclusions of the United States State Department on human rights in the People's Republic of China in 1996:

(A) The People's Republic of China is 'an authoritarian state' in which 'citizens lack the freedom to peacefully express opposition to the party-led political system and the right to change their national leaders or form of government'.

(B) The Government of the People's Republic of China has 'continued to commit widespread and well-documented human rights abuses, in violation of internationally accepted norms, stemming from the authorities' intolerance of dissent, fear of unrest, and the absence or inadequacy of laws protecting basic freedoms'.

(C) '[a]buses include torture and mistreatment of prisoners, forced confessions, and arbitrary and incommunicado detention'.

(D) '[p]rison conditions remained harsh [and] [t]he Government continued severe restrictions on freedom of speech, the press, assembly, association, religion, privacy, and worker rights'.

(E) '[a]lthough the Government denies that it holds political prisoners, the number of persons detained or serving sentences for 'counterrevolutionary crimes' or 'crimes against the state', or for peaceful political or religious activities are believed to number in the thousands'.

(F) '[n]onapproved religious groups, including Protestant and Catholic groups * * * experienced intensified repression'.

(G) '[s]erious human rights abuses persist in minority areas, including Tibet, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia[, and] [c]ontrols on religion and on other fundamental freedoms in these areas have also intensified'.

(H) '[o]verall in 1996, the authorities stepped up efforts to cut off expressions of protest or criticism. All public dissent against the party and government was effectively silenced by intimidation, exile, the imposition of prison terms, administrative detention, or house arrest. No dissidents were known to be active at year's end.'.

(2) In addition to the State Department, credible independent human rights organizations have documented an increase in repression in China during 1995, and effective destruction of the dissident movement through the arrest and sentencing of the few remaining pro-democracy and human rights activists not already in prison or exile.

(3) Among those were Wang Dan, a student leader of the 1989 pro-democracy protests, sentenced on October 30, 1996, to 11 years in prison on charges of conspiring to subvert the government; Li Hai, sentenced to 9 years in prison on December 18, 1996, for gathering information on the victims of the 1989 crackdown, which according to the court's verdict constituted 'state secrets'; Liu Nianchun, an independent labor organizer, sentenced to 3 years of 're-education through labor' on July 4, 1996, due to his activities in connection with a petition campaign calling for human rights reforms; and Ngodrup Phuntsog, a Tibetan national, who was arrested in Tibet in 1987 immediately after he returned from a 2-year trip to India, where the Tibetan government in exile is located, and following a secret trial was convicted by the Government of the People's Republic of China of espionage on behalf of the 'Ministry of Security of the Dalai clique'.

(4) Many political prisoners are suffering from poor conditions and ill-treatment leading to serious medical and health problems, including--

(A) Wei Jingsheng, sentenced to 14 years in prison on December 13, 1996, for conspiring to subvert the government and for 'communication with hostile foreign organizations and individuals, amassing funds in preparation for overthrowing the government and publishing anti-government articles abroad,' is currently held in Jile No. 1 Prison (formerly the Nanpu New Life Salt Farm) in Hebei province, where he reportedly suffers from severe high blood pressure and a heart condition, worsened by poor conditions of confinement;

(B) Gao Yu, a journalist sentenced to 6 years in prison in November 1994 and honored by UNESCO in May 1997, has a heart condition; and

(C) Chen Longde, a leading human rights advocate now serving a 3-year reeducation through labor sentence imposed without trial in August 1995, has reportedly been subject to repeated beatings and electric shocks at a labor camp for refusing to confess his guilt.

(5) The People's Republic of China, as a member of the United Nations, is expected to abide by the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

(6) The People's Republic of China is a party to numerous international human rights conventions, including the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

SEC. 3. CONDUCT OF FOREIGN RELATIONS.

(a) RELEASE OF PRISONERS- The Secretary of State, in all official meetings with the Government of the People's Republic of China, should request the immediate and unconditional release of Ngodrup Phuntsog and other prisoners of conscience in Tibet, as well as in the People's Republic of China.

(b) ACCESS TO PRISONS- The Secretary of State should seek access for international humanitarian organizations to Drapchi prison and other prisons in Tibet, as well as in the People's Republic of China, to ensure that prisoners are not being mistreated and are receiving necessary medical treatment.

(c) DIALOGUE ON FUTURE OF TIBET- The Secretary of State, in all official meetings with the Government of the People's Republic of China, should call on that country to begin serious discussions with the Dalai Lama or his representatives, without preconditions, on the future of Tibet.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL AT DIPLOMATIC POSTS TO MONITOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

There are authorized to be appropriated to support personnel to monitor political repression in the People's Republic of China in the United States Embassies in Beijing and Kathmandu, as well as the American consulates in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, Chengdu, and Hong Kong, $2,200,000 for fiscal year 1998 and $2,200,000 for fiscal year 1999.

SEC. 5. DEMOCRACY BUILDING IN CHINA.

(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR NED- In addition to such sums as are otherwise authorized to be appropriated for the 'National Endowment for Democracy' for fiscal years 1998 and 1999, there are authorized to be appropriated for the 'National Endowment for Democracy' $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1998 and $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1999, which shall be available to promote democracy, civil society, and the development of the rule of law in China.

(b) EAST ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL DEMOCRACY FUND- The Secretary of State shall use funds available in the East Asia-Pacific Regional Democracy Fund to provide grants to nongovernmental organizations to promote democracy, civil society, and the development of the rule of law in China.

SEC. 6. HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHINA.

(a) REPORTS- Not later than March 30, 1998, and each subsequent year thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to the International Relations Committee of the House of Representatives and the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate an annual report on human rights in China, including religious persecution, the development of democratic institutions, and the rule of law. Reports shall provide information on each region of China.

(b) PRISONER INFORMATION REGISTRY- The Secretary of State shall establish a Prisoner Information Registry for China which shall provide information on all political prisoners, prisoners of conscience, and prisoners of faith in China. Such information shall include the charges, judicial processes, administrative actions, use of forced labor, incidences of torture, length of imprisonment, physical and health conditions, and other matters related to the incarceration of such prisoners in China. The Secretary of State is authorized to make funds available to nongovernmental organizations presently engaged in monitoring activities regarding Chinese political prisoners to assist in the creation and maintenance of the registry.

SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS CONCERNING ESTABLISHMENT OF A COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN ASIA.

It is the sense of the Congress that Congress, the President, and the Secretary of State should work with the governments of other countries to establish a Commission on Security and Cooperation in Asia which would be modeled after the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

SEC. 8. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING DEMOCRACY IN HONG KONG.

It is the sense of the Congress that the people of Hong Kong should continue to have the right and ability to freely elect their legislative representatives, and that the procedure for the conduct of the elections of the first legislature of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region should be determined by the people of Hong Kong through an election law convention, a referendum, or both.

SEC. 9. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS RELATING TO ORGAN HARVESTING AND TRANSPLANTING IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

It is the sense of the Congress that--

(1) the Government of the People's Republic of China should stop the practice of harvesting and transplanting organs for profit from prisoners that it executes;

(2) the Government of the People's Republic of China should be strongly condemned for such organ harvesting and transplanting practice;

(3) the President should bar from entry into the United States any and all officials of the Government of the People's Republic of China known to be directly involved in such organ harvesting and transplanting practice;

(4) individuals determined to be participating in or otherwise facilitating the sale of such organs in the United States should be prosecuted to the fullest possible extent of the law; and

(5) the appropriate officials in the United States should interview individuals, including doctors, who may have knowledge of such organ harvesting and transplanting practice.

TITLE II--AGREEMENT ON NUCLEAR COOPERATION

(a) AMENDMENT TO JOINT RESOLUTION RELATING TO AGREEMENT FOR NUCLEAR COOPERATION- The joint resolution entitled 'Joint Resolution relating to the approval and implementation of the proposed agreement for nuclear cooperation between the United States and the People's Republic of China (Public Law 99-183; approved December 16, 1985) is amended--

(1) in subsection (b)--

(A) by inserting 'and subject to section 2,' after 'or any international agreement,'; and

(B) in paragraph (1) by striking 'thirty' and inserting '120'; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

SEC. 2. (a) ACTION BY CONGRESS TO DISAPPROVE CERTIFICATION- No license may be issued for the export to the People's Republic of China of any nuclear material, facilities, or components subject to the Agreement, and no approval for the transfer or retransfer to the People's Republic of China of any nuclear material, facilities, or components subject to the Agreement shall be given if, during the 120-day period referred to in subsection (b)(1) of the first section, there is enacted a joint resolution described in subsection (b) of this section.

(b) DESCRIPTION OF JOINT RESOLUTION- A joint resolution is described in this subsection if it is a joint resolution which has a provision disapproving the President's certification under subsection (b)(1), or a provision or provisions modifying the manner in which the Agreement is implemented, or both.

(c) PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERATION OF JOINT RESOLUTIONS-

(1) REFERENCE TO COMMITTEES- Joint resolutions--

(A) may be introduced in either House of Congress by any Member of such House; and

(B) shall be referred, in the House of Representatives, to the Committee on International Relations and, in the Senate, to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

It shall be in order to amend such joint resolutions in the committees to which they are referred.

(2) FLOOR CONSIDERATION- (A) The provisions of section 152(d) and (e) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2192(d) and (e)) (relating to the floor consideration of certain resolutions in the House and Senate) apply to joint resolutions described in subsection (b).

(B) It is not in order for--

(i) the House of Representatives to consider any joint resolution described in subsection (b) that has not been reported by the Committee on International Relations; and

(ii) the Senate to consider any joint resolution described in subsection (b) that has not been reported by the Committee on Foreign Relations.

(c) CONSIDERATION OF SECOND RESOLUTION NOT IN ORDER- It shall not be in order in either the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider a joint resolution described in subsection (b) (other than a joint resolution described in subsection (b) received from the other House), if that House has previously adopted such a joint resolution.

(d) PROCEDURES RELATING TO CONFERENCE REPORTS IN THE SENATE-

(1) CONSIDERATION- Consideration in the the Senate of the conference report on any joint resolution described in subsection (b), including consideration of all amendments in disagreement (and all amendments thereto), and consideration of all debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith, shall be limited to 10 hours, to be equally divided between, and controlled by, the majority leader and the minority leader or their designees. Debate on any debatable motion or appeal related to the conference report shall be limited to 1 hour, to be equally divided between, and controlled by, the mover and the manager of the conference report.

(2) DEBATE ON AMENDMENTS IN DISAGREEMENT- In any case in which there are amendments in disagreement, time on each amendment shall be limited to 30 minutes, to be equally divided between, and controlled by, the manager of the conference report and the minority leader or his designee. No amendment to any amendment in disagreement shall be received unless it is a germane amendment.

(3) CONSIDERATION OF VETO MESSAGE- Consideration in the Senate of any veto message with respect to a joint resolution described in subsection (b), including consideration of all debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith, shall be limited to 10 hours, to be equally divided between, and controlled by, the majority leader and the minority leader or their designees.'.
Passed the House of Representatives November 5, 1997.

Attest:

ROBIN H. CARLE,

Clerk.