H. Res. 178

In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

May 25, 1999.

Whereas the United States was founded on the democratic

principle that all men and women are created equal and

entitled to the exercise of their basic human rights;

Whereas freedom of expression and assembly are fundamental human rights that belong to all people and are

recognized as such under the United Nations Declaration

of Human Rights and the International Covenant on

Civil and Political Rights;

Whereas the death of the former General Secretary of the

Communist Party of the People’s Republic of China, Hu

Yaobang, on April 15, 1989, gave rise to peaceful protests throughout China calling for the establishment of a

dialogue with government and party leaders on democratic reforms, including freedom of expression, freedom

of assembly, and the elimination of corruption by government officials;

Whereas after that date thousands of prodemocracy demonstrators continued to protest peacefully in and around

Tiananmen Square in Beijing until June 3 and 4, 1989,

until Chinese authorities ordered the People’s Liberation

Army and other security forces to use lethal force to disperse demonstrators in Beijing, especially around

Tiananmen Square;
2

•HRES 178 EH

Whereas nonofficial sources, a Chinese Red Cross report from

June 7, 1989, and the State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1989, gave various

estimates of the numbers of people killed and wounded

in 1989 by the People’s Liberation Army soldiers and

other security forces, but agreed that hundreds, if not

thousands, of people were killed and thousands more

were wounded;

Whereas 20,000 people nationwide suspected of taking part

in the democracy movement were arrested and sentenced

without trial to prison or reeducation through labor, and

many were reportedly tortured;

Whereas human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch,

Human Rights in China, and Amnesty International have

documented that hundreds of those arrested remain in

prison;

Whereas the Government of the People’s Republic of China

continues to suppress dissent by imprisoning prodemocracy activists, journalists, labor union leaders, religious

believers, and other individuals in China and Tibet who

seek to express their political or religious views in a

peaceful manner; and

Whereas June 4, 1999, is the tenth anniversary of the date

of the Tiananmen Square massacre: Now, therefore, be

it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) expresses sympathy to the families of those

killed as a result of their participation in the democracy

protests of 1989, as well as to the families of those who

have been killed and to those who have suffered for their
3

•HRES 178 EH

efforts to keep that struggle alive during the past decade;

(2) commends all citizens of the People’s Republic

of China who are peacefully advocating for democracy

and human rights; and

(3) condemns the ongoing and egregious human

rights abuses by the Government of the People’s Republic of China and calls on that government to—

(A) reevaluate the official verdict on the June

4, 1989, Tiananmen prodemocracy activities and

order relevant procuratorial organs to open formal

investigations on the June fourth event with the

goal of bringing those responsible to justice;

(B) establish a June Fourth Investigation

Committee, the proceedings and findings of which

should be accessible to the public, to make a just

and independent inquiry into all matters related to

June 4, 1989;

(C) release all prisoners of conscience, including those still in prison as a result of their participation in the peaceful prodemocracy protests of

May and June 1989, provide just compensation to

the families of those killed in those protests, and

allow those exiled on account of their activities in
4

•HRES 178 EH

1989 to return and live in freedom in the People’s

Republic of China;

(D) put an immediate end to harassment, detention, and imprisonment of Chinese citizens exercising their legitimate rights to the freedom of expression, freedom of association, and freedom of religion; and

(E) demonstrate its willingness to respect the

rights of all Chinese citizens by proceeding quickly

to ratify and implement the International Covenant

on Civil and Political Rights which it signed on October 5, 1998.

Attest:

Clerk.