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[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 68 Introduced in House (IH)]

107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 68

  Condemning the Government of the People's Republic of China for its 
                       poor human rights record.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 20, 2001

   Mr. King (for himself, Mr. Burr of North Carolina, Mr. Wolf, Mr. 
   LaTourette, Mr. Ehrlich, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Traficant, Mr. Diaz-
Balart, Ms. Rivers, Mr. Tancredo, Mr. Hoeffel, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Taylor 
    of North Carolina, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Tierney, Mr. McGovern, Mr. 
Pallone, Mr. Sanders, and Mr. Towns) submitted the following concurrent 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 
  Condemning the Government of the People's Republic of China for its 
                       poor human rights record.

Whereas on February 26, 2001, the Department of State issued the 2000 Country 
        Report on Human Rights Practices in China which noted that the 
        Government of the People's Republic of China continued to commit 
        widespread and well-documented human rights abuses in violation of 
        internationally accepted norms, continued to commit numerous other 
        serious abuses, and intensified crackdowns on religion;
Whereas the 2000 Report noted that, in Tibet, the Government of the People's 
        Republic of China intensified its harsh treatment of political dissent, 
        including the suppression of persons or groups perceived to threaten the 
        Government;
Whereas the 2000 Report noted that thousands of unregistered religious 
        institutions had been either closed or destroyed, hundreds of Falun Gong 
        leaders had been imprisoned, and thousands of Falun Gong practitioners 
        remained in detention or were sentenced to reeducation through labor 
        camps or incarcerated in mental institutions;
Whereas the 2000 Report noted that respect by the People's Republic of China for 
        religious freedom deteriorated as the Government conducted crackdowns 
        against underground Christian groups and Tibetan Buddhists and destroyed 
        many houses of worship;
Whereas some minority groups, particularly Tibetan Buddhists and Muslim Uighurs, 
        came under increasing pressure as the Government limited dissent and 
        separatist activities;
Whereas unapproved religious groups, including Protestant and Catholic groups 
        and members of nontraditional religious groups, continued to experience 
        varying degrees of official interference, repression, and persecution;
Whereas the People's Republic of China does not permit independent domestic 
        nongovernmental organizations to monitor publicly human rights 
        conditions;
Whereas on March 12, 1998, the People's Republic of China signed the 
        International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and signed on 
        October 27, 1997, and ratified on February 28, 2001, the International 
        Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights; and
Whereas the 2000 Report notes that Constitution and laws of the People's 
        Republic of China provide for fundamental human rights, however, the 
        protections of these rights are ignored in practice: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That--
            (1) it is the sense of Congress that--
                    (A) the Government of the People's Republic of 
                China should take the necessary measures to stop 
                persecution of all religious practitioners and 
                safeguard fundamental human rights; and
                    (B) the United States Government should continue to 
                insist that the People's Republic of China adhere to 
                fundamental human rights; and
            (2) the Congress urges the Government of the People's 
        Republic of China--
                    (A) to release from detention all religious 
                practitioners, Falun Gong members, and prisoners of 
                conscience and to put an immediate end to the practices 
                of torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading 
                treatment;
                    (B) to allow the Chinese people to pursue their 
                personal beliefs in accordance with article 36 of the 
                Constitution of the People's Republic of China and its 
                criminal procedure law; and
                    (C) adhere to the provisions and guidelines of the 
                International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
                and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and 
                Cultural Rights.
                                 <all>
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