IV

House Calendar No. 14

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 73

[Report No. 107–40]

Expressing the sense of Congress that the 2008 Olympic Games should

not be held in Beijing unless the Government of the People’s Republic

of China releases all political prisoners, ratifies the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and observes internationally recognized human rights.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 21, 2001

Mr. LANTOS (for himself, Mr. COX, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr.

BROWN of Ohio, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. WOLF, Mr. HORN,

Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. HOYER, Mr. EVANS,

Mr. FRANK, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. WYNN, Mr. HOEFFEL,

Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. WAMP, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. DELAY, Mr.

FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania,

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. PALLONE,

Mr. BONIOR, Ms. BERKLEY, Ms. LEE, Mr. STRICKLAND, Mr. JONES of

North Carolina, Mr. STARK, Mr. KIRK, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. GEPHARDT, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. GOODE,

Mr. SOUDER, Mr. TANCREDO, Mr. DEMINT, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. SCHAFFER, Mr. HOSTETTLER, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. DOOLITTLE,

Mr. SHADEGG, and Mr. PENCE) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

APRIL 4, 2001

Additional sponsors: Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. KING, Mr.

BLUMENAUER, Mr. BARR of Georgia, Mr. PLATTS, Mrs. NORTHUP, Mr.

GILMAN, and Mr. LIPINSKI

APRIL 4, 2001

Reported with amendments, referred to the House Calendar, and ordered to

be printed
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[Strike out the preamble and insert the part printed in italic]

[Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the part printed in italic]

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress that the 2008 Olympic

Games should not be held in Beijing unless the Government of the People’s Republic of China releases all political prisoners, ratifies the International Covenant on Civil

and Political Rights, and observes internationally recognized human rights.

Whereas the International Olympic Committee is in the process of determining the venue of the Olympic Games in

the year 2008 and is scheduled to make that decision at

the IOC meeting scheduled for Moscow in July 2001;

Whereas the city of Beijing has made a proposal to the International Olympic Committee that the summer Olympic

Games in the year 2008 be held in Beijing;

Whereas the Olympic Charter states that Olympism and the

Olympic ideal seek to foster ‘‘respect for universal fundamental ethical principles’’;

Whereas the United Nations General Assembly Resolution

48/11 (October 25, 1993) recognized ‘‘that the Olympic

goal of the Olympic Movement is to build a peaceful and

better world by educating the youth of the world through

sport, practiced without discrimination of any kind and

the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding,

promoted by friendship, solidarity and fair play’’;

Whereas United National General Assembly Resolution 50/13

(November 7, 1995) stressed ‘‘the importance of the
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•HCON 73 RH

principles of the Olympic charter, according to which any

form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, sex or otherwise

is incompatible with the Olympic Movement’’;

Whereas the Department of State’s Country Reports on

Human Rights Practices for 2000 reports the following:

(1) ‘‘The [Chinese] government continued to commit

widespread and well-documented human rights abuses, in

violation of internationally accepted norms.’’.

(2) ‘‘Abuses included instances of extra judicial

killings, the use of torture, forced confessions, arbitrary

arrest and detention, the mistreatment of prisoners,

lengthy incommunicado detention, and denial of due process.’’.

(3) ‘‘The Government infringed on citizens’ privacy

rights.’’.

(4) ‘‘The Government maintained tight restrictions

on freedom of speech and of the press, and increased its

efforts to control the Internet; self-censorship by journalists continued.’’.

(5) ‘‘The Government severely restricted freedom of

assembly and continued to restrict freedom of association.’’.

(6) ‘‘The Government continued to restrict freedom

of religion and intensified controls on some unregistered

churches.’’.

(7) ‘‘The Government continued to restrict freedom

of movement.’’.

(8) ‘‘The Government does not permit independent

domestic nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to monitor publicly human rights conditions.’’.

(9) ‘‘[The Government has not stopped] violence

against women (including coercive family planning prac-
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•HCON 73 RH

tices—which sometimes include forced abortion and

forced sterilization).’’.

(10) ‘‘The Government continued to restrict tightly

worker rights, and forced labor in prison facilities remains a serious problem. Child labor exists and appears

to be a growing problem in rural areas as adult workers

leave for better employment opportunities in urban

areas.’’.

(11) ‘‘Some minority groups, particularly Tibetan

Buddhists and Muslim Uighurs, came under increasing

pressure as the Government clamped down on dissent

and ‘separatist’ activities.’’;

Whereas the egregious human rights abuses committed by

the Government of the People’s Republic of China are inconsistent with the Olympic ideal;

Whereas 119 Chinese dissidents and relatives of imprisoned

political prisoners, from 22 provinces and cities, issued

an open letter on January 16, 2001, signed at enormous

political risk which expresses the ‘‘grief and indignation

for each of China’s political prisoners and their families’’,

asks the Chinese Government to release all of China’s political prisoners, and asserts that the release of China’s

political prisoners will improve ‘‘Beijing’s stature in its

bid for the 2008 Olympics’’; and

Whereas, although the Government of the People’s Republic

of China signed the International Covenant on Civil and

Political Rights in 1998, but has failed to ratify the treaty, and has indicated that it will not fully implement the

recently ratified International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Now, therefore, be it

Whereas the International Olympic Committee is in the process of determining the venue of the Olympic Games in the
5

•HCON 73 RH

year 2008 and is scheduled to make that decision at the

IOC meeting scheduled for Moscow in July 2001;

Whereas the city of Beijing has made a proposal to the International Olympic Committee that the summer Olympic

Games in the year 2008 be held in Beijing;

Whereas the Olympic Charter states that Olympism and the

Olympic ideal seek to foster ‘‘respect for universal fundamental ethical principles’’;

Whereas the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 48/

11 (October 25, 1993) recognized ‘‘that the Olympic goal

of the Olympic Movement is to build a peaceful and better

world by educating the youth of the world through sport,

practiced without discrimination of any kind and the

Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding,

promoted by friendship, solidarity and fair play’’;

Whereas United National General Assembly Resolution 50/13

(November 7, 1995) stressed ‘‘the importance of the principles of the Olympic charter, according to which any form

of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on

grounds of race, religion, politics, sex or otherwise is incompatible with the Olympic Movement’’;

Whereas the Department of State’s Country Reports on

Human Rights Practices for 2000 reports the following:

(1) ‘‘The [Chinese] government continued to commit

widespread and well-documented human rights abuses, in

violation of internationally accepted norms.’’.

(2) ‘‘Abuses included instances of extra judicial

killings, the use of torture, forced confessions, arbitrary arrest and detention, the mistreatment of prisoners, lengthy

incommunicado detention, and denial of due process.’’.
6

•HCON 73 RH

(3) ‘‘The Government infringed on citizens’ privacy

rights.’’.

(4) ‘‘The Government maintained tight restrictions on

freedom of speech and of the press, and increased its efforts

to control the Internet; self-censorship by journalists continued.’’.

(5) ‘‘The Government severely restricted freedom of

assembly and continued to restrict freedom of association.’’.

(6) ‘‘The Government continued to restrict freedom of

religion and intensified controls on some unregistered

churches.’’.

(7) ‘‘During the year, there were numerous credible

reports of abuse of Falun Gong practitioners by the police

and other security personnel, including police involvement

in beatings, detention under extremely harsh conditions,

and torture (including by electric shock and by having

hands and feet shackled and linked with crossed steel

chains).’’.

(8) ‘‘The Government continued to restrict freedom of

movement.’’.

(9) ‘‘The Government does not permit independent domestic nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to monitor

publicly human rights conditions.’’.

(10) ‘‘[The Government has not stopped] violence

against women (including coercive family planning practices—which sometimes include forced abortion and forced

sterilization).’’.

(11) ‘‘The Government continued to restrict tightly

worker rights, and forced labor in prison facilities remains

a serious problem. Child labor exists and appears to be a

growing problem in rural areas as adult workers leave for

better employment opportunities in urban areas.’’.
7

•HCON 73 RH

(12) ‘‘Some minority groups, particularly Tibetan

Buddhists and Muslim Uighurs, came under increasing

pressure as the Government clamped down on dissent and

‘separatist’ activities.’’;

Whereas the egregious human rights abuses committed by the

Government of the People’s Republic of China are inconsistent with the Olympic ideal;

Whereas 119 Chinese dissidents and relatives of imprisoned political prisoners, from 22 provinces and cities, issued an

open letter on January 16, 2001, signed at enormous political risk which expresses the ‘‘grief and indignation for

each of China’s political prisoners and their families’’,

asks the Chinese Government to release all of China’s political prisoners, and asserts that the release of China’s political prisoners will improve ‘‘Beijing’s stature in its bid for

the 2008 Olympics’’; and

Whereas, although the Government of the People’s Republic of

China signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1998, but has failed to ratify the treaty,

and has indicated that it will not fully implement the recently ratified International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That the Congress—

3 (1) acknowledges and supports the January 16,

4 2001, open letter released by Chinese dissidents and

5 the families of imprisoned Chinese political prisoners

6 stating that the release of China’s political prisoners

7 would improve Beijing’s stature in its bid to host the

8 2008 Olympic Games;
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1 (2) expresses the view that, consistent with its

2 stated principles, the International Olympic Com3 mittee should not award the 2008 Olympics to Bei4 jing unless the Government of the People’s Republic

5 of China releases all of China’s political prisoners,

6 ratifies the International Covenant on Civil and Po7 litical Rights without major reservations, fully imple8 ments the International Covenant on Economic, So9 cial and Cultural Rights, and observes internation10 ally recognized human rights;

11 (3) calls for the creation of an international

12 Beijing Olympic Games Human Rights Campaign in

13 the event that Beijing receives the Olympics to focus

14 international pressure on the Government of the

15 People’s Republic of China to grant a general am16 nesty for all political prisoners prior to the com17 mencement of the 2008 Olympics as well as to ratify

18 the International Covenant on Civil and Political

19 Rights;

20 (4) calls on the Secretary of State to endorse

21 publicly the creation of the Beijing Olympic Games

22 Human Rights Campaign in the event that Beijing

23 receives the Olympics, and to utilize all necessary

24 diplomatic resources to encourage other nations to

25 endorse and support the campaign as well, focusing
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1 particular attention on member states of the Euro2 pean Union and the Association of Southeast Asian

3 Nations (ASEAN), Japan, Canada, Australia, the

4 Nordic countries, and all other countries engaged in

5 human rights dialogue with China;

6 (5) requests that the President, during his ex7 pected participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic

8 Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Summit in Shanghai

9 in October 2001, call for the release of all Chinese

10 political prisoners and Chinese ratification of the

11 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

12 (6) recommends that the Congressional-Execu13 tive Commission on the People’s Republic of China,

14 established under title III of the U.S.-China Rela15 tions Act of 2000 (Public Law 106–286), devote sig16 nificant resources to monitoring any violations of the

17 rights of political dissidents and political prisoners,

18 or other increased abuses of internationally-recog19 nized human rights, in the preparation to the 2008

20 Olympic Games and during the Olympic Games

21 themselves; and

22 (7) directs the Clerk of the House of Represent23 atives to transmit a copy of this resolution to the

24 senior International Olympic Committee representa-
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1 tive in the United States with the request that it be

2 circulated to all members of the Committee.

3 That the Congress—

4 (1) acknowledges and supports the January 16,

5 2001, open letter released by Chinese dissidents and

6 the families of imprisoned Chinese political prisoners

7 stating that the release of China’s political prisoners

8 would improve Beijing’s stature in its bid to host the

9 2008 Olympic Games;

10 (2) expresses the view that, consistent with its

11 stated principles, the International Olympic Com12 mittee should not award the 2008 Olympics to Bei13 jing unless the Government of the People’s Republic of

14 China releases all of China’s political prisoners, rati15 fies the International Covenant on Civil and Political

16 Rights without major reservations, fully implements

17 the International Covenant on Economic, Social and

18 Cultural Rights, and observes internationally recog19 nized human rights;

20 (3) calls for the creation of an international Bei21 jing Olympic Games Human Rights Campaign in the

22 event that Beijing receives the Olympics to focus

23 international pressure on the Government of the Peo24 ple’s Republic of China to grant a general amnesty

25 for all political prisoners prior to the commencement
11

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1 of the 2008 Olympics as well as to ratify the Inter2 national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

3 (4) calls on the Secretary of State to endorse

4 publicly the creation of the Beijing Olympic Games

5 Human Rights Campaign in the event that Beijing

6 receives the Olympics, and to utilize all necessary

7 diplomatic resources to encourage other nations to en8 dorse and support the campaign as well, focusing

9 particular attention on member states of the Euro10 pean Union and the Association of Southeast Asian

11 Nations (ASEAN), Japan, Canada, Australia, the

12 Nordic countries, and all other countries engaged in

13 human rights dialogue with China;

14 (5) requests that the President, during his ex15 pected participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic

16 Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Summit in Shanghai

17 in October 2001, call for the release of all Chinese po18 litical prisoners and Chinese ratification of the Inter19 national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

20 (6) recommends that the Congressional-Executive

21 Commission on the People’s Republic of China, estab22 lished under title III of the U.S.-China Relations Act

23 of 2000 (Public Law 106–286), devote significant re24 sources to monitoring any violations of the rights of

25 political dissidents and political prisoners, or other
12

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1 increased abuses of internationally-recognized human

2 rights, in the preparation to the 2008 Olympic Games

3 and during the Olympic Games themselves; and

4 (7) directs the Clerk of the House of Representa5 tives to transmit a copy of this resolution to the sen6 ior International Olympic Committee representative

7 in the United States with the request that it be cir8 culated to all members of the Committee.
House Calendar No. 14

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 14

[Report No. 107–40]

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress that the 2008

Olympic Games should not be held in Beijing unless the Government of the People’s Republic ofChina releases all political prisoners, ratifies theInternational Covenant on Civil and PoliticalRights, and observes internationally recognizedhuman rights.

APRIL 4, 2001

Reported with amendments, referred to the House

Calendar, and ordered to be printed